Contest update, and my essay for Diana

The entries are still coming in for the OUTLANDER 20th Anniversary Contest.  Thanks very much to all of you who've sent in your essays already.  It's shaping up to be a great collection of stories, and I'm sure Diana will enjoy reading them.

Things seem to have slowed down this week, though.  I received only four new entries during the past week, bringing the total up to 36 so far.  I can understand that people are busier now that summer is here, but I hope you won't forget about this, if you're still planning to participate.

Special thanks to Carol and Tracey from My Outlander Purgatory, and Anne from My Writing Existence, for helping to spread the word about this contest!

If you haven't yet sent in your entry, or you've been procrastinating <g>, you have about 2 1/2 more weeks to think about it.  The contest will run through the end of June.  You can post your entry here on my blog (please remember to sign your name, and leave an email address where I can reach you if you win), or email me at contact@outlandishobservations.com with the subject line "OUTLANDER 20th Anniversary Contest".

I'll include my essay below.  You may need to click on the "Read more" link to see it.  I plan to send this to Diana Gabaldon along with the rest of the contest entries.  (I've added some links to previous blog posts, for the benefit of those of you who may not have seen them before, but otherwise this is basically identical to what I plan to send to Diana.)

Diana:

It’s been more than four and a half years now since I stumbled across a certain book with a striking blue cover while browsing in Barnes & Noble, and I can honestly say that my life hasn’t been the same since! <vbg> I have so many wonderful memories related to OUTLANDER.  Here are a few of my favorites:

• Getting Janet’s invitation to join the forum staff, in September, 2008.  I spent the next several days in a state of nervous (but delighted) shock.  “Who, me?!?”  (That feeling wore off quickly, but I’ll never forget it.)

• Meeting you in person for the first time, at a book-signing in Columbia, MD, in 2009.  That was a fantastic experience that I will treasure for a long time to come.  (You told me you kept noticing me in the audience while you were talking, and you thought I looked familiar. <g>)

• Our discussions via email of my first impressions of ECHO.  I thoroughly enjoyed that, as I know you did.  <g>  For all my joking on the forum about how my job as SL comes with “benefits”, I feel VERY lucky and privileged to be able to get an early look at your books.

• Having lunch with you and a group of other fans in Winston-Salem, NC, in September, 2010.  That was a rare treat, and a lot of fun.  Arriving home after the book-signing, I flipped open my copy of the ECHO paperback to find this inscription:  “To Karen, Czarina of Traffic and a great friend.”  I was moved almost to tears when I saw that.

• Being interviewed about OUTLANDER for RT Book Reviews magazine in April, 2011.  That was totally unexpected, and I’m delighted that the article turned out so well.

It’s been a pleasure and a privilege for me to help out as Section Leader on the forum in the last several years.  I like to think of it as my way of giving something tangible back to you, in return for the many hundreds of hours of pleasure your books have given me.  And a HUGE thank you, once again, for your support, encouragement, and occasional “gifties”.  <vbg>  That means more to me than I can say.

And finally, without OUTLANDER I would never have created my blog, Outlandish Observations. I’ve met so many wonderful people, from all over the world, as a result of this blog, and it’s succeeded far beyond my initial expectations.

Congratulations on the 20^th anniversary of OUTLANDER, and thank you, once again, for creating this wonderful story!

Karen Henry