Since the Lemondrop Book Club is reading "Outlander," we were thrilled that author Diana Gabaldon made time to chat with us. We asked her about men in kilts, time travel and her new book, "An Echo in the Bone," the latest in the "Outlander" series.

Gabaldon calls her books "historical fiction," fans call them "classics," and Salon describes them as "the smartest historical sci-fi adventure/romance ever written by a science PhD with a background in scripting Uncle Scrooge comic books." Unfortunately, that didn't fit in the headline for the book club.

Here, she describes her process, her characters and more. Check out our discussion questions (you don't have to have read the book) and leave a comment -- everyone who does is eligible to win a copy of "An Echo in the Bone."

Tell me about the inspiration for "Outlander." What got you interested in 18th-century Scotland?
Basically, a man and a kilt! I was going to write a novel for practice, not intending to show it to anyone. I was a research professor, so I knew what to do with a library. It seemed easier to look things up than make them up. I watched a "Doctor Who" rerun on PBS. The premise is that the doctor is a time lord, and he had picked up a young Scotsman from 1785. I said, "That's fetching!"

I had no inspiration except the notion of a man in a kilt, and it was a straightforward historical novel until the third day. I knew the novel had to have conflict, a lot of Scotsmen, and a female character for some sexual tension. The third day I introduced this English woman. She just kept making smart-ass modern remarks. I fought with her for several pages, then just thought, "Be modern and I'll figure out how you got there." That's how it came to include time travel.

How did you research the historical periods?
I wrote "Outlander" entirely from library research. I have no background in history, just the six hours of Western Civilization they make you take as an undergrad. But I was an assistant research professor at ASU before I started writing. I certainly started in a library in 1988. It's only within the last few years that the Internet became a useful research tool. I do use online resources as an adjunct. When I can, it's nice to travel to the places I'm writing about.

I will be writing and discover I need to know more about this particular thing. Those lead me to other things I want to know. I probably have around 4,000 books in my personal research collection. The only thing you can't learn from research is the way a thing smells.

The fact that Claire is a little older than Jamie goes against the conventions of most romance tales. What made you decide that?
She's older than Jamie because she's a British combat nurse, and she had been in the war for six years. I thought she was a little older than that because she had been married to Frank.. Jamie is younger, because it's not realistic that he would be 26 or 30 and still be a virgin.

Very interesting! Now let's discuss some of the book club questions. What skills do you have that would help you survive if you were marooned in the 1700s?
I've been a field biologist, so I can identify plants that are edible. I know how to use a knife and build a shelter. I know how to put a tourniquet on a wound. I can cook outdoors.

We know you have several degrees, so we're curious -- what did you want to be when you grew up?
I've known since the age of 8 that I was meant to be a novelist, but I didn't know how. They don't teach you at Career Day.

Very true! Could you tell us about your new book?
There are four main story lines, and it's about discovering a pattern. It's focused on Jamie and Claire. In the sixth book, their house has been burned down. Jamie declares he's going back to Scotland to get back his printing press. Part of his reason is to come back and fight. He has an illegitimate son, a young lieutenant. It deals with their adventures getting to Scotland.

At the end of the last book, Roger and Brianna are back in the 20th century. They're settling back into the ancestry home. The third story line is Lord John, a career soldier, who's advising William, who's in the army. The fourth story line deals with Ian, Jamie's nephew, who became a Mohawk Indian.

Anything else our readers should know?
The books of the series are all very carefully engineered to stand alone.

Read more about Diana Gabaldon on her blog, Voyages of the the Artemis.

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