'Outlander' book series author Diana Gabaldon reveals her favourite books while growing up

“Outlander” book series writer Diana Gabaldon’s love for reading began with comic books, the author revealed in a recent interview. The celebrity author talked about her favourite books growing up and emphasised the importance of getting children to read books early.

In an interview with ScotlandNow, Gabaldon revealed how her mother had a big influence on her as a kid. The author said that she was taught to read by the age of three by her mother and she began by reading comic books. She was also allowed to read “anything else” that she “fancied.”

“I think it’s extremely important that children are exposed to reading,” the author said. Gabaldon explained that her mother let children pick the reading material themselves because it was important to get them started and the habit of reading would follow “naturally.”

The author revealed that the books she was “fond” of while growing up were “The Three Musketeers,” “Robin Hood” and “Alice In Wonderland.” Gabaldon also read through the “entire library in Flagstaff, Arizona.”

Gabaldon wanted to be a novelist from the age of eight, but she took her father’s advice to find a career that would help her support herself and so she studied science and earned her Phd in Quantitative Behavioural Ecology. She worked as a Professor for some time and this gave her an opportunity to write a lot. The writing, however, was mostly focussed on academics and didn’t involve any fiction.

The writing of the first novel in the “Outlander” book series was “for practice,” the author revealed. But, when her agent sent the book to five editors; three of them called back within a few days and expressed their interest in buying the book.

The book series went on to sell millions of copies and has also been adapted into a TV series on Starz by executive producer Ronald D. Moore. The first season of the show has already aired and the cast and crew of the show are currently filming the second season.

Gabaldon will get the chance to write her first TV script for one of the episodes of “Outlander” Season 2. A recent video posted on the YouTube channel of Sony Pictures Entertainment shows the author visiting the set of the first season and seeing firsthand how the cast and crew worked for the show. The author also had a cameo appearance in the first season of the show.

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