Kilted Men in the Streets

Outlander to Air on Starz

Tremendous announcement today that Outlander will be developed by Starz!  I am thrilled.  I watched both the "Pillars of the Earth" miniseries and the "Camelot" series on Starz and thought they were both done beautifully and extremely well cast.

And speaking of casting...I find it interesting that two people near the top of my short list for Jamie an Claire were on both of the aforementioned shows.  Hayley Atwell was in Pillars and Philip Winchester was in Camelot.  So at least I know Starz appreciates solid acting.

Holy CASTING, Batman.  Do you know what this means?? STARZ has already been named...it's only a matter of time before we find out about actors.  (insert nervous giggling here)

Here is a scene from the Starz series, "The Pillars of the Earth".  If Outlander is anything like this, I will be beside myself.  (And I will use any excuse to post this Eddie Redmaye clip.  I'm so shameless.)

Outlander Chat Tonight - Carol and Tracey Iffy

Here is the deal for tonight's chat:

- I am washing uniforms for members of the National Guard who are working in my area and have to make a pick-up tonight 9:30...which will cut into chat time.  (Geez - who do these disaster relief people think they ARE, messing with my Jamie Fraser time??) ;)   I will try to get there for a few minutes at 9:00.

- Tracey has been hostessing for those in her town without power this week and isn't sure how many people she'll have tonight - or how long they'll stay...so she's not sure if she'll be able to chat.

That said, chat should go on!  Please proceed with or without us and we will do our very best to get there!  :)

Someone to Watch Over Me: MOP Friend JC Bodden Answers Questions About Her First Novel

OK y'all - listen up.  One of our good Outlander buds at MOP wrote a book called "Someone to Watch Over Me".  This book got me through Hurricane Sandy at the Jersey shore!  I have to say - I really enjoyed it!  After I finished, I emailed (the author, someone we all know and love from MOP Chat) to ask her some questions about the book.  Below are my questions...followed by her answers.  And a hottie pattotie photo of her hubby.  HEY now.  My suggestion?  Bookmark this page...go read the book...then come back and check out what JC has to say!

SPOILER ALERT:  The following contains spoilers about

Someone to Watch Over Me by J C Bodden!!

- WHAT made you come up with the idea for this book? 

- ANYONE you see in your mind when you think of Joe or any of the main characters?  (You know how I love to "see" it in my mind!)  

- WHY did Wagner smell like cigarettes and alcohol when he walked by Joe after he stabbed Amy?  Was he out getting schnockered at the local gin mill just prior?  Or was it done to throw the reader?  This made me think the killer wasn't Wags.  Brills on your part!

- WHAT ever happened to Joe’s father?  I hope it was something bad.  (Does that shower me with bad karma if these are fictional characters?) 

- WHAT is the new book about?  Assuming another mystery that revolves around Jennie's dad??

- WILL we see more Joe?!?!  (Lordddddddd...need to see more Joe!)  

I actually came up for the idea for this book long ago when I was a Resident Advisor in college at Auburn University - although there were more of us (one RA per hall) then than just the 'Jennie' character. There was a 'urban myth' about our particular dorm that a maintenance man actually did have a little hidey-hole up in the attic and drilled holes through the ceiling so he could spy on the girls below. I lived on the top floor of the dorm, so it was like our own personal ghost story that we would tell just to scare the bejeebers out of each other.  One time some of the other girls on the hall drew a picture of a blood shot eyeball with the words 'He's watching you!' and taped it on the ceiling right above my top bunk pillow so I didn't notice it until I laid down that night to go to sleep! Some of the other stuff mentioned - the water heaters going out, the fire alarm set off in the middle of the night - really did happen. But no one was ever murdered or kidnapped while I was there. And I don't know for sure if there was ever a creepy attic guy. :) 

When I first started writing the story, in keeping with that original myth, the bad guy was Joe, the maintenance guy... but as I wrote his character more and more I couldn't help but first of all, feel sorry for the little kid and then, later, fall in love with the adult. So, of course, he couldn't be the bad guy! And then, when I went back and read what I had wrote, I realized that Joe Haliday was basically my own dear husband - Jay! Well, now, let me back up. Jay is not deaf. Nor did he have a neglected childhood living with an alcoholic mother and then an indifferent father. And his eyes are green, not shockingly blue. But otherwise, yeah... Joe = Jay. Hell, they even have the same initials! I'll send you a picture of Jay in college so you can see what I mean.

HOT, party of THIS guy!

Wagner is a combination of two people I actually know also - looks-wise and personality-wise. Looks - one of my son's baseball coaches and personality - one of my former boyfriends. And I'm not saying anything more on that! (Although, once again, no one was ever killed or kidnapped or whatever. Plus, no animals were harmed in the making of this movie...)

As to Wagner's state when he walked by Joe after stabbing Amy... yeah, he was out getting a little lit up just before the attack - probably as a way to bolster his courage, the little shit. And also, he was good at pulling the wool over everyone's eyes, wasn't he? We thought he was one way when, really, he was something else all together. As far as trying to throw the reader, yeah, that's certainly part of it. I tired to do that repeatedly. I mean, I wanted you to love Joe and yet also wonder. I will say this, when Jay was reading it at one point he came to me and said, "If the bad guy is Joe then just go ahead and tell me now because I'm not going to read the rest of it." To which I replied, "Come on, baby. You know me. Do you think I would write a book I wouldn't like to read?"

As to Joe's father... I think we might see him in a later story line, but I don't know. Either that or he lived out the rest of his miserable existence in a state-supported nursing home, drooling onto his bathrobe, waiting for someone to come and visit him. I haven't really decided yet. (And the only karma it showers you with is fictional karma. Plus it's Joe's dad's karma, not yours. So you're safe. Double. I promise.)

The new book centers around Jennie's dad but Jennie and Joe are in it as well... And yes, it's a mystery. 

Hurricane Sandy

If you live in the Northeastern US, I hope you and your family are safe and didn't sustain damage to your home in Monday's storm.

I live at the Jersey shore and my family was extremely lucky.  Our neighborhood is set pretty high in town so my street didn't flood.  We also had unbelievable wind gusts but didin't lose any trees, which is much more than I can say for many homes on my block.  At this point we have no power/heat/hot air...but we have a generator running here and there for some essentials and our sump pump is keeping our basement dry.  The electric company has given us an estimate of 10 - 15 days without power and we have been informed our kids will not be going back to school until that time.  But - again - we feel absolutely blessed to be alive and living under our own roof.

I cannot tell you how helpless we all feel here at the shore.   So many people are without homes and an indescribable number of our beloved landmarks have vanished.  The devastation is just impossible to truly comprehend.

Please say a prayer - or offer up a silent moment - for the people whose lives are forever changed because of this horrific storm.

*** The above drawbridge is in my town.  The boats you see were dry docked at a marina nearby and were picked up and carried away by raging floodwaters.   That marina is on the exact site where once stood the Union Salt Works.  The salt works were burned down in April 1778 by British loyalists who were trying to cripple this area by removing the only way to preserve meat and other foods.  Against all odds, after repairs, the salt works were once again operational...as will be the Jersey Shore in the coming months and years.  

Outlander Chat is ON Tonight!

Outlander Chat tonight.  9PM Eastern.

No Outlander Chat Tonight

Outlander chat is canceled this evening so the Americans can hoot and holler at our television screens during the final Presidential debate before the upcoming November elections.

See you next week!!

All 16 and 17 Year Olds to Have Vote on Scottish Independence

Ho-Ly-Cow, sassenachs...this Telegraph post (by Patrick Hennessy) talks about a HUGE factor in the upcoming referendum for independence in Scotland in 2014.

"The Scottish Government will pay for a voter registration programme so that all 16 and 17 year olds can vote in the independence referendum, Alex Salmond has announced."

I fully admit that if this were going on here in the US for the upcoming Presidential election, I'd be freaking out.  Some 16 year olds are still too immature to grasp a decision of this magnitude   But because it's Scottish independence we're talking about...I think I'm all for it!

Libertarian Jamie?

Outlander Chat Tonight

Outlander Chat tonight.  9PM Eastern.