Vivid Dreams

Lately, I have been having very vivid dreams. Usually they tend to be my own version of something we have watched earlier in the day and I dream about it. I've been dreaming about Planet Earth, as if I am one of the filmers of the show. I have dreamed I was in the movie "Glory". It about the black regiment during the Civil War. They all tend to be about something I have actually seen with my own eyes. But I have noticed, as I think more and more, remembering more and more what I dream about that I have mostly been dreaming about this series of books I have been reading. It doesn't make much sense to me because, well, I can't actually see, on a screen, what is going on the story...but then again I can see what is going on the story.

Most people who know me, know I LOVE to read. It is one of my favorite things to do. And, as most of you know me, if I am reading a series, I will not pick up a different type of book until I am finished with the whole series. Example, Harry Potter, One book came out every year for seven years, right? Well, when the first one came out, I read it over and over until the second one came out. When the second one came out, I read it and the first one, over and over, and so on and so on, until the 7th and final book was released. I read a few books after that, which we not part of a series. Then, my wonderful mother, who loves to read as well, introduced me to the Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon. She is a former zoologist/biologist who just wanted to see if she could write a book. One would think she would write about animals, right? Wrong. She writes historical fiction!!!

I bet you're thinking, someone who used to work with animals and such can not write a novel, let alone several novels about history, AND add their own story to it.

Well, my friends, it IS possible.

I'll tell you a little bit about the story line.

Outlander begins right after World War II, in England. Claire Randall is a young woman who is finally reunited with her husband after 6 years. They were married 6 weeks before the out break of the war in England. Her husband, Frank, was called as a captain and she went off to be a field nurse. After the war, they decide to take a second honeymoon to Inverness, Scotland. Inverness is located in the highland part of Scotland. Frank is a professor of history at Oxford and he is very much interested in the period of The Stewart Rising of 1745, when the Stewart's tried to overthrow the English monarchy in Scotland. He is most interested because his 6 times great grandfather was the Famous Black Jack Randall, a ruthless man who fought on the side of the English. Frank spends most of his time researching in Scotland. Claire, well, she could care less about stupid history. She is more interested in plants. What uses different herbs have for healing the body. So, while her husband spends all his time locked up in the archives, she spends most of her time wondering around town, and in the hillsides, looking for different plants. She comes to a Stone Circle. Stone Circles are believed to have magical powers, especially by those who still practice paganism. But, Claire, she's a Catholic, and she doesn't believe in that kind of stuff....a lot. She steers clear of going into the circle, but is drawn to a particular stone, which has a cleft in, it's really just split down the middle, large enough to fit a woman through. Right on the other side of the stone, Claire sees a plant which is most interesting. Being drawn to this plant, she steps through the split stone. Suddenly, she hears noises which remind her of death, everything goes black. She wakes, suddenly to be in the dark and feeling rain drops on her face. She stands, shakes herself off and begins to walk in the direction of her hotel. The only problem is, she can not seem to find the road. It has just disappeared. Then, she's grabbed from behind! Whipped around, to see none other then Frank...or so she thought. There was something a little different about him. Mainly, he was wearing an English uniform, from the mid 1700's. She thinks he's taken this Black Jack Randall thing a little too far. Before she can speak, Frank beings questioning her. But instead of asking what has happened, he asks who she is, what she is doing. She suddenly realizes she is NOT in her own time, but she must be dreaming. The way he was jerking her around felt all too real though. He starts calling her a witch. He ties her hands around her back and takes her with him. Then, out of nowhere, she hears these yells and calls, like Indians or something. Red cloth in her face, then Black Jack Randall falls to the ground. She is carried by some man, wearing a red kilt, with the reddest hair she had ever seen, to a cabin. She learns his name is Jamie Fraser. He saved her from Randall because he was going to have her tried as a witch and burned at the stake. She doesn't believe this a tries to get away...or wake up. They pretty much kidnap her, but it's for her own good. The English are searching the highlands for her. Jamie and his friends come up with a plan, Jamie will marry Claire and then, the English will have no way of arresting her. If you are not Scottish, and you marry a Scot, you then become Scottish yourself. She is very much against this. But she does it because she sees no way out...yet, but she will escape back to Frank somehow. Soon, she realizes she may never make it back to Frank and begins falling in love with Jamie.

The series is a love story, obviously, but is also a history lesson. With more then just love involved. It is the story about Jamie and Claire Fraser and all their adventures. They go to France, England. Claire goes back to her time...you'll have to read it to find out why she goes back. After 20 years, Claire goes back in time to try to find her one true love. They encounter pirates, witches, and eventually wind up in the Colonies right before the Revolutionary War.

So, I have been dreaming of this. I dream that I am apart of the story, that somehow Jamie and Claire know me and we are friends. I get to go on all their adventures with them. I am on the fifth book in the series, there is one more which is already out and another one to be coming soon. I have not read another book while I have been reading this series, I just keep reading the books over and over again. Every time I read them, I find something new. I catch something I didn't catch the first time, or the fifth time for that matter. They are such amazing books!

I HIGHLY recommend them for everyone! They are long. Each one is about 1000 pages or more. But they are so great! They are so descriptive and make you feel as though you are watching everything they are going through. They are just really great books! So, if you are looking for a great read, go to your library, get Outlander and enjoy!


And just so everyone knows...I read these books before I met Andy, and I thought he was lying when he said his last name was Fraser because I was telling him about these books and how I have a HUGE crush on Jamie Fraser. He showed me his license and everything...I still thought he was lying...hahahaha