Lallybroch community

My current shameless Internet addiction is the Ladies of Lallybroch online community. The Ladies of Lallybroch is a fan community for the writings of Diana Gabaldon. Ms Gabaldon (we call her "Herself", "Diana" or "DG")'s most popular work is the series of six big thick novels beginning with Outlander that tells the story of Claire Beauchamp Randall Fraser, a 20th century time traveler in the 18th century, and James Alexander Malcolm Mackenzie Fraser, the man she falls in love with and, somewhat bigamously, married.

I visit the LOL message boards several times a day. I check in first thing in the morning for the Quote of the Day and to see what's going on. I drop by a couple of times during the work day for developments on the Social Board and to check the Kirk in case someone I know has a problem, or I can provide support to someone. Then I check again before bedtime in case the quote has been posted early, and to check for new developments on some of the other boards. I don't post much, maybe weekly or less, but that doesn't make my involvement any less satisfying.

I've also been involved with some offline activities, such as the massive meetup at the Fergus Scottish Festival in Fergus Ontario, a Boston get-together and the sending of gifts and cards to Herself.

I first discovered the Books two years ago, I think mostly because of their heft - I love a big juicy book, and historical time travel can be big fun. I was immediately hooked and spent every spare and stolen moment devouring Outlander, Dragonfly in Amber, Voyager, Drums of Autumn, and The Fiery Cross. Then I found the Outlandish Companion and a related book, Lord John and the Private Matter.

Now it seems only logical that the Books would work on me in this way, and it's hard to think back and explain exactly what extraordinary effect they had on me and why.

The main characters are strong and well-developed. Claire is a few years older than the man, married, sexually experienced, smart but still capable of making dumb decisions. The man is handsome, sexy, strong, etc. but very much a man of his time, without being cruel or brutish. The situations they find themselves in don't exist only to further/hinder the relationship between them. Family and community loom larger than they do in a "romance novel".

The other thing that makes these books different from the usual historical romance is that after Outlander (boy meets girl, boy gets girl, trials and tribulations, boy keeps girl), the books diverge even from this formula. Dragonfly in Amber is an immediate sequel, with little time for happily ever after. The later books take place twenty years later with a middle aged Jamie and Claire trying to make their way in the world under challenging circumstances. Over the course of the thousands of pages there are elements of farce, thriller, and mystery as well as the "historical adventure" that the author states that the books are.

Once I discovered the books and devoured them in the kind of frenzy I hadn't enjoyed since my adolescent years, I was completely immersed in all things Jamie, Claire, 18th C, you name it, and I had to find an outlet for my obsession. Thank heavens for the Internet! There are a number of online communities for Gabaldon fans, but the most active and accessible is the Ladies of Lallybroch. LOL is run as a benevolent dictatorship by its owner Judie. It's the smoothest-running online community I have ever encountered, despite not requiring membership or passwords.

The rules are simple: Only positive remarks about the books and author; no religion or politics; be nice to each other; no under-18s. Because of the relatively high amount of traffic, posts are segregated by topic on separate message boards: one for open discussion of the books (with a quote of the day by a volunteer), one for structured book group-like discussion of the books, one for social chat, and the "kirk", for people in need of support or advice. There are also some ancillary boards for book reviews and the like.

I came for the books and stayed for the people. The membership of LOL spans continents and ages, providing an interesting cross-section of experiences and perspectives. This year I participated in a Christmas card exchange where I sent out a couple of dozen cards to complete strangers and received as many back. This fed my child desire to get lots of colorful mail and hang it on the wall. For two years I've also participated in the Secret Santa, involving a name draw, a dedicated Santa board for clues and gift suggestions, and of course presents! The first year my giftee was in New Zealand (should have bought a lighter gift as the postage was a killer!) and my Santa was from Germany. She made me these beautiful hand-decorated personalized ceramic mugs with themes from the books (thistle and Fraser crest). This year my giftee was a single mom in Texas and I sent gifts for her and her young son. My Santa forgot me but the elves made sure I was well taken care of.

My friends are getting used to my sharing information I learned from my "online book group", whether it be about pagan holidays or Brazilian waxing (ouch!).

My Lallypals have also influenced my selections in music, introducing me to the genre known as "Celtic Rock". One favorite that plays at a lot of Scottish festivals is Clan An Drumma. Lately I've been listening to Carbon Leaf, and I hope to get tickets to a local show by the Lally-favorite Great Big Sea.