DI & I
(With apologies to Peter Lefcourt.)

So how perfect was my Labor Day afternoon? There I was, sitting in the bar area of the Algonquin Hotel, finally having the opportunity to meet face-to-face with my longtime Internet friend, the best-selling novelist Diana Gabaldon (who, by the way, is every bit as attractive as her author photo) and dish about writing and writers. And Diana had even purchased a copy of STARS for me to sign, and how sweet was that? A best-selling novelist, with millions of copies of books in print in dozens of languages, went out and bought my book.*

And then -- after practicing pronouncing her last name time and time again -- what slipped out of my mouth? Gabaldon with a short 'O', as in don, rather than a long 'O', as in stone, which is the proper way to pronounce Gabaldon.

Sigh. You are now free to pronounce my last name BY-rones.

Once.


* FYI, I also brought her a signed copy, so now she has two. If you're nice to her, maybe she'll give you her spare.