GHOSTS: TO BELIEVE OR NOT TO BELIEVE

As I’ve been preparing for the release of my newest cozy mystery, ‘Tis the Witching Time, I’ve asked my Facebook readers if they believe in ghosts. I’ve received some fascinating responses. I also promised to answer this question myself:  

I do believe in ghosts. As one commenter, who is a believer, said, “The proof is in the pudding.”

My tale begins almost three years ago…

I have no idea why I decided to start reading an Anne Rice book just before my husband had three business trips over the course of three weeks. When I’m home alone this big old house does a lot of settling and creaking, and things tend to go bump in the night. Reading a scary book at night when you’re alone in the house is not a good idea. One night, after two hours of reading in bed, I was sure that there was some kind of entity in my house and it was going to do something during the night. Maybe just your basic minor destruction—I was fairly confident that it didn’t want to hurt me.

The next morning I discovered the first of what would become a series of strange occurrences that would take place over the next several weeks. It turns out that SOME entity knocked my high school graduation picture off the shelf where it had happily sat for many years, shattering the glass in the frame all over the floor. The following week I was alone in the house and felt something tug on the hood of my sweatshirt. Sometime later my husband came home from one of those business trips. Shortly after getting home he walked into his office downstairs. A minute later he called upstairs to me, “What happened to my desk? Why is everything shoved to one side?” There were a few other odd happenings as well, but these are good examples of what was going on in my house.

Our ‘ghost’ became a running joke. And, by the way, a ghost is much preferable to some rodent in my house, and we never found any evidence that there was one. But we did come to the conclusion that if we did have a ghost it was acting up because we were doing some work on the house to prepare it for sale. We thought it didn’t like the idea of us leaving. We never did put it on the market…the Portland market became too crazy.

Fast forward several months.

In November, we had family members (names will not be used to protect the innocent) staying with us for ten days while they waited for their dead furnace to be replaced. One member of the family slept downstairs on the couch in the family room, along with their family dog. I HAD NEVER TOLD THEM ANYTHING ABOUT OUR POSSIBLE GHOST. 

On Thanksgiving morning, a week after they had moved back home, we were all doing the local Turkey Trot Walk. While we were going up a steep hill, the family member who had slept downstairs said to me, “Is your house haunted?” Or maybe she said, “Did you know your house is haunted?” I really can’t remember now. I laughed and told her that we had been having some strange things happen, and were starting to wonder. But in a HaHa sort of way. 

She went on to say, “Well, one night while I was downstairs, I saw a ghost. And felt it.”

About this time, I started to think if the steep hill didn’t kill me, this news just might.

Subsequent questioning revealed that one night she saw a foggy cloud that had formed not far from where she was sitting. There was no form to it, so she couldn’t say whether it was male or female. She said again that she could feel something—something not normal, something ghostly. She showed me exactly where it had been. It was less than two feet from where my picture had flung itself to the floor. Remember, she knew nothing about that prior to this discussion.

Once the minor remodeling was finished, the ghost became quiet again. From what I've read this is common behavior for ghosts. ;-)

In ‘Tis the Witching Time I describe a possible ghost exactly as my family member described what she saw. 

This blog post includes parts of two previous posts I wrote when these things were occurring. Just now I saw how I ended the last post I wrote two years ago, and it made me smile.

Now, I just need to channel this into a good ghost story book…

I had forgotten I’d written that. But, YAY, I did write my ghost story book!!

‘Tis the Witching Time will be available as an ebook from Amazon, on Tuesday, October 18^th. Here’s a little bit about this fun new STRATFORD UPON AVONDALE mystery:

It’s the Samhain Harvest Festival in Stratford Upon Avondale! A time for all things magical and mysterious. And maybe a little…murderous.

When a self-proclaimed psychic comes to town for Samhain, her tarot card readings become the talk of the village. But when the readings start coming true is it just luck, or something a bit more supernatural? And how could she have correctly predicted the murder that shocks the town during the festivities? Unless she had something to do with it…    

Tea room owner and amateur sleuth, Maggie O’Flynn, finds herself questioning her lack of belief in the supernatural when the uncle of a friend is murdered, and the visiting psychic and her niece become mixed-up in the investigation. Clairvoyance, ghosts, things that go bump in the night—how much of it is real?

Stepping Out of the Pages...

A few weeks ago, while greeting people at my mother-in-law’s memorial service, I experienced a moment when I felt as if I’d just stepped into a Stephen King novel. Or a Twilight Zone episode. Whichever it was, I was absolutely unprepared for it.

A character from my STRATFORD UPON AVONDALE mysteries stepped up to me and offered her condolences!

I know my face certainly must have shown my shock, but the woman handled the situation just as my character would have done. She graciously pretended my jaw hadn’t dropped, my eyes weren’t bugging right out of their sockets, and I wasn’t stammering words that didn’t make any sense.

Ruth Williams. I’d just met one of my favorite characters from Stratford. When I created this cozy mystery series I knew I wanted the series to continue through several books, so I made sure I created characters with which I’d enjoy spending lots of time. Villains aside, each character is someone I could be friends with. Yes, their personalities run the usual human gamut, from charming to sassy, to eccentric or quirky. But I like them. Some more than others, but I feel affection for each and every one.

However, some are in a class by themselves. Ruth Williams is one of those. As I describe her in book three—in progress—Ruth is an elegant yet warm and friendly African American woman, with kind eyes that let a person know she’s always there to listen. In her mid-sixties, Ruth quickly became a surrogate mother to my protagonist, Maggie O’Flynn, when Maggie moved into the village.

And here I was in the vestibule of the church, making a fool of myself in front of my dear Ruth Williams. Or Mrs. Johnson, as it happened. Though I immediately recognized Mrs. Johnson as my Ruth, this was a Ruth twenty years into the future, as the sweet woman standing before me was in her late eighties.

But she wore a flowered dress right from Ruth’s closet, a hat that Ruth had just worn in Maggie’s tea room in COME, BITTER POISON, and pumps with heels I wouldn’t dare try to wear, but Mrs. Johnson moved so gracefully in those high heels, just as Ruth would have done. Most importantly, her smile was warm and welcoming and she kindly ignored all of my apparent stroke symptoms.

Time for a confession. I had a hard time paying attention during the service. All I could think about was that somewhere in the pews behind me sat the living embodiment of a person I had made up! Ruth Williams, as much as I love her, is not real. But there in that church this lovely woman sat, remembering my mother-in-law.

While chatting with family and friends during the reception I tried to remember if I’d ever met Mrs. Johnson, and had somehow brought that image to mind when I was writing Ruth. I asked one of my husband’s cousins about her and learned that she had been their grandmother’s next-door neighbor. Wheels started turning in my head—had I met her years earlier while visiting with my husband’s adorable grandmother? Grandma Mary died twenty-five years ago. So if I had met Mrs. Johnson, and I was starting to think I had, she would have been about Ruth William’s age at the time.

I steeled myself and set out for the table where Mrs. Johnson sat with our cousins. I gushed, and giggled, and finally came clean with her. I told her all about how I was a mystery writer and that she was the living embodiment of one of my favorite characters. I feared her reaction so much I nearly bumped over someone’s lemonade that sat near me. Her smile lit up the room! She couldn’t have been more pleased. I went on to tell her that I might have met her at Grandma Mary’s house and just maybe my subconscious put her in my books. I told her about all of Ruth’s lovely qualities and she was tickled pink.

My dear mother-in-law, Dorothy, never got to read any of my books, and I know she would have enjoyed the cozies. But I can’t help but wonder if Mrs. Johnson was a little gift from Dorothy. A seal of approval for my writing.

Because she couldn’t have picked a better character to bring to life for me.

MY RELATIONSHIP WITH SHAKESPEARE—400 YEARS AFTER HIS DEATH

 

I’ve got a thing going on…with William Shakespeare.

Yes, I’ve been spending quite a bit of time with the Bard recently. I’ve always had a special affinity for Will, but over the past six months it has become a more intimate relationship.

As in, I’ve been borrowing his words, his lines, even the superstitions surrounding at least one of his plays.

And, like people all over the world, I’m celebrating William Shakespeare this month. This Saturday it will be 400 years since he died—April 23, 1616.

My love for Shakespeare’s work led me to set my new cozy mystery series in a fictional American small town renowned for its Shakespeare Festival. I’m borrowing the Bard’s words for my titles, and am having a wonderful time weaving Shakespeare’s words and quite a bit of Bard trivia throughout the books.

But when I set out to write this series I had missed the fact that this month, the month the first two books in the Stratford Upon Avondale Mysteries were released, was also the month the world would be celebrating the 400^th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. So, I can’t help but celebrate along with the world. I mean, I’m taking my titles straight from him, I’m quoting his sonnets and plays in my books, I owe him a little celebration!

However, if I’m celebrating the great writer’s life because I’ve been quoting him left and right, then you, dear reader, should too. You quote him daily. Have you been feeling a little generous lately? Gone on a rant about something? Taken the kids out to watch for shooting stars? Are you fashionable, or maybe instead, frugal? Ever given into the green-eyed monster? Tempted to elbow your way to the front of the line at Starbucks? Have any misgivings about a decision you made? Written a love letter? There are hundreds of words and phrases Shakespeare added to our language. We don’t go a day without borrowing some of his words.

As a mystery writer, I’m also borrowing from some of the curses associated with Will. In the second book in my series, COME, BITTER POISON, the famous Macbeth curse plays a role. In researching it and its ‘remedies’, I knew my sleuth, Maggie O’Flynn, would have to have a little run-in with this curse and its ramifications. Ever since Macbeth’s opening night on August 7, 1606 when the young actor playing Lady Macbeth died backstage before the show, the play has been haunted by superstitions and rumors of curses. To this day, no one is to say the word Macbeth in a theater except during the performance or rehearsal, otherwise tragedy is supposed to befall someone associated with the speaker. The play may only be referred to as ‘the Scottish play,’ or ‘the Bard’s play.’ If someone does say Macbeth there are remedies that must be performed to ward off evil, as Maggie unfortunately discovers. The fact that the play contains scenes with witches performing curses and spells most likely led to the superstitions that plague the play to this day. Double, double toil and trouble…

There have certainly been no curses on William Shakespeare’s legacy. What is remarkable is that 400 years after Shakespeare’s death we are still enamored with the glorious words and turns of phrase he wrote. His plays are still produced the world over. Students still study his work. We still speak the words he coined. And a little-known mystery writer is using the words he wrote to title her books, and to flavor those books.

So as we celebrate William Shakespeare this month, let us raise a toast. “Heaven give you many, many merry days!” (The Merry Wives of Windsor)

“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players: they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts…”

As You Like It

  

It's a Mystery!

YES, I’ve been AWOL for a while!! But there’s been a good reason…

I’ve recently been spending a significant amount of time in a charming little faux-English village, drinking tea, discussing Shakespeare, getting to know the inhabitants, and dreaming up ways those people can kill one another.

After a lifetime of reading mysteries I decided it was time to try my hand at writing one. I had a few requirements, though, going into this adventure. It had to be a series so I could enjoy building my world and developing characters my readers and I would care about over time. But more importantly, the books needed to be cozy mysteries. (Cozy mystery: a mystery subgenre in which the violence takes place ‘off stage’ or is downplayed, and there is little or no sexual content. They often take place in charming, small communities.)

Now, when it comes to reading mysteries, I read all the subgenres: traditional, cozy, police procedural, psychological thriller, etc. While I don’t mind reading the more gory stuff, I know I wouldn’t enjoy writing it. Cozies fit the bill perfectly.

Once I conceived of the general premise for the series I spent a delightful afternoon building my world. If I was going to be spending a lot of time there it had to be a place I’d enjoy. As an Anglophile, the setting of my series is as English as it can be without actually being set in England. STRATFORD UPON AVONDALE is nestled into a bucolic corner of a Western state of the U.S. It’s claim to fame is its renowned Shakespeare Festival and the über-faux English look of the charming village. It is in this delightful setting that Maggie O’Flynn, ex-novice nun turned steamy romance writer tries out her burgeoning amateur sleuth skills. And she has to do so while running her shop, the Merry Wives Tea Room.

This project has been so much fun so far, that I liken it to playing with paper dolls when I try to explain it to non-writer friends. Books one and two come out in ebook form on Tuesday, April 12^th. Book three is waiting, rather impatiently, to be written. It’s been shouting at me a lot, as I’ve been busy on the final touches on one and two.

Here’s a bit more about the first two books in the STRATFORD UPON AVONDALE MYSTERY series. 

 ALAS, SHE DROWNED

Murder. Betrayal. Duplicity.

When ex-novice nun, turned steamy romance writer, Maggie O’Flynn moves to the charming village of Stratford Upon Avondale to open a tea room she expects plenty of murders, betrayal, and duplicity. On the stages of the town’s renowned Shakespeare Festival. But when a theater critic is found murdered on the town’s riverbank and the prime suspect turns out to be the sexy bookshop owner Maggie has had her eye on, she takes matters into her own hands. Will she be able to dig through the layers of betrayal and duplicity to find the true murderer before that handsome bookseller, Nate Larimer, finds himself behind bars? With the help of her loud, brash, spitfire of a friend, Gina Mattucci, Maggie plans to do just that.

With a bit of Shakespeare, copious amounts of tea, and a faux-English setting to rival anything the real England has to offer, ALAS, SHE DROWNED is the first book in THE STRATFORD UPON AVONDALE mystery series. Lovers of cozy mysteries will find a cozy home in Stratford Upon Avondale.   Available April 12th from Amazon:  http://amzn.to/1mnU2Ii

COME, BITTER POISON

 

Sexy film star. Long-held secrets. Murder by poison.

When international stage and film star Miles Elliot comes to Stratford Upon Avondale to play MacBeth, Maggie O’Flynn is thrilled. He’s been her actor crush for years. But when Miles ends up at the center of a murder investigation Maggie finds herself slipping back into the role of amateur sleuth. Before long many of her friends become suspects in not just one murder, but two. Maggie must discover who’s poisoning people associated with the Shakespeare Festival before one of her friends gets slapped with a murder charge. And she must do so while dodging paparazzi that are stalking her due to a supposed love affair she’s having with Miles Elliot.

With a bit of Shakespeare, copious amounts of tea, and a faux-English setting to rival anything the real England has to offer, COME, BITTER POISON is the second book in THE STRATFORD UPON AVONDALE mystery series. Though part of a series, COME, BITTER POISON can be read and enjoyed as a standalone. Lovers of cozy mysteries will find a cozy home in Stratford Upon Avondale.

Available April 12th from Amazon:  http://amzn.to/1mnU2Ii

OUTLANDER Season 1, Episode 13: The Watch

 

STARZ OUTLANDER

My initial reaction to “The Watch” was ‘meh’. But I’ve changed my mind. All in all, I think it was actually rather good. In this episode we get to know more about Jenny and Ian, understand the constant threat of capture that’s been hanging over Jamie’s head for years, and see Jenny and Claire bonding over childbirth and worry for their husbands. But most importantly, we see Jamie NOT come home. That last point sets up the rest of the series.

By the way, I read the other day that some of “The Watch” came from a companion novella Diana Gabaldon wrote, rather than from the book, which would explain why I don’t remember ever reading some bits. This made the episode feel fresh, new.

THINGS I LIKED IN ‘THE WATCH’:

1. Jenny. She’s quickly becoming a favorite of mine. And, oh my goodness, that labor lasted for days! I could almost feel each contraction with her. She’s smart, feisty, courageous, and witty. In other words, I want her to be my friend!

2. The scenes with the Watch. I almost put this in the ‘Not Like” column, but after thinking about it I can better appreciate why we had to see so much of them. They carried with them such a threat of violence it was almost palpable. This is what the Highlanders had to put up with if they wanted any protection against the British. This is what Jenny, Ian, and Jamie have had to put up with all their lives. And this could be a mortal danger to Jamie with the price on his head. I swear I could smell their stench. Kudos to the actors and the make-up and wardrobe people.

 

STARZ OUTLANDER

3. Labor, Jenny and Claire scenes. Claire and Jenny are too similar to ever be BFF’s, but the scenes in this episode showed a growing respect for one another. I was thankful that Jamie and Ian were sent off with the Watch so that we could have time watching these two interact and bond. Also, we got some nice backstory about the Fraser family, especially Willie.

4. I was surprised! Usually I don’t like it when the series writers change things up from the book, but this time I was happy to be surprised with how Jamie got caught by the British. I was waiting for that nasty McNab man to turn him over, and I actually prefer this version.

THE ONE THING I DIDN’T LIKE ABOUT THE WATCH:

1. Jamie and Claire’s last scene together. It was FINE, but not great. Okay, I admit it, I would have liked some more melodrama, maybe more melodramatic, tension-filled music. Claire shows little emotion even though she knows her husband is going off to do a dangerous task—I would have liked seeing some concern in her eyes. Maybe a more emotional farewell. If I had never read the book the only clue I would have had that maybe they wouldn’t see each other for a while was that it went to slow motion as Jamie stepped away from Claire. Arggh.

And finally there’s this. Once again I find myself wondering about the development of Jamie’s character. I still don’t think the viewing audience has gotten so much as a glimpse of the Jamie the readers know from the books. Little has been done to develop the HERO character. The villain has been well developed. The heroine has been adequately developed. But I fear Jamie, AS A HERO has been woefully underdeveloped. There’s a reason why women readers all over the world are in love with Jamie Fraser. I doubt viewers who haven’t read the books are feeling that emotion.

Gird your loins for the upcoming episodes!

Slàinte mhath!

OUTLANDER Season 1 Episode 12: Lallybroch

STARZ OUTLANDER

How much more can we hate Black Jack Randall? Isn’t he the most despicable character ever? Yes, but we may have only scratched the surface of his evil. Shudder.

If this episode felt like we had turned the page into a new chapter of a book, it’s because we have. And because of that transition, this episode felt like we were reorienting ourselves. Jamie and Claire have arrived at his family home, Lallybroch. We are introduced not only to this home, but also to the family he hasn’t seen in years, as he has had a price on his head. And just like with most any family that has been separated for years, the reunion doesn’t go very smoothly…at first. We also learn a little about his role as laird and we see some of his tenants, including the McNab family who will soon become more important. This was an ‘orientation to Lallybroch’ episode.

JENNY!! Jamie’s sister is superbly played by Laura Donnelly. Jenny is just as feisty and irascible as she is in the book. Jenny and Jamie’s prickly relationship has been written beautifully for the series. I’m happy all the way around with Jenny and the occasionally difficult sibling relationship.

 

STARZ OUTLANDER

Ian. I’m not one to whine about a character not looking like they are supposed to as described in a book, but if I wanted to complain about Ian’s appearance I could. In the books he is tall and painfully thin. But forgetting that, I like the character he is, as it is being acted in this episode. Book Ian is a wise man, calm, kind, and strong. I could see hints of those characteristics in this episode, and hope to see more of them in the future. Ian is a favorite character of mine, and I suspect of many a reader, so it is important to get him right.   

Lallybroch, the house. In the books, this house, and its land, is a character as much as a setting, so I was very anxious to see it—to see if it looked like I saw it in my mind’s eye. Before I say anything, I should say Diana Gabaldon has addressed this very topic, and she gives everything her blessing, so it is really not up to me to say otherwise. But I will. Lallybroch is a house that was supposed to be built in the 18^th Century, but this house is obviously a few centuries older. To the casual viewer that probably doesn’t sound important, but I think it is, especially as the book series continues. I can’t say more than that without major spoilers, but let’s just say it should probably have been a more ‘modern’ house. It’s gorgeous though, and I love the look of it, especially Jamie’s and Claire’s room, and the tapestries downstairs. Sumptuous. Perhaps a little too sumptuous??

Now back to Randall for a moment. First, we had the horrifying scene of his attempted rape of Jenny. While all of it was awful, as it should have been, the part where he’s putting his finger that’s covered with Jamie’s blood into her mouth was truly stomach-turning. And very well played by both actors. The tension was palpable.

And then there’s Randall’s role in Brian Fraser’s death. Worse than the scars that Jamie carries on his back is the scar that will always haunt him—his father’s death. It’s hard to read about, but it was so much harder to watch.

It was time for some comic relief by the time Jamie went up to the mill to repair it. Jamie in the icy water, Claire and Jenny acting nonchalant while the British soldiers stop by, forcing Jamie to stay under water far too long. Played with a light hand, it was a fun scene, despite the feeling that there was some dark foreshadowing going on.

We’ve turned the page, and we have a wild ride ahead of us.

Slàinte mhath!

OUTLANDER: Season 1, Episode 11 The Devil's Mark

STARZ OUTLANDER

[This post comes with all the usual Spoiler Alerts—proceed with caution if you haven’t seen this episode.]

If you can get through some tiresome courtroom scenes, this episode holds many little, special gems and some big emotional moments. This is an episode some of us Outlander readers have been waiting for—for a couple of reasons:

TWO BIG REVELATIONS and ONE GIGANTIC TURNING POINT IN THE STORY

1. First Revelation: Geillis isn’t a witch, she is a time traveler.

The episode opens with Claire and Geillis in the Thieves’ Hole, a lovely little place with wet, slimy walls, rats, and hard jagged rocks to rest upon. Their time in the Hole becomes a bonding opportunity for the falsely accused women. I don’t remember that being quite the case in the book, nor do I remember Geillis being so kind and compassionate. Ever. In any scene. Though she obviously isn’t a witch, she kind of is…in that she has a streak of evil in her. Other than confessing to murdering her husband, she comes across as a lovely person. NO!!

Throughout their time in the hole, Geillis is trying to get Claire to admit to something that Geillis has suspected pretty much since they first met. When Claire, horrified at their prospects, quotes Nathan Hale’s “I only regret I have but one life to lose for my country,” which was said in 1776, Geillis needs no further proof. She knows what Claire is. But I don’t think the audience knew what Geillis was thinking—not the ones who hadn’t read the book, anyway. It was played coolly and ambiguously by Lotte Verbeek.

Though I quickly tired of the trial scenes, I loved Ned Gowan, and cheered when he made his way into the courtroom. Yay, Ned! He tries valiantly, but with a crowd hungry for a witch burning, there is little he can do. In the end the best he can come up with is for Claire to blame Geillis for everything. When the two women are alone, Geillis, knowing her time is short, asks Claire, “WHY are you here?” meaning HERE in Scotland, HERE in this time. Claire, being a little thicker than usual, hasn’t fully caught on to Geillis’ implied meaning, and tells her it was an accident, that she doesn’t think it is possible for her to get back home.  If you were unfamiliar with this story and hadn’t caught on to the fact that Geillis was also a time traveler, you probably did right about now. Geillis, frustrated and despondent, says, “You don’t want to change things. It was all for nothing.” We found out in the hole that Geillis is a Jacobite—she is in that time because she wants to change the political outcome. That someone just landed there by accident is a sad waste in her mind.

Claire refuses to blame Geillis—all that bonding and everything. Just before Claire gets a pre-burning flogging, Geillis tells Claire, “I think it IS possible.” Claire looks confused, then Geillis says, “1968.” Again Claire isn’t as quick on the uptake as she normally is, and still this means nothing to her. Fortunately Jamie arrives in the nick of time to rescue Claire from the burning. Geillis very bravely chooses this opportunity to take the blame, pronounce that she is carrying Satan’s spawn, and clear the way for Claire to get to leave. As she makes the ludicrous statements, she shows her “Devil’s Mark” which Claire recognizes as a small pox vaccine scar. FINALLY Claire realizes that Geillis is a time traveler as she puts together the vaccine with the ‘1968’. She knows Geillis traveled from 1968. And now the audience does too.

2. Second Revelation: Claire reveals to Jamie that she is from the future.

This scene is one of my very favorite from all of the books in this series. And for the most part I was pleased with how it was brought to life.

After rescuing Claire and tending to her injuries from the flogging, Jamie asks her to tell him the truth: is she a witch? He asks because he has seen the mark on Claire’s arm, the same kind that Geillis said was the Devil’s Mark. She explains that she isn’t, but that after he hears what she has to say he may wonder about that. She tells him what the mark is, how she can never catch small pox because of it, that she knew about Randall and when he will die, about the doomed Jacobite cause, etc. “I am from the future…I was born in 1918.” Jamie looks a little stunned. He tells her he believes her because he trusts her, but that he does not yet understand what she’s said. She goes on to tell him everything—about how she was a combat nurse and the war all the way to how she came through the stones. Jamie is nicely devastated about his actions after she tried to run away, now that he knows WHY she did it. Loving, tender moments ensue.

 

STARZ OUTLANDER

3. One gigantic turning point in the story: Claire makes a choice.

After Claire’s revelations, she and Jamie travel for several days to get far from the witch hunters. Throughout this time he tells her all about his home, Lallybroch. She’s a little ambivalent about settling there. When they finally, after days of travel, reach a crest of a hill, Jamie asks her if she’s ready to go home. Still ambivalent about Lallybroch, she looks over the hill and sees the stone circle. Jamie’s brought her to the place that will allow her to go home, to her time, to her husband. Their farewell is heartbreaking, there are tears, maybe mine too, and Jamie tells her he will stay nearby until he knows she’s safe.

We see her approach the stone, and then we hear the noise that means she’s traveled, or maybe it’s the noise that means the episode is over, and the screen goes black. What a horrible place for it to end! But NO! There’s more. Jamie is asleep next to a campfire. It is now night. Claire is there. She wakes him. She tells him to “Take me home to Lallybroch.” Yeah, I was crying now.

CLAIRE HAS MADE A CHOICE! She had two choices: Frank and the 20^th century, or Jamie and the 18^th century. We have always known she loved Frank, all we heard about for MANY episodes was how much she wanted to get back to the stones and Frank. But she has a greater love now, and she can’t bring herself to leave him. Jamie. TURNING POINT—Claire has turned her back on her 20^th century life, and has decided to embrace her 18^th century life. This is a game changer, and it makes the rest of the story possible.

Slàinte mhath!