Which genres do you especially enjoy reading? And which do you avoid?
I find it hard to get into fiction these days. I prefer something based on real life, similarly with film and TV. I used to be into horror, but cannot read anything scary in my old house in Scotland. It just feels too real!
What books are on your night stand?
For “Embassy,” the TV show that I’m shooting, I have a few true-life military accounts (“Soldier ‘I,’” “Break Point”), and books by Andy McNab (“The Rescue,” “Seven Troop”). Also a couple of books on Everest and the Himalayas, following my trip there, including a battered copy of “The Ascent of Everest,” by John Hunt, that I found in a secondhand shop in the Swiss Alps.
What book might people be surprised to find on your shelves?
A few positive mind-set books, including “Notes From the Universe,” which is bursting full of joy and positivity. I’m trying to reset my brain into being more positive; as we get older and are bombarded by negative news and social media, it’s important to maintain an open heart.
What’s the last great book you read?
While in Stratford-upon-Avon playing the title role of “Macbeth” at the Royal Shakespeare Company, I was lucky to participate in a special event with Sir Ian McKellen and Dame Judi Dench. I had read Judi’s “Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent” and thought it exquisite. Her personal insights are touching and witty. She has such a deep love, history (and friendship?) with Shakespeare that her soul is connected to the very stones of the building.
You’ve published five books during the run of “Outlander.” How did you find the time?
I’m lucky that I have been writing about my passions and experiences. It’s easier to recall and write about a situation or landscape than create one imaginatively. I really enjoyed the “Clanlands” series (documenting my travels in a camper van around Scotland and New Zealand). It was fun to create characterizations around myself and Graham McTavish, my grumpy travel companion, and slightly embellish the adventures/mishaps that we had. I think I’m naturally quite a romantic writer, leaning into alliteration and lyrical language, but whenever I read any of it back I want to rewrite it all.
Leave a Reply