“OUTLANDER” CREATOR
∗ Born January 11, 1952 in Williams
∗ Grew up in Flagstaff; grandfather Harold Sykes was Flagstaff’s mayor in the 1940s; father Tony Gabaldon was elected to the Arizona State Senate in 1976 and served for 16 years; Gabaldon Hall dormitory at Northern Arizona University is named after him
∗ Attended NAU, earning a bachelor of science degree in zoology; earned a master of science in marine biology from the University of California’s Scripps Institution of Oceanology in San Diego; earned a Ph.D in quantitative behavioral ecology from NAU
∗ Taught anatomy and other subjects as a full-time assistant professor at Arizona State University in the 1980s
∗ Wrote software reviews and technical articles for computer publications, as well as popular-science articles and Scrooge McDuck Disney comic books
∗ Wrote Outlander, published in 1991, about a British nurse in 1945 who inadvertently travels back to 1743 Scotland and meets the love of her life; was named best romance of the year by the Romance Writers of America
∗ Wrote seven subsequent books in the Outlander series, all best-sellers; the series has sold more than 28 million copies in 26 countries and has been translated into 23 languages; wrote four best-selling books in the Lord John spin-off series, featuring a character from Outlander
∗ Wrote “Dirty Scottsdale” in Phoenix Noir, a 2009 collection of mystery stories that take place in specific Phoenix-area locations
∗ Wrote The Exile, a 2010 graphic novel based on the Outlander story
∗ Serves as co-producer and advisor to the Outlander TV series, which debuted in 2014 on Starz cable network and is based on her books
∗ Lives in Scottsdale with husband Doug Watkins; has three adult children, including fantasy author Sam Sykes; has also kept her Flagstaff family home
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