A plea by an audience member for Diana Gabaldon to complete her Outlander series before the avid fan died, was dismissed by the best-selling author.
"I suggest you take your vitamins," she said during a question and answer session.
The 57-year-old American author entertained the 400-strong audience in the Glenroy Auditorium last night, with the story of how she went from being a scientist to writing historical novels, which have sold more than 14 million copies worldwide.
Gabaldon said she chose historical novels because they had no genre constraints, and "you just look them up rather than make them up".
She said, much to the delight of the mainly female audience, how the series was inspired by an old television show Dr Who, which featured a young 18th-century Scottish man in a "fetching" kilt. .
After reading a segment from her latest novel, An Echo in the Bone, Gabaldon responded to written questions from the audience.
Most inquiries centred around when the Arizona-based novelist would complete her series - now on to its seventh book.
"You can have the book sooner, or you can look at me."
