THE FIERY CROSS has made it to the finals!

Diana Gabaldon's THE FIERY CROSS has made it to the finals of Audible.com's Tournament of Audiobooks, crushing Haruki Murakami's 1Q84 in the semi-finals by a very decisive 86%-14%, out of a total of 3423 votes cast. Congratulations to Diana and to Davina Porter!

Voting in the final round has now started. This round pits THE FIERY CROSS against THE INFORMATIONIST by Taylor Stevens. (I know nothing about THE INFORMATIONIST or its author.)

From the voting page:

Editors Picks #7 The Informationist: A Thriller vs. Customer Favorites #5 The Fiery Cross

An Editors’ Pick that was nearly last picked. A Customer Favorite that was far from the favorite. These are the duelists we’ll watch in the final. The Fiery Cross was initially given short shrift by yours truly and then impressed all spectators throughout the tournament in a voting frenzy that razed every single opponent. The Informationist did not make as loud a ruckus in its race to the end, but here it stands all the same. Both books have incredibly loyal followings that vaulted them into the Finals. Info author Taylor Stevens has mounted a social media campaign that may have put her over the top in several match-ups. It’s a strong debut and a great start to her new series, but we were all surprised by her run. The unabridged edition of The Fiery Cross was added to our store this year. As the fifth book in one of our most popular series, its tourney run has the support of both the author and her loyal fan base. Will Cross enjoy another tremendous turnout, or will The Informationist thrill once more?

Prediction: The winner’s circle will be a ring of fire; Gabaldon 64-36.

I would love to see that prediction come true. Everybody please take a moment to vote! This round ends on April 23. Let's keep Diana's momentum going!

Thanks to all of you who've voted in the tournament so far.= It's been fun.

*** IMPORTANT UPDATE ***

4/20/2012 6:14 am: Diana Gabaldon has posted this Open Letter to the Tournament of Audiobooks, conceding the final round to Taylor Stevens and THE INFORMATIONIST. It's been a good run, but Diana is asking her fans to stop voting now. Please respect her wishes. And please pass this on to anyone else you know who has been voting in the final round. Thanks.