I am Jim Butcher author of the Dresden Files and the new Cinder Spires series! Ask me anything!

[u/JimButcher]

Hi, I'm Jim Butcher. I'm the guy who takes credit for the Dresden Files, the Codex Alera, and one Spider-Man novel for Marvel. The Aeronaut's Windlass, the first book in the new Cinder Spires series, will be available September 29 from Roc. I've done a bunch of jobs, some of which sucked, some of which were fairly awesome, from selling vacuum cleaners to graveyard-shift tech-support for an ISP. The best part about my current job is that I can do it in my pajamas and I never, ever have to wear a freaking tie.

I like martial arts, boffer-weapon fighting, first person shooters on a PC, and I probably play a bit more League of Legends than is good for me. I read a lot. Go figure. I watch lots of nerd-compatible TV. I play a little guitar, a little keyboard, and I make noises which at times resemble singing. I shoot a little, mostly with the finest weapon technology the 1860s had to offer, when I'm not using the finest weapon technology the 1860s BC had to offer. I'm nearly adequate with either.

I will be around 2:30-4:30 PM ET to answer your questions!

[u/DaedalusMinion]

So Dresden has been going from regular Wizard to semi-immortal over the course of the last few books- when you first started writing Dresden, did you ever imagine him to be this strong later on or was it just something that happened as you wrote the books?

[u/Ilwrath]

Just want to say Jim you are tied for number one in category of "best author ever"(along with Sanderson please don't hate me for not deciding). Thank you so so much for the Dresden Files and the Codex.

Now If you were to roll a character for D&D what class do you think you would play?

Would Butters be able to repel a black Court vampire with Polka music?

Jut how hard is it to make those Warden swords that have fallen out of use since Lucio was reembodied?

If you had a Fury what kind do you think it would be?

And finally what in your life are YOU most excited for in the near future?

Again thank you so much for your work and you can't imagine how much love I have for it :)....even if you do commit evils onto Harry with such regularity!

[u/onetwo_three]

Hi Jim, Sorry for the Dresden focus.

1.) Will you make the Peace Talks dead line you mentioned of October first?

2.) What big book will you write after PT?

3.) Is Bonnie going to have free will like a human, or does she need to obey her sister every time Maggie picks her up? Is the answer somewhere in the middle?

4.) Do you have plans for a typical fieldtrip book? Lots of different characters who don't get along have to travel somewhere together.

5.) Aurora, Maeves and Sarissas father was an austrian composer. Even though austria is very old, is it reasonable to assume that they were conceived between 1500 and 1900.

6.) Is Nic older than Mab?

7.) You said before that Eb's wife was mortal, but is Eb's wife Harry's grandmother?

8.) Is it important, that Bonnie does not look like Molly?

Thanks for doing this Cheers

edit: formating

[u/Ilwrath → u/onetwo_three]

Did he officially name the spirit Bonnie?

[u/louisthe]

1)Are all red courts and black court vampires evil? I ask that because i want to play the Dresden files rpg with my friends and i wanted to create a character that was a RC Vampire, that still has a sense of honor and goodness,like angel and Spike the red court are my favorites! is such a character possible in the Dresdenverse? 2)Were the Lords of Outer Night the Real and Actual Mayan gods,or were they vampires who took the names of gods that already existed? Was the True Kukullan watching as the Red King was Teased by harry? 3)In Grave Peril,when harry steals the magic of someone else to make himself stronger and even gets to do spells created by the person whose magic he stole,could a wizard do that kind of magical theft permantely? 4)is it true that a sidhe become stronger magically when people tell stories about said fairies or make deals with said fairies? Did lea became the second strongest being in Winter simply because she made a lot of deals and a lot of stories were told about her? 5)Were there any fairies that started their lifes as member os the little folk,but somehow got so strong they became sidhe? 6)we already seen some gods in the Dresdenverse,could you kindly give me any tidbit about the Titans in the Dresdenverse? 7)Is there any chance of the Fallen Angels in the coins redeem themselves and going back to being good guy angels? or is redemption simply impossible to them? 8)could you give any detail on Nicodemus and Anduriel relationship? do they see themselves as friends or brothers?or they don't see themselves as different beins at all,is the line between man and fallen angel even existent when those two are concerned?

[u/cookie_junkie]

Hi Jim! SO excited to get my hands on The Aeronaut’s Windlass. Been needing my Butcher fix for quite a while now, so I cannot wait to start The Cinder Spires series.

I wanted to share something super special with you that I think in some level you can relate to due to recent events in your personal life. About two months ago, my best friend and love of my life asked me to marry him. As is his style, he made it the most perfect and unique proposal for us by popping the question during our trip to Chicago in front of our favorite T-Rex in the world, Sue.

His first gift to me, ever, was a copy of Storm Front. I finished the entire book in less than 2 days, and our love for the Dresden Files, and your work in general, became one more of the bonds that brought us together. Our first “couple-costume” was during Space City Con where he dressed up as Michael Carpenter and I as Susan Rodriguez. We’ve talked about naming our first-born Octavian (yes, I’m totally serious), and we’ve had endless conversations on your characters, your stories, and what we think will happen next.

Anyway, I just wanted to thank you. You and your work have become an irreplaceable part of OUR story, and both times we’ve met you, you have been nothing but wonderful to these two fan boy/girl. We love telling our engagement story, and therefore I wanted to take this opportunity to share this with you, let you know you have a special place in our hearts, and needless to say, we would like to invite you to our wedding. I know you have a busy schedule, but if you have some time to come down to Texas and party with us, we’d love to have you there. I’ve messaged you a copy of our Save The Date :)

Live long and prosper, Jim!

Engagement Pic!

[u/nicolasmilioni]

MY FAVORITE WRITER IS DOING AN AMA?PRAISE!

*AlternaHarry from Mirror Mirror,is his magic different from the harry we already know

*What did Charity old wizard master gained from his deal with the dragon michael killed? the dragon got human sacrificies,and the wizard got what?

*If harry would fight arthur Langtry in a duel that both of them could use magic and magic only,would harry be able to win?

*could a spirit of knowledge like bob posses a powerful wizard,being able to use the vast knowledge of a spirit together with the magic of a mortal wizard?

spoilers to SKIN GAME IN MY NEXT QUESTION! (#s Is goodman grey able to steal magic from wizards like the first naagloshi we ever saw could?)

[u/plastgeek]

Hi, Jim!

I may be dead soon because I had to tell a half-truth to my mom about her favorite character who happens to have something unfortunate happen to them in Changes, which she starts reading soon!

In the past, you've said that the events that happened in Changes were supposed to happen in book 10 of the series. You have also indicated that the Denarians show up in books numbered in multiples of five. So if Changes had ocurred as planned, how would the Nickelheads have factored into what went down?

[u/-EG-]

Good afternoon Jim, thanks as always for doing these types of things.

I had one basic question and one sorta slightly more indepth one with a few parts to it:

A) Was the New Madrid earthquake event Eb's first act or job as Blackstaff?

B) Did Eb accidentally kill his wife during said event?

C) What was the reason for the event? What beings or circumstances were present/occurring in Eb's backyard that required him to act?

And also what is Drakul a scion of? :)

Thank you in advance either way for the AMA.

[u/Seidmadr]

The Dresden Files are the best book series I've ever read. Thanks for writing it. It's amazing.

1. Why does Bob have to obey whoever owns his skull? Is it because of the enchantments on the skull, or is it just that all spiritual entities must obey whoever controls their sanctum?

2. Why didn't you have this AMA after the release of the Aeronaut's Windlass? As it is now, it'll mostly be about the Dresden Files, rather than the upcoming series, after all.

3. Did you enjoy Britain? How about Sweden?

4. What's the progress on Peace Talks? I'm not trying to rush you here, but it's fun to know how things are going along.

5. Your ghouls seem to be quite heavily inspired by Lovecraft, same with the Fomor and the Outsiders... Are there any other major Lovecraftian inspirations? Do you consider yourself a Lovecraftian writer?

[u/HalcyonKnights]

First, the obligatory "I love your work and your Online Community." You've given me countless hours of enjoyment with both, keep it up! Or don't, it's your life, but if you retire early it could make a grown man cry, so beware.

To the Questions:

1. CS: What was the most challenging thing about writing the Cinder Spires, as compared to your previous works? The most enjoyable?

2. TDF: Vadderung is Santa Claus, is he also St Nicholas?

3. TDF: How are Black Court Master Vampires made/elevated? Elders?

4. CA: Are manifest metal furies common?

5. CA: After everything is said and done, what is Amara's opinion of Fidelius, and how has it changed since the first novel?

Thanks again for everything you do.

Regards, HalcyonDaze, aka Quantus

[u/devils_advocate36]

Love the Dresden series and have to ask how you as an author deal with the inevitable power creep as the stories go? When your hero/villain is at the point where they are so powerful that it's hard to right a situation where they can't just overpower every normal mundane challenge how do you make the story relate able to your audience?

[u/OsterGuard]

Hey Jim! Huge fan since I started reading Dresden a year ago. I was talking with a friend about the faerie courts, and since we live in Australia, we were both wondering what the explanation is for the seasons being reversed in the southern hemisphere. Does Titania take a vacation down south for Christmas? Or is there a seperate pair of courts for the south?

Thanks so much!

Edit: Second question: Warning, spoilers ahead!
Is Bonnie kid the remains of Lash, or the child of Lash and Harry? You mentioned at some point that Lash was a character in Ghost Story, and she's the only character I can think of.

[u/iamrade4ever]

Hello Jim! I just started the Dresden Files after a couple years of urging from one of my friends in the military, on just finished death masks, and I really enjoy the characters and world as a whole.

My question is this, are there any references/easter eggs in your books that no one has got, or any real hidden ones you don't think anyone has found?

(P.S. the battlecry "I don't believe in fairys" had me laughing a good 10 mins straight and I had to put my Nook down)

[u/Tarcos]

What have you been reading lately? Whats your favorite book of the last couple years?

[u/jldew]

Hi Jim! Congratulations on your engagement! I Love your books, I'm a huge fan of the Dresden Files and the Codex Alera series. I can't wait for Aeronaut's Windlass! I've got a couple of questions about the Dresden Files:

Question 1: What happened in 1994 during The Unseelie Incursion, "when the entire city of Milwaukee simply vanished for two hours. Gone."- Per Storm Front?

In a 2013 calendar there was an image of Molly as her present self I think, looking at three futures. One of these futures was the Winter Lady, the other is her as a Warden, and the third I'm assuming is her as a Warlock.

Question 2 is: Are these possible futures canon and will any of them come up in Mirror Mirror

edit: Also for all the forum Fans reading this, I'm all itsallsuesfault from there. :D

[u/OFTHEHILLPEOPLE]

Hey Jim, thanks for doing an AMA. First, thanks so much for all your hard work with the Dresden Files. It's an amazing series. I'm a little behind compared to other dedicated readers but I'm hungrily consuming book after book.

I have two questions for you:

1: If you could have a say in a Dresden Files TV show reboot, what changes would you make?

2: I'm sure you've heard this before, but have any of the elements in Dresden Files been influenced by the White Wolf RPG World of Darkness setting? I'm an avid player and see quite a lot of parallels with slight twists.

Thanks and keep on being awesome.

Edit: Beware, posters, the AMA downvoting brigade has begun.

[u/MagnusValentin]

Hi! I enjoy it when you do these text based Q & A it's easier to ask questions when you don't have to be anywhere physically.

Question: What would happen if Harry Dresden from the dresden files and Tavi from the codex alera met and for example had to work together. What would their relationship be like?

[u/SingingStars]

Hi Jim! I (like most of us posting questions here) am a big fan of your works. Do you have any plans to do a signing tour at any point? We, the creepy and drooling fanatics of your writings and characters, would love to have a chance to lay our starry eyes upon you in the flesh.

And a quick question - when you started writing the Dresden Files, did you have the whole world and series of events (i.e. Dresden's discovery of the Black Council, Grey Council, Outsiders, Dresden as Winter Knight) over the whole series already planned, or did you develop it as you wrote and the series grew in popularity?

Thank you for doing an AMA!

[u/txmisfit]

Hey Jim,

What's the best vacuum for my buck?

I recently started reading some of Lovecraft and really enjoy the universe he created. How much, if any, has he influenced your writings? Will we see a connection between Lovecraft's outsiders and the ones from Dresden Files? Last question, will you please do a cross over with Harry Dresden and F. Paul Wilson's Repairman Jack? I'm willing to create a Kick Starter if that's what it takes. :D

[u/quantumofthought]

Hi Jim, I know you might not be able to answer this, but I have a theory about the identity of Cowl and Kumori in the Dresden Files that's been burning in the back of my mind for years. Are they Justin DuMorne and Elaine Mallory? It seems extremely suspicious that they knew that Harry had Bob when nobody else did. This combined with Justin having been a user of mind magic and Harry's memory of the night he "killed" Justin being very foggy and there having been no body in the ashes of the house and Elaine's disappearance after that makes me think long and hard about whether Harry really killed DuMorne at all.

[u/hkdharmon]

What is the best stuff to read if you want to write?

[u/[deleted]]

[u/Dockt0r_Wh0]

Sorry, no real question here, but I wanted to say I appreciate your work so very much! For the first time I have found not just a series, by an author who got me to love reading again! Sherlock Holmes, Harry Potter and Harry Dresden are my favorite characters ever, and the only series I have ever been able to read cover to cover in a couple sittings! Thank you for what you do and please keep up the work!

Oh, and I am looking forward to the cinder series! It sounds amazing!!!!

[u/[deleted]]