The Jim Butcher Files: Dresden . Codex Alera . Cinder Spires & More

[alansplace]

A Game That Honed the Skills of Writers

By JOHN SCHWARTZ - SEPT. 23, 2011

Jim Butcher is known to millions as the author of the best-selling series of “Dresden Files” novels featuring Harry Dresden, a “professional wizard” who works in a noirish Chicago as a private investigator.

But to a passionate virtual community scattered around the world, Mr. Butcher is also remembered as Bassor Thanlis and the other characters he created in the 1990s in an online role-playing game with the unlikely name Ambermush.

Amber is a reference to a series of fantasy novels by Roger Zelazny, beginning in 1970 with “Nine Princes in Amber,” which served as the foundation of the game. Mush is an acronym for the form of the game, known winkingly as a “multi-user simulated hallucination.”

In the Amber world — shut down since 2009 but fondly remembered on tribute Web sites — participants created characters and developed scenarios, constructing the action as they went along in a kind of pick-up game of make-believe.

With no graphics, Amber was a world made of words. For aspiring writers, as Mr. Butcher was back then, that was very enticing.

read the rest of the article here

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Upcoming Works

We’re frequently asked about when to expect new work from Jim. Here’s what we have on the slate:

THE DRESDEN FILES

Novels:

As of January 2016: Jim is currently writing Peace Talks (#16), so we’re still quite a ways from having a release date. We’ll announce any updates in the news blog.

Comics:

Down Town was released October 15th, 2015.
Wild Card is currently in production. Issue #1 is slated for April 20th, 2016.
After Wild Card, Jim will write a comic featuring Inari Raith and her friends from Blood Rites. No name or release date yet.

Short Stories:

“Jury Duty” (Unbound) was released December 1st, 2015.
“Cold Case” (Shadowed Souls) is slated for November 1st, 2016.
Jim is currently writing “Day One” (anthology and date TBA).

Games:

The Paranet Papers expansion was released June 1st, 2015.
Dresden Files Cooperative Card Game (DFCO) will be Kickstarting in 2016. The current hope is to Kickstart in April or May, with a game store release by the end of the year.
The Dresden Files Accelerated RPG is currently undergoing playtests. No release date yet.

THE CINDER SPIRES

The Aeronaut’s Windlass was released September 29th, 2015.
Jim will start writing The Olympian Affair (#2) when he finishes Peace Talks.

CODEX ALERA

Series complete with First Lord’s Fury (#6)!

Posted by priscellie on 2015/12/26 at 11:38 pm

[alansplace]

Check out this page to see lots of his illustrations.

[DuckieTigger]

My theory for the delay of Peace Talks is that Aeronaut's Windlass was more successful than anticipated. That kept Jim too busy with touring and whatnot to finish book #16 on time. That, of course, is not really okay for impatient people like me. Another wait as for the last one? That would really blow.

[alansplace]

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by alansplace

Nelson as middle name? Weird. If she turned out a boy would she be Nelson Priscilla Spencer?

[red_phoenix]

Nelson could be her maiden name? Is Priscilla married?

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

Nelson as middle name? Weird. If she turned out a boy would she be Nelson Priscilla Spencer?

Ducky, only you could come up with that premise.

Originally Posted by red_phoenix

Nelson could be her maiden name? Is Priscilla married?

Nope.

[alansplace]

Chicago wizard-for-hire Harry Dresden and his new apprentice, Molly Carpenter, intend to end the havoc caused by a mad sorcerer — one whose ambitions would have the Windy City streets carved out as his own private kingdom. But when the magical upstart enters into an alliance with the notorious mob boss "Gentleman Johnnie" Marcone, will the fast-and-loose Dresden and his young charge survive unscathed?

This graphic novel collects the critically acclaimed, six-issue series in one volume, and features a bonus section with Jim Butcher's original story outline, sketchbook artwork from Carlos Gomez, cover gallery with roughs from Stjepan Sejic, and more!

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Emily S. Whitten, Jim Butcher and The Dresden Files
Emily S. Whitten September 10, 2013



As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a big fan of The Dresden Files, so it was awesome to get to sit down and chat with author Jim Butcher about the series while at Dragon Con last weekend!

The Dresden Files, as you may know, is a series about the wizard Harry Dresden, and follows his adventures and investigations into supernatural disturbances in modern-day Chicago, which he recounts through a first person narrative. It’s also, oh-by-the-way, a ton of fun, and weaves a lot of lore, myth, and legend from all cultures into modern adventure stories with a wizard who’s more gunfighter than Gandalf (even if he fights with a staff much of the time). As the series has progressed, it’s also gotten more complex and nuanced, with some great plot twists and character developments along the way. I definitely recommend it to anyone who hasn’t yet read it.

The series is pretty far along and we’re currently waiting on book fifteen, so if you have no idea what I’m talking about, I recommend you check out the series or at least the Wikipedia page before reading this interview; unless you’re the kind of person who doesn’t mind possibly being confused or definitely encountering spoilers. Because, fair warning, there are spoilers ahead!

Have we all been sufficiently warned? Yes? Then onward to the interview!

Go here to read the entire interview

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[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by alansplace

Oh that's lovely!

[alansplace]

[AlbertaCowboy]

Hi everyone,
Haven't been around much, have had exactly zero free time these days. Still haven't got around to the Aeronaut's Windlass either!
Hope you're all doing well, kust wanted to pop in and say hi!

[alansplace]