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

[alansplace]

Apr 15, 2015
A Pint with… JIM BUTCHER! Our inaugural interview with the Master of Urban Fantasy…

I’d had a number of publishers ask if I was looking to do author interviews; it was certainly ‘on the list’ though I’d a mind to do something a little different – a casual pint or coffee with… But where to begin or, rather, who?

Sometimes the world does actually work a little magic and JIM BUTCHER – over on his first ever UK tour with the paperback release of Skin Game, the latest in his fantastic Dresden Files series – was good enough to be our inaugural interviewee. I caught up with Jim & co on his last day in the UK, after his talk and signing at Waterstone’s Piccadilly, up in the shop’s 5th floor bar…

IN THE BEGINNING… Read the rest here!

[alansplace]

I just received my Hardback copy of The Aeronaut's Windlass that I'd pre-ordered
from sfbc.com. That's a fortnight late! It's quite thick like a James Michener novel.

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by alansplace

I just received my Hardback copy of The Aeronaut's Windlass that I'd pre-ordered
from sfbc.com. That's a fortnight late! It's quite thick like a James Michener novel.

Great. I take it you didn't get it signed? You might have showed us.

[alansplace]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

Great. I take it you didn't get it signed? You might have showed us.

No, it's not signed.

[alansplace]

Jim Butcher: "The Aeronaut's Windlass" | Talks at Google
Talks at Google

Published on Oct 8, 2015

New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher stops by Google to talk about his latest novel "The Aeronaut's Windlass."
Book description: Since time immemorial, the Spires have sheltered humanity, towering for miles over the mist-shrouded surface of the world. Within their halls, aristocratic houses have ruled for generations, developing scientific marvels, fostering trade alliances, and building fleets of airships to keep the peace.

Captain Grimm commands the merchant ship, Predator. Fiercely loyal to Spire Albion, he has taken their side in the cold war with Spire Aurora, disrupting the enemy’s shipping lines by attacking their cargo vessels. But when the Predator is severely damaged in combat, leaving captain and crew grounded, Grimm is offered a proposition from the Spirearch of Albion—to join a team of agents on a vital mission in exchange for fully restoring Predator to its fighting glory.

And even as Grimm undertakes this dangerous task, he will learn that the conflict between the Spires is merely a premonition of things to come. Humanity’s ancient enemy, silent for more than ten thousand years, has begun to stir once more. And death will follow in its wake

[Dopedangel]

I am in the middle of it loved it so far. I love Jim's story telling style.

[alansplace]

Pep Talk from Jim Butcher

Beware, sweet, innocent, aspiring writer. People aren’t telling you this, and they should be. NaNoWriMo participants are being deceived into thinking that being an author is a good thing. But you don’t know. You don’t know the horrors you might face as a professional, published, full-time author.

I could tell you. I could go on for hours about all the things that threaten my peace of mind. I could for you a tale unfold that would harrow up your carpal tunnels and chill the very marrow of your finger bones: tales of the constant questions, the unending deadlines, the mind-bending task of deciding each and every day which hours you will spend writing.

But never mind all of that. Best not to dwell on the worst. Instead, let us concentrate on what you must do to avoid this horrible fate, and save yourself agonies untold.

First and foremost . . . to read the rest go here!

[red_phoenix]

I do love Jim's idea of a "Pep Talk".

[AlbertaCowboy]

Man, I had to skip a bunch of thread pages here! Just got home, and I haven't read the Windlass yet. (Yeah, I'm not even trying to spell Aeronaut or whatever)
Thanks everyone for using the Spoiler tags!!!!!

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by AlbertaCowboy

Man, I had to skip a bunch of thread pages here! Just got home, and I haven't read the Windlass yet. (Yeah, I'm not even trying to spell Aeronaut or whatever)
Thanks everyone for using the Spoiler tags!!!!!

You are welcome. And to your surprise both Windlass and Aeronaut are spelled correctly in your post.

[DuckieTigger]

Originally Posted by red_phoenix

I do love Jim's idea of a "Pep Talk".

Quite, but make no mistake ...


... for the devil is in the detail.

[alansplace]

My favorite authors: Jim Butcher

BedHeadBooks

Published on Sep 4, 2015

I talk about Jim Butcher's books, and why they are awesome. His books are:

The Drseden Files:
Book 1: Storm Front
14 more books, some graphic novels, and some short stories.

The Codex Alera:
Furies of Caulderon
Academ's Fury
Cursor's Fury
Captain's Fury
Princeps' Fury
First Lord's Fury

The Cinder Spires:
The Aeronaut's Windlass (coming September 29th, 2015)

[AlbertaCowboy]

Originally Posted by DuckieTigger

You are welcome. And to your surprise both Windlass and Aeronaut are spelled correctly in your post.

Aha! #SUCCESS!

[alansplace]

Priscilla Spencer on Sf Signal

Priscilla Spencer is a Dallas native transplanted to L.A., currently finishing up an MFA in Film and TV Production at USC. She’s a Writer, Producer, Production Designer, and Fantasy Map Illustrator who enjoys shipping fictional characters, the Oxford comma, and lavishing schnoogles on other people’s dogs. Her maps can be found in the works of Jim Butcher, Kevin Hearne, Myke Cole, Saladin Ahmed, and Harry Connolly, and you can snag prints at www.priscellie.com .

How much fun would it be to commit monstrous mayhem alongside the ladies of Rat Queens? Those “booze-guzzling, death-dealing battle maidens-for-hire” are the perfect antidote to my Hermionelike existence. (Seriously, I spent 14 years at “Miss Ela Hockaday’s School for Girls.” Our mascot was the Killer Daisy, and our crest had a unicorn. I needed this comic in my life.) These willful women are hilarious, courageous, fun, and unrepentantly vulgar. Bring it.

Pure bias and loyalty necessitate that I also nominate Harry Dresden from “The Dresden Files,” because not only would his deadpan snark make fighting the monsters a heck of a lot more entertaining, but he has a history of overcoming astronomical odds. He also tends to inspire acts of heroism and general badassery in those around him, and said comparatively vanilla allies tend to survive the day, albeit with a few minor exceptions. I wouldn’t mind leveling up in heroics and kicking a little monster butt, myself. Plus, we’d probably go for a celebratory meal at Mac’s afterward, which sounds awesome, assuming Mac didn’t kick me out of the bar for asking for a gluten-free menu.

Ellen Ripley, Eowyn, Kamala Khan, October Daye, and any number of Pratchett’s heroines have pretty great pedigrees for putting monsters down, namely Granny Weatherwax, Tiffany Aching, and Susan Sto-Helit. And while we’re on Pratchett, Sam Vimes once arrested a dragon and defeated an ancient evil while shouting the words to a children’s book, so he’d make a great monster-slaying partner.

However, depending on the scale of supernatural nastiness, it may be prudent to take the burden off the above underdogs to pull off the impossible and find someone with genuinely godlike powers. Heck, if we’re talking pure, pie-in-the-sky, unrestricted ally selection, why not pull out some of the biggest guns the genre has to offer? Dr. Manhattan from Watchmen has near-omnipotence to level at his enemies, but his emotional distance from humanity makes him an unpredictable option to have at one’s side. So at the risk of being kicked off this article for being a cheating cheater who cheats, I’m going to go with post-ascension Sazed, from the Mistborn series: a genuinely good-hearted, loyal, wise dude who becomes a literal god. What greater presence could one have on their team? Unless my death and/or enmanglement was required to preserve Harmony, which would suck. Maybe it’s best to keep my teammate mortal after all. Harry, you busy tonight?

[alansplace]