The Dresden Files > DF Reference Collection
WoJ transcription help needed + mention new WoJ's here
derek:
I'll start work on 2010 Powells Books Signing Q&A is completed.
Serack:
--- Quote from: derek on January 21, 2011, 04:41:28 AM ---I'll start work on 2010 Powells Books Signing Q&A
--- End quote ---
Horray, that's a great one! A big bite to chew on though. Thanks for all your effort. (I'm going to have to sit down and get that walking eye interview done like I keep promising myself...)
derek:
No worries. I don't know how quickly I'll get the whole thing done as we're expecting a couple hours of audio in tonight and I can only stand having headphones on for so many hours in a day, but it shouldn't take too long.
derek:
Dictation by Derek
Jim Butcher "Changes" Q&A - Powells Books 4/08/2010 Part 1 of 6
[introduction]
Jim Butcher: Okay, first of all, if anyone's seen my hair, if you could please call 1-800-Jim's-Do it would be appreciated.
Audience: My son has it.
Audience: Hey.
Jim Butcher: Alright, we'll just do questions and answers, I guess, because that's kind of fun. Hey, no way. Completely bald, you're first.
Audience: What are your thoughts on The Dresden Files RPG coming out in June?
Jim Butcher: What are my thoughts on The Dresden Files RPG coming out in June? That if I DM'd it, it would be too much like work. And that if I played it, I would be a frickin' nightmare to any GM. "No, it is that way and if necessary, I'll put it in the next book!" Other than that, though, the guys who worked on it have done a really phenomenal job. They really dug into it and worked their tails off, really unbelievably so. So, it's gonna be -- finally, they are getting it done. My friend Fred says -- he's the one who's producing it -- says, 'Yeah, we had no idea how big a project this was going to be. In fact, we had to design three other games so that we could build up our company enough to get enough people onboard to actually ramp up to able to do this game.' He's like, 'If I'd known that when I got started, I never would have done it.' It's like that with me, with writing, if I'd known how long it would take. But, it should be fairly cool. I really like the rules system. I don't think I'll ever get to play it, but I don't know, maybe I can just shave off the whiskers, and go bald one day, and not wear my glasses and show up anonymously at a con somewhere and play that way or something. Who's next?
Audience: So, with the books, it's been about a year between books-ish and that's reflected in the story. Have you ever had like some huge leap forward planned? Have you ever had a huge leap backwards? Or is it pretty much going to be the next book's gonna be a year from --
Jim Butcher: Okay. I'll go. What he's asking is the storyline has basically been about one book story year per real life year, am I going to keep doing that? Am I going to start jumping back or forward? The answer is yes, I'm going to keep doing that because it works a little bit better on account of it just makes it easier to keep track of what year it is in the story. And am I going to make any big leaps forward or backwards? Well, there is a whole law of magic about messing with time. And given that it's a Law of Magic, Dresden's going to have to break it eventually. So, yeah, 'sort of' would be the proper answer to the question. Yeah?
Audience: What's coming out in November?
Jim Butcher: What's coming out in November? November is the short story collection with all the Dresden short -- not all the Dresden short stories, but most of them in it. Plus, the novella that I wrote from Murphy's point of view called "Aftermath" that starts about 45 minutes after the end of Changes. So, it was fun, although man, Murphy is an alien creature to me. She really is. But we wound up with a pretty good story, I think. Yeah?
Audience: So for those of us who just couldn't put it once we'd picked it up, what's coming next?
Jim Butcher: For those -- what now?
Audience: [inaudible]
Jim Butcher: Oh, okay. So what's coming next in the Dresden Files? I'm not going to tell you that. Come on, you've got to give me a break there. Although, I will say that -- because we're trying not to spoiler people who haven't got to read the book yet -- I will say that my contract, they've paid me up through book 13, so I have to write at least one more. And my kid leaves for college next fall, so...that's like another six years after that. Man, I'm never gonna get to retire.
Audience: I was just wondering about the titles of the books, how they're all two words and both words are always the same number of letters. Why did you choose to do that?
Jim Butcher: Okay. He's asking about the titles of the books, why are the books always two words, same number of letters. Answer to that was that I had noticed when I was in college and in my writing courses that all of the really successful, or most of the really successful serial P.I. novels had a naming scheme of some kind attached to them. MacDonald's books, John MacDonald's books all had a color in the name. A is Alibi, B is for Burglar, etc. with the Kinsey Millhone books. It was the same way with several different authors that I looked at. So, I said, 'I need a naming scheme,' and I was going to use puns because I thought that would be fun. And so I was trying to get pun stuff set up and they didn't, they didn't like that. The editors didn't like that at all. So, the first book, I think the original name was Semiautomagic and then I said, 'Can we call it Abracadaver?' and they said, 'No, we can't.' And I went through several different names and it finally ended up as Storm Front, which was only kind of vaguely a pun. But they did it in these nice square little boxes with the title all being lined up. And so I said, 'Well, hey, the next one was already going to be called Fool Moon, so that one will line up too.' And so at that point, then I said, 'Okay, the only pattern I'm going to have here is where we line up these little boxes. So, let's at least keep that.' Until we got to this book, which is called Changes and totally breaks the pattern...presumably because there's going to be some changes. So...yes, ma'am?
Audience: What's coming as far as the graphic novels and [inaudible]?
Jim Butcher: Okay, two questions here. She's cheating. What's happening as far as the graphic novels and what did happen to my hair? The graphic novels, they just sent me the sketches to approve for issue 7 of Storm Front, and I just read and approved the script for issue 8 of Storm Front. So, I think they've got the first 4 issues together for part 1 of Storm Front and now they're going to do part 2. And that's how it's going to progress is about 8 issues per novel, and then turning it into 2 graphic booklets because that's the way the industry works these days. As far as my hair, I went to bed one night and it went out to fight crime, as it usually does, and it just never came back the next day. So, I have to assume that somebody finally got to it. No, the truth on that is is that I'm kinda carrying a theme through here, so, you know, there's been some changes. Plus, sometimes you look at your life and there's all these big parts of it that you can't control. And I might not be able to control my life, but I can control my hair. So, yeah, and at this point, I just killed it. Razed earth policy, right here. Yeah, right here.
Audience: Does the cat make it to the next book?
Jim Butcher: Does the cat make it to the next book? I'm not going to tell you that. I'm just not. Although, nah, Mister's just far too cool. We really haven't run into anything that could kill Mister at this point. Just absolute feline disdain would make him nearly invincible, so.... Back here, yes?
Audience: Does Dresden actually have a cowboy hat?
Jim Butcher: Does Dresden actually have a cowboy hat? *shakes head* No. I think I've actually made a comment about it a couple of times. I think Murphy commented about it in one book and Dresden did in a short story. I think he did in Changes, too. 'If only I had a hat, we could have saved the world.' No, he doesn't have one, but the Sorcerer's Apprentice apparently does, and you know, he's got the hat.
derek:
Dictation by Derek
Jim Butcher "Changes" Q&A - Powells Books 4/08/2010 Part 2 of 6
Audience: You said that most of the short stories would be in this collection. Which ones aren't?
Jim Butcher: Which short stories are not in the collection? Let me think. One of them is called "Curses", and it's the short story -- it's more of a lighter one -- it's a short story about Harry getting hired by the Cubs to get the billy goat curse taken off the team. And the other one is called -- I was really incensed that it wasn't in, we weren't going to be able to do it -- the other one's called "Even Hand". It's a short story from the perspective of John Marcone, and it sort of shows you what he's doing behind the scenes. And if you read the short story and then go read the scene in Changes, in Burger King, it has two totally different meanings. I was so upset that I wasn't going to get to put that in the book. As it is, I missed two of the short stories, and I know I told you guys I wanted them all together where you could get to all of them. So, the only thing that I can do to still keep my word to you is to write a second collection of short stories. So, I've got to write more of the things. But, I'm going to do it because I said I would.
Audience: Since you finished the Codex Alera series and you're working on this, are you going to work on other series at all?
Jim Butcher: Okay, since I finished on Codex Alera, am I gonna be working on something else to take it's place? Yes. I'm sure. (laughter) I'm just not quite sure what, yet. But, yeah, I would have too much time on my hands if I didn't. So, I think what I'm planning on is kind of a post-apocalyptic fantasy thing that I'm going to write with my friend Cam Banks, because Cam is like one of the only guys I've ever known who could put up with me long enough to do that. But it's sort of one of those the heroes went forth to face the dark lord and fulfill the prophecy and bravely did they stride in upon him, and he killed them all and the world was plunged into darkness.
Audience: [inaudible]
Jim Butcher: Yeah, for one. (laughter) That's exactly what it is. Over here.
Audience: How difficult was it to get the first book published?
Jim Butcher: How difficult was it to get the first book published? Well, I wrote my first book when I was nineteen, in 1990, and it was awful. I wrote book two not too long after that, also terrible. Book three, as well. Terrible. Book four, I'd decided to change things up and write kind of, sort of X-Files-y, paranormal thing, and that was also a dismal failure. As was book five, which was a rewrite of book one, which hadn't been all that good to begin with. So, eventually, though, I wrote -- I think it was the sixth or seventh book I wrote, which was Storm Front. And I sent it off to an editor because I got a recommendation from my teacher, I had an introduction letter to Ginger Buchanan. And it stayed there for three years. So, I started thinking, 'Well, maybe I better not wait on that forever.' You know, and so all in all, I finally got an agent in 1999, and it got sold about six months after that. And so, basically, it was an overnight project. It took me a real long time to get undumb enough to actually do a good job. I'm not terribly bright some days, but. At the very back, hand up.
Audience: You're doing a short story from the point of view of Murphy, and you've done one from the point of view from Thomas. Will we [inaudible] short stories be done from the point of view of some of the other characters.
Jim Butcher: Um, maybe? I haven't got that far yet. Maybe. Probably not from the point of view of anybody who's really clued into what's going on, though. Or if i do, then the character will just be standing there going, 'I'm not going to tell you that.' (laughter) 'You're just going to have to trust me. It was important that we do this. Ha Ha.' But we'll have to see. Some of the characters I just couldn't do that with. I couldn't do that from Mouse's point of view, for example, because he's so much cooler than everybody else. (laughter)
Audience: [inaudible]
Jim Butcher: Well, he's a dog, man. Dogs are cool, just kind of intrinsically that way. Right here. Sitting down. Just behind you, yeah.
Audience: I really love the way you handle the fae, and I'm curious if we're ever going to meet Titania?
Jim Butcher: Are we ever gonna get to meet Titania, Queen Titania, the Summer Queen? Yes. But probably, it's going to be awhile. It might not be until the last three books. She's heavy duty, so. Over here.
Audience: How many books are you planning to write?
Jim Butcher: How many books am I planning to write? The original plan -- actually, the events of Changes were originally, I originally had had them penciled in for book ten, but it's taken me a couple books longer to get there. So, the original plan was for twenty books and a three book apocalyptic trilogy capstone ending *dunh duh duh dunh* with music by John Williams. (laughter) But, we'll see. We'll see if I'm still going to be able to get there by twenty. It might actually wind up being twenty one or twenty two, something like that. Not a whole enormous high number of books (laughter) but because I want the story to have, like, a beginning and an end, and for everybody to get to read them, so. Oh, by the way, people coming through line tonight, please don't tell me, 'Just don't die.' Okay? (laughter) Because I think we can all rationally assume that that is sort of implied and you're just going to jinx it. Right here, young man.
Audience: What does your shirt say?
Jim Butcher: What does my shirt say? It is Latin for 'A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away'. (cheers) Or as close as Latin can come to saying that.
Audience: Are you thinking about selling the movie rights, or did the series take that out of you?
Jim Butcher: Okay, did I ever think about selling the movie rights, or did the series take that out of me? And the answer is: I already did sell the movie rights. Lionsgate has them. And they have them for another three years and five days, not that I'm keeping track. And after that time, they revert back to me. I doubt Lionsgate is going to do anything with it. I can't imagine why they would. As far as they're concerned, this was just the show that crashed on SciFi, so...we'll see what happens later, though. Right here, sir.
Audience: So, I'm on my second read through of the book. Why do you hate Harry Dresden? (laughter)
Jim Butcher: You've got it all wrong, man. I love him. I love him and I want him to succeed. But for that to happen, he must have great pain (laughter)
Audience: [inaudible] succeed admirably.
Jim Butcher: Joss Whedon -- I read an interview about Joss Whedon where they were on the set of Buffy and they had just had to have Buffy do some heart wrenching scene for, like, the fifth time. And Joss hadn't gotten quite what he wanted, so he asked Sarah to go do it again. And she turned around and just kind of stared at him. And she said, 'Joss, do you have any idea how difficult this is on me? This is really bad.' He puts his hand on her shoulder and says, 'Sarah, this show thrives upon your pain.' (laughter) I look at that and just go, 'Mm. Joss Whedon is my master, now.' (cheers) Because he had something exactly right. If Harry had a happy day, it would be boring. It would be a terrible bore. Let's go back over here, first.
Audience: So, who plays Harry Dresden in this hypothetical movie?
Jim Butcher: Who plays Harry Dresden in this hypothetical movie? I don't know. There's been all kinds of different people giving suggestions. I always kind of liked Will Smith, just because he has the right attitude. (laughter) But now he's gone to hit the gym and he's gotten all buff and stuff, now. So, I don't know. Right here.
Audience: Why the frozen turkey?
Jim Butcher: 'K, hang on. Why the frozen turkey? Why NOT a frozen turkey? That's the question I pose to you. I had to kind of Looney Tunes something and I couldn't readily think of a way to get a safe up above the city. A frozen turkey falling out of a plane, though. Yeah.
Audience: I was going to ask how often do you get writers block, and what do you do to get past it?
Jim Butcher: I don't have writers block. I have a mortgage. (laughter) Honestly, writers block is for folks who don't have to have their stuff in on time, and I'm not one of those folks. So, generally speaking, I really don't believe in writers block. I don't really get writers block. Sometimes I just really, really, really want to go play City of Heroes instead. But, uh, really, it's one of those things that I believe is a point of personal discipline that you just have to sit down and go through it, and start writing until it works. There are other people who say writers block is real. Maybe they're right, but I disbelieve. I roll to disbelieve. Twenty!
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