The Dresden Files > DF Reference Collection
WoJ transcription help needed + mention new WoJ's here
Fireball5485:
I'm having issues following who's working on what... so do you have any that are as yet unclaimed? I'd be happy to help out.
derek:
Dictation by Derek
Jim Butcher "Changes" Q&A - Powells Books 4/08/2010 Part 3 of 6
Audience: What's your take on the whole Amazon Kindle thing?
Jim Butcher: What's my take on the whole Amazon Kindle thing? This is my understanding of it. Amazon said, 'Okay, we're going to have the book available for Kindle. You can pre-order it.' And then they started negotiating with Penguin for getting the rights to the book. And Penguin had already sold electronic rights here, there and everywhere to other people. And then a couple of days before the release, Amazon says, 'You're going to give it to us for a real, real low price, or we're not going to buy it. And what's more, we're not going to buy any of your other spring stuff, either.' And Penguin said, 'Alright.' And that's my take on it. (laughter) Amazon tried to power play and it, they kind of bounced off without moving Penguin too much, so. You can get the iBook version and there's some shareware now that converts iBook to Kindle format. So, yeah, I'm just looking at Amazon going, 'Really? Really?' But I guess we'll have to see what happens. At the very back in the blue shirt.
Audience: When you first wrote Storm Front, did you have, like, this entire series somewhat planned out, or did it just kind of [inaudible]?
Jim Butcher: When I first wrote Storm Front, did I have the entire series somewhat planned out? Yes. I did it for a project, it was a class project. So, I kind of had -- well, the first couple of chapters I just wrote one night, and I said, 'Okay, maybe I'd better plan the book.' And then as I was planning the book, I said, 'Maybe I'd better plan the world.' And then when I was done with the world, I said, 'Maybe I'd better plan the time line if this is gonna be a series.' And I did that, and it was one of those obsessive compulsive projects that went on for awhile. But, yeah, I had to go back and write the first book, 'cause otherwise it was gonna be late and I had a grade card, so. Yes, right here.
Audience: [inaudible]
Jim Butcher: Yes, the guy with the very short hair.
Audience: Harry loves Star Wars and everything like that. Is he a Brown Coat, too?
Jim Butcher: Is Harry a Brown Coat, too? Not so much, he never got to see Firefly because he watches TV by going to a park that's across from an electronics store, and watching the TVs that are in the window where they have the closed caption on -- because there's actually, I've actually gone to that store in Chicago and looked at it -- so, you know, he wanted to go see Firefly, but he kept showing on Friday night and it wasn't there. It was getting preempted by baseball and...I mean, I remember that. I tell you, I still have't watched the last episode of Firefly, because if I do that, then they'll all be gone. So, it's just sitting there waiting, and one day, maybe. Right here.
Audience: I noticed this kind of sub-genre of urban fantasy seems to be primarily female authors, and I wondered if you had any thoughts on that [inaudible]?
Jim Butcher: Okay. Urban fantasy seems to be mostly female authors. What are my thoughts on...what? Oh, I thought you said something, sorry. Seems to be mostly female authors and I'm not...demonstrably. So, what are my thoughts on it? Why is it like that? Because the first one to get alot of attention was Laurel? I don't know, really. Really, I think the publishing industry is mostly women. I mean, there seems to be pretty much an even split of authors but on the other hand, the romance genre sells something like 60%...50% or 60% of fiction book sales is just romance. It's kind of a girl thing, unless you're a guy who's in prison because while you can't buy porn, you can buy romance novels. (laughter) So, go figure.
Audience: Do you have weird writing tics or writing OCD-ness that need to get through your books?
Jim Butcher: Do I have any weird writing tics or OCD-ness that I use to get through my books? Most of my tics and OCD get in the way of me getting through my books. I do like to write. I do my best writing from around ten at night until around six in the morning, because there's nobody bothering me. If you're there during the day, it's like, 'Dad, I love you,' this and, 'Honey, do you need something to eat,' that and...you can't work in that kind of environment. (laughter) And I also like to have either a really bad movie or a movie I've seen a gajillion times on the TV while I'm writing so that I can just look up for the good parts. It's like, 'Okay, the orcs just broke through the door in Moria.' (looks up) 'Back to work.' Like that. Very back, halfway around the corner, there. No, not behind you. You, yeah.
Audience: [inaudible]
Jim Butcher: I'm sorry, what's that?
Audience: Was Empire Strikes Back one of the movies that were watched when writing this last book?
Jim Butcher: Empire Strikes Back was not a movie on this book. The movies on this book were Watchmen. No, no wait. Watchmen was for the short story stuff. Oh, what were the movies on this one. I don't remember. It's kind of a blur. This was over November and December, Thanksgiving, Christmas, et cetera.
Audience: Fellowship?
Jim Butcher: Fellowship was not in there. It was the ones that were on the DVR. Oh, okay. It was Tremors and Army of Darkness. (cheers) There. Now you know. Let's see, here in the middle. Young lady, yes?
Audience: How long do you spend, like, how long does it take you to write your books now that you've got it all figured out?
Jim Butcher: How long does it take me to write a book? Somewhere between, apparently, two months and seven or eight months. And it seems to be kind of random which, they don't like that in New York. But I did all of Changes, I think all of it but about seven chapters I did in the space of eight weeks between the beginning of November and New Year. And I worked, like, sixteen hours a day every day, including Christmas, and New Year and Thanksgiving. And was oh so charming a person during that time, let me tell you. But, I was able to get it done, though, so. Did I let you ask one yet?
Audience: No.
Jim Butcher: Okay, well, then.
Audience: You finished up the Codex Alera, but you left it open to possibly doing something in the future with it. Are you thinking about doing that, or...?
Jim Butcher: I finished up the Codex Alera, but left it open to possibly doing something in the future with it. Am I thinking about doing that? I don't have a specific idea yet. The one I'm kind of leaning towards is the one where we go back about two hundred years later, when we've had a lot of combination of Canim engineering with Aleran fury crafting. And it would be very steampunky, kind of 'Furypunk.' (laughter) When the enemy of the Vord shows up to wipe out life on the planet, exterminate the Vord. But we'll -- I don't know if I'm ever going to write that or not. That might be something that I go back and write when I'm older to pay off my gambling debts or something.
[something about someone who's had arms up from the very beginning, followed by confusion over who should ask the next question]
Audience: I just want to know how old is Harry? You always say thirty something. When is he going to reach his forties, for God's sake?
Jim Butcher: What the hell, man. We're going at a year per book. (laughter)
Audience: [inaudible] give us his first age. How old is he?
Jim Butcher: Oh, let's see. When he starts off, in Storm Front he was twenty four, twenty five.
Audience: Got it. I can do the math.
Jim Butcher: Okay. (laughter) He's eight or nine months younger than I am. Or no, he's about a year younger than I am.
Audience: [inaudible] Thank you.
Jim Butcher: Sure. Yeah, see, that's why -- see how personal I took that. (laughter) When the hell is he going to be forty, because you must be at least seventy five. (laughter) That's what was in my head. I admit that may not have been what you meant. Alright, we're cool, then.
Audience: Any hints on what the short story in the RPG will be?
Jim Butcher: Any hints on what the short story in the RPG will be? No. I've been trying to write it on my goofy iPad. The iPad type thing does not work so well when you've got alot of dialog. I wanted to go get an iMac bluetooth keyboard, but I couldn't get here in time to go to the apple store which is, like, two doors down. Well, that's fine anyway because, gosh, I'm so tired, I don't know what would happen if I started writing right now. Okay.
Audience: You touched on the dragons in the Dresdenverse. Are you going to do anything more with the dragons in the...?
Jim Butcher: Is there going to be more with the dragons in the Dresdenverse. Yeah. Yeah, otherwise -- I'm essentially lazy, so I don't want to actually create anything that I'm not going to use for something eventually.
derek:
--- Quote from: Fireball5485 on January 24, 2011, 01:53:16 PM ---I'm having issues following who's working on what... so do you have any that are as yet unclaimed? I'd be happy to help out.
--- End quote ---
I think the first post in the thread is pretty up to date now, other than these first few Powell's interviews which I've done. The ones with asterisks next to them have been claimed.
Fireball5485:
Thanks! I'll start in on 2010 Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego on April 9th, all parts.
Fireball5485:
Dictation by Fireball5485
2010 Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego on April 9th youtube videos
Part 1
Intro: I don’t know why you’re applauding.
{Jim Laughs} I haven’t even done anything yet.
Is it on?
There, how’s that? Can you guys hear me ok, or?
{General Negative Response}
{Pause play with sound system}
Try it again.
Ok, how’s that?
Is it any better?
Ok, how’s that?
{General Positive Response}
Plug it in…
Yeah, that would help, yes.
Ok, ladies and gentlemen, Jim Butcher.
{Applause}
Ok, first things first: Yes, my hair is cut. {Laughter} It’s not an illusion. Oh, and one other thing before we get started, as folks come through the line tonight, if you could, and this is kind of a personal quirk, but if you could please refrain from telling me not to die. {Laughter} I think that’s sort of implied, and that I’m going to be working on that one anyway, so I don’t want you to jinx me here. Ok, that being said, I’m happy to back here. I always love coming to Mysterious Galaxy, but if you guys want to ask some questions, I’ll try and give you some answers, and then we’ll get to book signings.
Can you turn up the volume any?
It’s already up as far as it will go. I can talk louder, though. {Clenches fist} {Laughter}
{Camera breaks out, comes back in}
Me and my engineering terminology for magic. {Laughter}
Just thinking about a certain couple that are locked up. {Jim nods}
{Next Person}
Just a general question, how do you pronounce Harry’s godmother’s name?
Well, she is the Leanansidhe. Harry’s the one who calls her Lea.
Ok but it’s / Le-an-she / ?
/ La-nan-she /. Yeah, Leanansidhe or something like that. I think that’s the closest it’s going to get. It’s Gaelic, it doesn’t have to make sense. {Laughter}
Thank you
Yeah, no problem.
{Next Person}
Yeah, in the back.
You go to great pains to describe the beer at McAnally Pub. Is that based on anything in reality or do you make your own? {Laughter}
No, I actually, I don’t drink at all. I’m one of those guys whose family tree has got way too many co-instances of alcoholic-felon. {Laughter} So, I thought perhaps it would be wise if I didn’t go that direction. That way I can bail other people out.
{Next Person}
Does that inform on Dresden?
I dunno, maybe. {Laughter} He can handle it. He can have some beer in the fridge, and no big deal. I get the feeling that I’d turn into a fiend after the second or third swallow.
{Next Person}
Is your writing pace going to change now that the Codex Alera is finished?
Nah, not much. I’m going to be doing a Dresden book every year, and one other book, and I’m probably going to do some extra short-stories on the side. The next book I’m doing hasn’t been set certainly, for certain yet, and I haven’t gotten it sold or anything. So, it’s still a little bit up in the air about what I’m going to do next. Hopefully, It’ll be a… I’m going to be writing it with my friend Cam Banks, who is the only person I’ve ever known who could actually stay sane long enough to work with me. ‘Cause, you know, Cam’s the kind of guy where I can snarl, ‘We need to do it like THAT!’ and he’ll say, {In fake Aussie-ish accent} ‘Yeah, ok, whatever.’ {Laughter} He’s from New Zealand and he cannot be rattled. It’s great. Anybody else?
{Next Person}
Are you planning a stand-alone or a new series?
Eventually, I’m going to write my epic, epic fantasy epic, which will be epic. {Laughter} But I’m not quite there yet. I’ve got a science fiction series that I’ve got the first half of the first book done, which has been hanging around for a long time. I’ve got to finish it someday. The one that I’m working on with Cam, I think we might be going with the post-apocalyptic fantasy. You know, the brave heroes get together, they fulfill the prophecy, they take the tokens of power to the dark lord, and he cheats and collapses the castle on them and wins. And, the world is sunk into darkness and, then what? And so it’ll be the ‘and then what?’ that I’ll be writing.
{Next Person}
How’d you get your first break?
Well, actually the first break I got didn’t pay off, and that was when my writing teacher looked at the manuscript to Storm Front that I did as a class project and said, ‘Yeah, this is good enough to sell. I don’t know if it’ll be the first thing you’ll sell, but you’ll sell it eventually.’ She gave me a letter of recommendation to her editor {insert name} Buchanan at Ace, and Buchanan had my manuscript on her shelf to be read for two years and ten months, before she eventually heard that I had sold it to somebody else. {Laughter} So that was the first break that didn’t really pan out the way we kind of hoped a break would. Actually, the real break that I got was due to Laurell Hamilton. I went to a convention she was at. I wanted to go there and meet her anyway because I was a fan of her work, and I was on one of her fan lists online, so I got a bunch of questions together so that I could take them to Laurell for the fans. And I also had wanted to target Laurell’s agent at the time, Ricia Mainhardt, and I knew she was going to be there as well, so I’d thought I’d go there and introduce myself and be able to get lucky. So, I showed up, and in this mixer that was going on Friday night at this writing convention, poor Laurel was besieged by fans who, I mean it was ‘Richard, Jean-Claude, and this and that and everything.’ You could see this wild, haunted look around her eyes. So, I kind of cruised in and barged in on the conversation and started talking about Buffy and Babylon 5. And she was like, ‘I Love Buffy and Babylon 5!’ So we got to talking, and so I sort of saved her from the assault that was going on. But the next day at the convention, it was lunch time and we were breaking for lunch, and I was bumping around, you know bumping into walls like I do when I don’t have my wife there to tell me what to do. And Laurel saw me and was like, and oh my gosh, this is pathetic, and she said, ‘Hey, Jim. A bunch of us are going to lunch. You wanna go?’ And I was like, ‘I eat lunch!’ {Laughter} Since I’m a social genius. And so I went to lunch with Laurel, and like three other writers and three or four editors and like half a dozen agents. And it turned out a bunch of them liked Buffy and Babylon 5. {Laughter} We talked about it over lunch and by the end of the weekend I’d had, Laurel’s agent had offered to represent me. And I said, ‘YES! No take-back-sies!’ {Laughter} And then, the agent I’m actually working with now, Jennifer Jackson was, also made an offer to me. And I said, I looked at her and I said, ‘But, but, but, but, but, but I sent you, you rejected my manuscript like two weeks ago!’ She goes, ‘I know.’ ‘You sent me back a crooked photocopy of a form rejection.’ She said, ‘Yeah, I know.’ {Laughter} ‘And now you’re offering? Why are you offering this to me now?’ And she’s like ‘Well, you know, now I’ve met you, and you play dice-less role playing. You’re my kind of nerd.’ It’s like {Jim rolls eyes}{Laughter} But that was kind of how the first break panned out.
{Next Person}
Are you planning on offering any franchising spin-offs of the Alera series?
See, that’s one of those things where I think there’s a big misconception among most readers; that is that the author’s the one that gets to pick, that kind of thing. Really what it is, it’s not like I’ve got people beating down my door going, ‘Give us the rights to Alera!’ There’s been a little bit of interest. If somebody took and I thought they were going to something kind of cool with it, I’d be like, ‘Yeah, ok, we can work with that.’ There’s been a little bit of interest in making it an animated series in Alera. We’ll have to see if that pans out. There’s also been interest in an Alera style multi-player game. I don’t know if that would work or not. We’ll have to see if that pans out. But yeah, folks will come to me and say, ‘We want to get the options for this, or that, or the other.’ And, as a writer you either can sell them the option or not, and that’s pretty much the only thing you can do. I mean, you can take your stuff and peddle it door-to-door, but you really kind of don’t get the same reception as if they come to you.
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