If the school is for supernatural people they could have a system to manage the money, no questions asked. So perhaps Harry put the biggest part of the diamonds as payment for Maggie's education.

I am just saying, I have not read Zoo Day or the first chapters of PT.

1. Doesn't that seem like something Marcone would do?  He has a supernatural bank; or make that a bank for supernatural customers, so why not an investment service or money (loot) transfer service for the same groups and individuals?  Of course I can't see Harry trusting anything run by Marcone.  Now that I think about it, Harry should get a safe deposit box at Marcone's bank for his diamonds, but he won't for the reason above.   

2. That's why I spoiler tagged it.  I know many people haven't read chapter 1 and I know some of those same people are loath to learn spoilers so far in advance of the actual publication.  Funny thing is, it's been so long since I read chapter 1, I barely remember what any of the characters said to each other.  I just remember a few basic facts, so Jim could rewrite that entire chapter and if those two or three major things didn't change, I wouldn't notice the difference. 

Hasn't Jim said somewhere that Mab and Winter are in charge of the security and safety at the peace talks? That would mean that Harry would also be responsible for keeping things smoothly and dealing with any problems arising.  That could also be why Molly paid for all the expenses of the fallout.  The people killed would not have been part of any agreements and therefore originally left out of any compensations.  But Harry would see that very differently.

I don't know about that, but I do know that in chapter 1 of Peace Talks, So even if Mab has no responsibility for the security and safety of the talks, Harry will feel responsible just the same.

I rather think it's politics; the Red and White Court are politically aligned, so it suits them to call each other cousins to emphasize the connection (even as they aren't nearly as friendly as they officially are). They also prey on humans, sure, but who doesn't? The Winter Court seems much closer to the White Court in their relation with humanity (i.e. a partly hostile parasitic presence that cannot procreate except with humans).

That is an interesting idea but I would have to see more connections between the two groups to believe you were on to something.  I wonder if the White Court has any myths about how they came into being.

My takeaways

• Molly's concern about Harry still being himself may just be due to the Knight mantle, but that's already been hashed a bit.  But Eb dying and Harry getting the Blackstaff would give him someone to grieve over, it'd give Molly a reason to be concerned about him still being him, and it'd certainly make others think twice when Harry started yelling in their faces.

I had the feeling that Molly realizes the Winter Lady's mantle is changing her too.  No one else besides Molly (and the other Queens of Fairie) knows the pressure the Winter Knight's mantel has placed on Harry, because Molly has felt a similar and perhaps a greater pressure from the Winter Lady's mantle.  With the possible exception of Sarissa, the other Queens of Faerie might have the knowledge of how the Knight's mantel can twist its human host, but they are far beyond being able to empathize with that person.  Apparently, Molly still can.   

Manfred von Richthofen.  If anyone could find the bullet that killed him it would be Gard.  (I believe it was a through and through wound.)  George Armstrong Custer at Little Bighorn.  Major General Charles Gordon; sometimes called "Chinese Gordon," who was killed at the siege of Khartoum.  (Though no one knows exactly how he died, it's likely he was shot.)  Then again, why does it have to be a soldier?  Couldn't be someone killed in a gunfight like Billy Clanton at (actually near) the O.K. Corral or one of the Dalton gang members killed at Coffeyville?  How about Alexander Hamilton?

 Because Mr O'Hare wanted it that way, and JMS kept his promise, he only revealed it a couple of years after Mr O'Hare's death.   At the time the fans were in quite an uproar over him leaving the show, the story told to the public was that he wasn't a big enough star so was replaced.   We know now that Mr O'Hare was suffering from hallucinations at an increasing rate and severity, it is a miracle that he was able to finish the season at all.  Tragically like many suffering from his form of mental illness he went off his meds which of course made things worse.

Yes, JMS did talk about some of the stories not being part of the arc, but again some of that was a cover story because some episodes had to be changed because of Mr O'Hare's health.  That might be why they seem a bit weak compared to the rest of the season.   Yeah, you should watch it again, I did recently and it is amazing how well it holds up.

I remember the speculation that Bruce Boxleitner was brought in because he had been in a popular TV series before; Scarecrow and Mrs. King, and he would draw a larger audience to the show.  I remember thinking that Scarecrow and Mrs. King wasn't that big a hit, but the idea that corporate higher ups were interfering with Babylon 5 seemed very plausible at the time.

One sad irony of Michael O'Hare's condition is the character of Commander Sinclair was emotionally tortured by his past, due to almost hallucinatory and painful flashbacks he kept having to events he couldn't remember.  I was glad they brought O'Hare back in season three for those two-episodes about Babylon 4, because the way Sinclair's story arc was completed was really cool.

Dina, you really should watch this show if you can.  Also, anyone who is a fan of Benedict Jacka's Alex Verus series should watch it too because of the three elements Jacka has taken directly from B5.  There are characters named Morden and Drahk which come straight from B5, and he's even had Morden ask Alex, "What do you want?"  That question is an important one in Babylon 5, and I would bet dollars to doughnuts that sometime soon the question "Who are you?" will play an important part in Alex's life.  (Though the rest of the Alex Verus novels are unrelated to B5.)     

I love all the Mirror episodes of the Trek series, but curiously I am not interested in the DF: MM book at all (other than because it would move the story towards the BAT). I just don't care for an alternate Harry. I just want to see more Harry (Harry prime  )

My guess is while the Mirror Mirror novel will most likely read as almost a stand alone story that is seemingly separate from the rest of the Dresden Files we know after Grave Peril; at or near the end of that novel Harry (prime) will learn several things he couldn't have learned in his own universe.   As you said, these bits of knowledge will help move the overall story arc towards the BAT. 

This is probably four years from when Mirror Mirror comes out (God, that is depressing.), but I hope it is a great stand alone story, because I would mostly be reading it just to find out what Harry prime is going to learn.  One TV show that Jim and many fans are familiar with is Babylon 5.  They used to have episodes; particularly in the first two seasons, that were clearly meant to stand alone from the overall story arc.  Some of those episodes were very good, some were really weak, particularly in the first season of the show.  However, even in some of the weaker episodes there would usually be some tidbit of information casually dropped into that episode that would become significant in the larger arc of the show.  Whenever it comes out, I hope Mirror Mirror is a real page turner, because I don't want MM to be like one of those second rate B5 episodes that are only important because of the odd scraps of information that gave us clues to what was coming next.

P.S.  Also, whatever Harry learns had better be worth the wait.

Methinks you forgot an operation.  It was chapter 36 on 12/7 and 38 on 12/17.  That's two chapters in ten days, averaging a chapter every five days.  If there's 14 to go, that's 70 days, rather than 140.  Maybe mid--to-late-March, assuming he takes some holiday time off from writing?

I don't remember where I heard or read this, but I remember Jim stating that he can average writing about 4,000 words a day when everything is running smoothly.  (Or was it 3,400 words a day? - Just ignore that and pretend it's 4,000.)  The last four novels had these many words in it: Changes: 149,280 words, Ghost Story: 162,899 words, Cold Days: 175,685 words and Skin Game: 151,922 words.  That averages to about 159,947 words. So Jim has finished 38 chapters, and I believe someone has said most of the later books have averaged 52 chapters.  Assuming most chapters average out to same length, that would mean Jim has written about 116,884 words so far. (159,947 words / 52 expected chapters x 38 written ones)  This leaves just over 43,000 words left for Jim to write.  (159,947 - 116,884 = 43,063)

In theory, at 4,000 words a day Jim could be done in less than two weeks, but I doubt that will be the case.  (Of course, we have to add at least a week for Christmas and New Years.)  As Jim approaches the final chapters, I think it's to be expected that it takes longer for him to work out all the details, so the climax of the story isn't just exciting, it also makes sense and fits neatly with what has come before it.  So my guess is if Jim is on a roll now, maybe he will finish in about 4 to 6 weeks.  I hope those updates on his website keep coming.  It's nice to have something to keep track of.

(I know Jim needs to take a break from Harry when he finishes a DF novel, but I really wish he could just take three months off, maybe travel to Australia and New Zealand (or wherever).  It's Summer there now.  Shelve the next Cinder Spires novel for a while.  Then come home and jump into Mirror Mirror.  IMO the Aeronaut's Windlass was OK.  It had some fun parts and there was at least one character that I think might become really interesting down the road, but I can't say I'm dying to read what happens next.)       

Titania wanted Harry dead  But that debt lay at Mab's feet since Harry was acting for Winter.  Snatching Marcone was meant to get Mab to do just what she did.  Enlist a mortal champion.  Being how she was in the middle of a torture session with the current Knight.  Who you gonna call?  Harry is where he always is, the last to know.

Yes, but I thought that happened after the Gruff's first attempt to kill Harry.  You see the problem.  Titania went after Harry before the domino's you describe, started to fall.  Even if Titania knew Marcone was going to be kidnapped and reasoned that Mab would enlist Harry as her emissary; that is not countering Winter, that's being proactive.  There's something else going on here.