Jim will also be doing an AMA ("Ask Me Anything") on Reddit's /r/fantasy section on November 20th.  The AMA will be posted that morning, and folks will have all day to come up with questions and "upvote" the questions of others, so the best ones bubble to the top.  Jim will start answering questions around 7pm or 8pm Central.

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Before you ask a question here you should probably take a look at the Dresden Files Word of Jim Compilation to see if the answer to your question has already been recorded there, and then take a look at the list of questions below to see if someone has already brought it up.

Ok, that out of the way.  The purpose of this thread is primarily to discuss good questions to ask him at any Q&A sessions he might participate in during the Cold Days release. 

This Origional Post, and possibly the first few responses, will be dedicated to listing out the questions that stand out for easy reference.  After the Cold Days release there will be a split showing which questions were generated by the Cold Days reading.  Also, if someone does get an answer to one of these questions from Jim, the answer will probably be placed here as well.

Ok to the Question Bank:

Legacy Questions: (I have great questions from previous versions of this thread saved on my HD and will list them in this first section)

• Does the Archive's body function like a wizard's does, with the same increase in potential lifespan?^-AcornArmy
  
  
• When the Senior Council fights Outsiders, how are they able to hurt them? Is it just a matter of throwing more power into their spells, or are they able to fine-tune their magic somehow, so that it hits the Outsiders more solidly than normal spells do?^-AcornArmy
  
  
• Did the Red Court(when they still existed) summon Outsiders into the Nevernever, or is any kind of Outsider-summoning limited to mortal wizards?
  (This one I got from the RPG source books, because they suggest that the Red Court summoned the Outsiders into the Nevernever during Proven Guilty. It seems to me that that would still be pulling Outsiders from beyond the Outer Gates-- assuming that the Outer Gates exist somewhere in the far reaches of the Nevernever-- which is something that we've been told only mortal wizards can do.)^-AcornArmy
  
  
• how many members of the accords are there. If he cant give a number then how about a percentage of how many we have already seen, like we have seen 1/2 of the total members to date or something like that. ^Landing
  
  
• what happened to the old gods such as the Mayans, was it the WG that got them to disappear or are they just being quite or did some of them never exist in the first place?^Landing
  
  
• Do all gods in the dresdenverse share the same origins or do they come from different beginnings? For instance where some of them actually fake gods that people just imagined, were some of them powerful vamps or fae or other beings of power that were worshiped, were some of them created by the beliefs of their followers, were some beings from before the start of time kind of thing?^Landing
  
  
• Do the winter and summer courts have to be in perfect balance with each other in every way? if one sits down does the other have to stand up, or is it only in important ways that they have to match each other? Can one court make a move that the other does not have to balance?^Landing
  
  
• This is a bit of a selfish question since I have been one of those that has given him a gift in the past   (http://www.jimbutcheronline.com/bb/index.php/topic,16699.0.html)
  What kind of gifts have people given you since you mention getting them all the time from people, and what was your favorite?
  ^Landing (Editors note:  If you give something to Jim at a signing, it probably has to be something he can carry home in his luggage)
  
  
• Assuming no other significant change in Thomas and Justine's relationship, can Justine turn her anti-Raith protections off and on depending on whether the last person she slept with was Thomas?^Vairelome
  
  
• Does the loup-garou curse require that its host reach a minimum age before forcing the change, and if so, what is it?^Vairelome
  
  
• Did Abby survive?^Vairelome
  
  
• Quote from: vultur on April 07, 2010, 11:38:19 PM

  Since it's unlikely to be a plot point in the future due to events in Changes, I suppose it's an appropriate question for this thread: what is the true origin of the Red Court? Are they actually originally native to the Nevernever (and were a Nevernever "species" before they encountered humans) or did they begin as "altered" humans? If the former, were they different than the Rampires we know before they first encountered humans (and since then have copied human traits)?
  
  And when did they originate/first encounter humanity? PG suggests the Red King is 4000 years old, but Changes says that Arianna is older than human written language (which would make her at least 5000+; Sumerian cuneiform writing originated sometime before 3000 BC) and that she was turned by the Red King - so is younger than him.
  
• Quote from: knnn on May 17, 2010, 01:31:52 AM

  In Dead Beat, Bob says that Kemmler was put down for the last time in 1961.
  
  It so happens that on October 30th, 1961 (Halloween Eve), the Russians supposedly exploded the "Tsar Bomb", the largest man-made explosion ever, somewhere in the Arctic Circle.
  
  Is this:
  
  1.  A coincidence
  
  2.  Exploded by the Russians as attempt by the mortal authorities to cover up the destruction caused by the supernatural energies involved in taking Kemmler down.
  
  3.  Actually the result of Kemmler's Death Curse?
  
• Quote from: cass on June 05, 2010, 03:08:31 PM

  Changes Question....
  

  (click to show/hide)

  When Harry calls Mab and ends up on the Stone Table, he notes that "it was after the equinox" and it therefore made sense that it was in Winter's domain.  I was under the impression (from SK) that the table changes hands on the solstices, when the Courts were at the height of their power-- Summer relinquished its hold on the table at Midsummer, Winter gave the table back at Midwinter.  The equinoxes never really came into the transfer of power in Faerie as described in that book.  Is Harry just out of it here and using the wrong word because he's had a tough day and a half, or is there some wrinkle with the equinoxes and control over the Table that's never been explained onscreen?  I tried working it out that the Courts exchanged the Table on the equinoxes as well as the solstices, but that ended up implying (with the knowledge that Summer relinquishes the Table at Midsummer) that Summer controls the table after and equinox but before the solstice (eg. during spring and autumn)-- which doesn't work with Harry's observation.
• Quote from: chainblue on July 11, 2010, 05:06:07 AM

  What can be soulgazaed besides humans?  Could Harry soulgaze Mouse?
  
• Quote from: aikidoka on September 29, 2010, 04:07:43 PM

  A question for Jim regarding the Barabbus curse.  How many times can Nic mandate a death with the curse?  Are there any limitations on who can be targeted and how many times a person can be targeted?  Inquiring minds want to know, though mostly just I want to know.
  
• Was the fact that Lea’s kiss on Thomas’ neck in Grave peril burnt him significant?
  
  
• Quote from: Canicula on October 14, 2010, 08:00:33 PM

  Jim, you mentioned that wizard "Listens-to-the-Wind was of the Illinois. That was a sizable confederacy
  made up of a number of cognate tribes: Peoria, Kaskaskia, Michigamea, Cahokia, and Tamaroa, to name
  the five most populous. Listens-to-the-Wind also spoke about the annihilation of his tribe because of his
  refusal to intervene.
  
  As one who has studied the Illiniwek in depth, I concluded that Listens-to-the-Wind spoke of one of three
  battles: the devastation of Kaskaskia (Village) in 1680, the extermination of the Tamaroa sub-tribe shortly thereafter,
  or the siege at Starved Rock.
  Did LTW refer to one of these three historically recorded events or something lost through the ages?
  
  This is the link to my Illini web site and the pertinent sub-unit: Scholarly citations are provided.
  
  http://rfester.tripod.com/iroq.html
  

  Editor:  This is a bamph question.  ^-Serack
• Quote from: KevinSig on October 18, 2010, 11:28:03 PM

  Has Jim said if Rich (Murphy's Ex/Brother-in-Law)

  (click to show/hide)

  was in the FBI building when the events of Changes went down?  Or stated why Harry didn't run across Rich at all during his dealings with the FBI, in said book?

  
  I'd like to know if anything happened with Rich.  I mean, yes Jim has only used him in 2 books, but I'd figure he & the other members of the Murphy clan might come back into play eventually
  
  Kevin
  Of course, my evil half

  (click to show/hide)

  imagines that Rich will have stated the dreaded phrase, 'I don't know' just at the time Harry defeated the Ick.
• Quote from: Warden John Marcone on October 14, 2010, 03:23:53 PM

  First, if Stoker and Lovecraft were "on to something", what about Mary Shelly?  Do Dr. Frankenstein's experiments exist in the DV and if so what happened to his Monster?
  
  Second, who is Peter Pan?  NeverNever, Neverland, is there something going on here?
  
• (response to above question)
  Quote from: mimicgogo on October 29, 2010, 04:02:16 PM

  This is basically the question I wanted to ask, but I'll expand a little bit...Are there any other notable "fiction" authors who got killed for their works?  My short list includes Aesop, the Grimms, H.G. Wells and especially Tolkien and C.S. Lewis.  The "between worlds" place featured in "The Magician's Nephew" sounds awful Neverneverish.
  

2012 Questions:

• What sort of "cosmic" purview are the Dragons in charge of?^Quantus
  
  
• What's the deal with Mother Winter's dentures? ^-Quantus
  
  
• Can Ivy get information from a Human that is in the NN?  (since basically all other forms of magic seem to be blocked by it) ^-Quantus
  
  
• You said that the Blackstaff is passed to somebody who knwos what it is, is crazy enough to take it up, and can be trusted with it.  Trusted By whom?  The previous Blackstaff?  The Senior Council?  The Staff itself? ^-Quantus
  
  
• Is Mouse a Temple Dog or an actual Foo Dog? ^-Quantus
  
  
• Harry didnt get in Council trouble for Sue given the circumstances, and it wasnt a particularly Guilt-inducing event, but my understanding is that any use of Necromantic energy should carry some level of Taint (of the kind the kind the Blackstaff protects against).  Is that the case, and how much did that get him, compared to say when he killed Justin. ^-Quantus
  
  
• Can the Sight be fooled?  That angel in changes was able to shut it down before the Sight hurt harry, but could a being of sufficient power actually hide from the sight? ^-Quantus
  Addendum:Related, but was the disguise of Father Vincent, that Quintus Cassius had, related along these lines?  (Since it was able to at least fool Wizard senses.)-KevinSig
  

Editor's note: It actually happened in Ghost Story not Changes Quantus.

• On Changes why Lea and the Eebs call Mouse a demon and Uriel call him little brother?^-Paladino
  
  
• Does all Archangels purpose is to maintain free will, like Uriel. Or each one have one based on his title? Prince of Hosts, The Thrumpeter, Demonbiner and The Watchman (Uriel)?^-Paladino
  
  
• How old is Rashid in terms of years lived (not how many years ago he was born)? ^{-TheCuriousFan}
  
  
• How old is Margaret in terms of years lived (not how many years ago she was born)? ^{-TheCuriousFan}
  
  
• Does being a witch affect how long you are fertile (hopefully this settles the fertility threads once and for all)? ^{-TheCuriousFan}
  
  
• What were the other massive incidents Ebenezar referenced when talking about his acts as Blackstaff (we know he did Krakatoa and Tungska as two examples of massive incidents) and why did Ebenezar cause each of these incidents? ^{-TheCuriousFan}
  
  
• When was the last time Vadderung pitched in, and how bad did it get?  (this based on Eb's comment in Changes) ^-Quantus
  
  
• Assuming Harry is in his late 30's in Changes, how old does he look?  Has his wizard aging started yet, and has he not realized it? ^-Griffyn612
  
  
• Murphy's role in the story, has it been planned since the beginning or has it evolved naturally over the course of the series? Is her future planned now?
  
  
• Did Lasciel whisper in Harry's head more than once over the course of Changes? ^-Vairelome

Editor's note: We haven't confirmed she whispered at all, it's just really likely.

• Does Harry still owe Mab a favor, or was that wiped out by the Winter Knight deal? (I thought it was obvious that the favor was no longer in play, but apparently there are other people who think differently) ^-aShorty21
  
  
• Is it possible for Harry to be free of the mantle of Winter Knight without dying? ^-aShorty21
  
  
• was Sue a black court? ^{-Ms Duck}
  
  
• Do all faeries/sidhe have a weakness to iron and if so has it always been that way or is it like wizards and technology where things change every century or so? ^{-Second Aristh}
  
  
• Approximately how many different merlins have there been since the original Merlin? ^{-Second Aristh}
  
  
• Are any supernatural powerhouses (e.g. Odin) sandbagging their own power levels in order to interfere more directly in the world? ^{-Second Aristh}
  
  
• Is the 'Ancient' part of Ancient Mai an honorific or some sort of title/office like the Gatekeeper?
  Same question with Thorned Namshiel? ^{-Second Aristh}
  
  
• Have we already seen Cowl in another identity, or is he concealing his face so that people don't recognize him as the guy who runs the omelet station at Edinburgh, or something we've never paid attention to before, and thus never seen?
  
  Or does he just find cowls to be terribly comfortable? ^-Peregrine
  
  
• Active Vs Passive thought.  Which do you use?
  
  There's been a number of discussions we fans have had, on this matter, & wouldn't mind if you could clarify it for us.  First, the matter of the Wizard's sight.  The way I read it, the memories are extremely vivid, but like all memories, require an association to bring it to the forefront of the mind.  (That's how I read how Turn Coat worked, at least.)
  
  Others seem to think, its the constant "Can't sleep, clown will eat me" sort of 24/7 deal.
  
  
  Likewise, I'd like to know if Ivy works in the same way.  I personally think the Archive works via association.  Others seem to think that its like Ivy's watching 1,000,000 news channels & reading the news tickers of each & every one.  At the same time.
  
  I mean, I know you've said that Ivy doesn't have any filters to protect herself from the Internet, but I'd assume she's have less issues as long as she distanced herself from things that had associations with Rule 34. ^-KevinSig
  

It may be that there is no position of Blackstaff and EB is a warlock operating in secret from the White Council. 

Not true, The Blackstaff is a official position by WoJ.

First Post: I beleive in this theory myself, has Harry actually discussed the position of the Blackstaff or the Grey Council with ANYONE else on the White Council?  From what I can remember, the only person he's ever talked to about it was EB.  Since EB isn't above lieing to Harry, I put forth that there is no Grey Council and EB just convinced Harry that he was doing good when in fact he was helping the bad guys.

Also referred to by name in WoJ, it exists and all 13 (Harry included) members who showed up at Chichen Itza are members.

Also I beleive that Lea is not only his godmother but also his Grandmother with EB.

Nope, mortal who died in 1810.

He got the power to defeat Justin from Lea, I believe.

By WoJ all he got from the deal with Lea was a confidence boost.

Harry probably didn't pursue the punk wizard, because he wasn't a big threat.  He stole puppies, didn't kill anyone.  Besides, Harry didn't know the pups were as special as they turned out to be.

And I was wondering...

The Wardhounds at the White Council, the Chinese Temple dog statues that come to life, aren’t they most likely Foo Dog spirits, too?  Mouse's brothers and sisters?

No, they're constructs made by Ancient Mai IIRC.

Anyone else think that the shadow whispering to harry in the church might have belonged to Nicodemus?

You'd have to explain where Lasciel was in Ghost Story then.

TCF,

That makes them too much like us.  It's not that they don't love, it's that love means something very different for them than it does for us.

How does have having partially similar emotions make them too similar? I didn't say they were completely like us.

I was referring to when he first met the Scarecrow or was in the middle of running away from it.