I think this subject needs to be fully aired out, rather than having it pop up piecemeal in a number of different conversations.  I don't think we need to go into the story being split in two.  I believe there's another thread that already deals with that issue.  Go ahead and mention it if ties into some larger point you want to make. 

Also, you don't have to limit yourself to these three questions.  For example, you could tell us about something good (or not) that you didn't expect.  Finally, you might want to; not guess how Battle Ground will play out, but tells us what you think it should do.  And I don't mean in terms of its story and which characters live or die; like I want to see Thomas survive and become a KotC, I mean in how the story should go from here in order to finish in a (hopefully) satisfying way, or how it might tie up loose ends or salvage any weaknesses you found in Peace Talks.  I'll post my ideas later.  Dinner; I mean duty, calls   

Any spoilers should be very minor.  Nothing anyone couldn't have figured out for themselves.

First some minor stuff:
Lara didn't know about you know what. - Not that surprising.
Molly still keeping her job a secret. - Not really surprising.
Learning the capabilities and weakness of Butters light saber. - Jim has already talked about this in some interview or at a con.

More interesting stuff:
I correctly guessed Harry's relationship with the younger wardens. - Gratifying that I figured that out in advance.
We learn why Ebenezer really, really doesn't like the White Court. - This makes his scene with Lara in Turn Coat make more sense.
I was surprised that the major complication with Thomas occurred so soon. - I guessed it would occur about half-way through PT.  I thought it would be a giant complication added to earlier events, but seeing as it was in the trailer, the timing makes sense.
Cristos looks more like a dupe than a major player. - I suppose that could change.  Even if it doesn't, Cristos; sort of like detective Rudolph, could make himself a major pain that Harry has deal with or work around.

Odd questions and a disappointment or two:
One of the major players hasn't even shone up yet. - Unless, I missed something at the first meeting, I didn't see a description of any of them.  This is odd.
None of the major bad guys, mystery characters and questionable players that I wanted to see have appeared on the scene. -
Sure, one of them could be operating in the background but that's not the same thing.  I don't care that the semi-immortal shape-shifter guru from the Ukraine isn't at the talks, but I was hoping at least one really new and dangerous character (not in the short stories) would make their first appearance.  I suppose we could get a late arrival. 
We learned in advance that Kincade is no longer working for Ivy.  Who is he working for now?
I surprised Jim hasn't set up several players as potential suspects for the major complication with Thomas.
How come no one's asked the obvious question yet, cui bono? - I suppose there are too many potential enemies who would like to set one supernatural nation against another, but still.

Potential bad guys:
Ebenezer has been set up as a possible suspect.  He has the motivation.
We know from the short story Even Hand that Justine is far more capable than she appears in most of the novels.  Who else could convince Thomas to do something like this?  However, it's just speculation at this point.
Carlos Ramirez.  I think his wounds go deeper than just physical damage. - In terms of a potential backstabber, not in setting up Thomas.
     

It was announced that the first public viewing of the trailer for Peace Talks will on Thursday March 12 at Pensacon.  (I'm guessing that's in Pensacola, FL)  No news was given on when the trailer will hit YouTube.  I'm hoping it won't be more than two or three weeks after the con.

There were also some drawings from the storyboards of the trailer which you can look at and guess their meaning.  For example, is this a drawing of Elaine?  I don't think it's Lara or Justine.
https://www.jim-butcher.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/MeganLloyd-4.jpg

Is Harry having a difficult conversation with Molly, and is he in jail?
https://www.jim-butcher.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/MeganLloyd-7.jpg

Which member of the fae do you think this is?  My money is on the Leansidhe.
https://www.jim-butcher.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/MeganLloyd-2.jpg

Here is a link to the page with all of the drawings. Date Feb 25th.
https://www.jim-butcher.com/

I have two questions I want to ask everyone.  Well, maybe two questions.  If you think that no mortal characters will be nemfected for the rest of the Dresden Files, or that mortals simply cannot become nemfected, just say no to question one.  I know some readers believe only the fae can be nemfected.  If that's you and you think the next likely target to be taken over by Nemesis will be the Erl King, Eldest Gruff or whoever, please post that WAG in another thread, this is just about mortals.

Question #1.  Do you think a mortal character will be taken over by Nemesis sometime in the series? (Including the BAT.)
Let me be more specific.  I don't mean manipulated by Nemesis or one of it's agents, I mean fully taken over like we saw with Cat Sith.  Personally, I don't believe Victor Sells or Leonid Kravos were possessed by Nemesis.  I think they were manipulated into using black magic or were already doing so and promised more power and were trained up.  The corrupting effects of black magic did the rest.  The FBI were tainted by using the wolf pelt belts, so Nemesis infection wasn't there either.  (Lily was as unreliable a narrator in the DF's as we could get.)   

Question #2 If you think it's possible or even likely someone will be possessed, or perhaps already is, who is it, or who will it be?  (Actually there's a second part to this question, so really there are three questions.) Part 2b.  And why do you think Nemesis might target this individual?

I've been thinking about posting a WAG about this for some time, but I'd like to see if anyone else is thinking along the same lines or has another character in mind as the likely target.  Actually, I don't want to post a WAG at all.  They can be very tiresome to write and I've already started on this particular WAG three times and it became very long, tedious to read, and just wasn't fun to work on any longer.  I'll leave this post alone for ten days to a couple of weeks and see what kind of responses I get, if any.  Then, in as short amount of space as I can, I will give you my candidate and why they are, or will be chosen.

This has probably been asked and answered before, but I'm trying to remember all the times Harry has opened his third eye to see things and people as they really are.

Storm Front - Harry looks at Victor Sells house with the Sight.  Did he use the Sight earlier in the book?  I don't remember.

Fool Moon - ?

Grave Peril - Harry sees Mavra at Bianca party, but I think he just sees her standing on the stairs above him, he doesn't look at her face.  Earlier, Harry sees Mickey Malone and Murphy with his sight.

Summer Knight - Harry sees both Mab and Titania with his sight.  It floors him.

Death Masks - ?

Blood Rights - ?

Dead Beat - Harry looks at the murder site at the Field Museum.

Proven Guilty - Harry looks at the bathroom where the assault took place that Nelson was blamed for.

White Night - ?

Small Favor - ?

Turn Coat - Harry sees the naagloshii.  It floors him and makes him feel sick afterwards.

Changes - ?

Ghost Story - Does this book even count because Harry wasn't really himself?  I think ghost Harry tried to use his Sight to look at an angel, but was blocked from doing so.

Cold Days - ?

Skin Game - ? 

I know that in one book Harry looked at Murphy again with his sight, but I don't remember which one.  Has Harry looked at anyone else that I'm forgetting? 

So far there have been four characters who we know to have been Nemfected.  They are the late Summer and Winter Ladies Aurora and Maeve, the Leanansidhe and Cat Sith.  I once read speculation that the Red King wasn't just going senile, he may have been nemfected himself, but until there is a WOJ or something said in the books that confirms this, I can't include the Red King on this list.  Plus, the Red Court is dead while Summer and Winter are very much alive, even if the two Ladies I mentioned are not.  So I don't care very much whether Big Red was or wasn't nemfected.

We don't know where Cat Sith is and it appears that Lea was cured by Mab or is at least in remission.  I think Lea said something in Ghost Story about not talking or dwelling on touchy subjects too long, because it could make her vulnerable.  I'm actually going to post something much longer on this topic, so I don't want to get into the weeds of how Nemesis works it's magic on its victims.  What I want is to ask everyone a question.

Who do you think is likely to be a target for Nemesis to infect with its poison in future?  If you think it will one of the fae, because they are only type of beings in the Dresden verse who can be nemfected, that's fine.  I think you're wrong, but even if anyone can be nemfected, the next victim might still be one of the fae.  (I just had an odd thought.  Let's say that normally, only the fae are vulnerable.  Could Fix and Harry be vulnerable, even though they're mortals, because they carry the mantles of Summer and Winter, respectively?  It's just a thought.)  Feel free to name any character you wish.

I thought about doing this as a poll, but I'd have to list just about every character in the books who is still alive.  So feel free to name any character you wish.  Also, what makes that character a good candidate?  I don't have an answer myself.  I'm just curious to see what everyone else thinks and I think it would be interesting if several people name the same character, because I'd like to know why they see this character becoming nemfected when I don't.     

I saw on Jim's Twitter feed that he will be doing a book signing and possibly a reading this weekend at ConnectiCon in Hartford, CT.  So if you're near Hartford and you don't mind spoilers, you might get a chance to hear the first chapter; or two or three, of Peace Talks, because I can't think Jim would read from anything else.  He hasn't even started writing the next Cinder Spires book.

On ConnectiCon's website https://connecticon.org/ they have announced Jim as a surprise guest, but they haven't listed a schedule of what times he would appear.  Jim's tweet only said he will be at the Bard's Tower Booth.

I'm hoping Priscellie will be on hand to record a reading if Jim does one.  Of course, anyone who visits this forum and is in New England and is close enough to attend could do the same thing.  (Hint - Hint.)

I wish I could tell you that I had some spoilers that I would post in another thread but Jim was pretty tight lipped about Peace Talks, but he did have some interesting things to say.  Unfortunately, the audio on my cell phone video decided to crap out on me, so I don't have any video to post on YouTube, but that doesn't matter very much because I can give you the relevant information in this post.

Jim made a comment, which may have been a joke, that he had finished Peace Talks on Wednesday night.  He said this during the opening ceremonies of the Con on July 4.  However, he wasn't joking this morning when he said he will be starting to write the next Cinder Spires in two weeks.  So I think it's safe to assume Peace Talks is all but wrapped up. 

(This next part isn't specifically about the Dresden Files, but it strongly relates to future Dresden books.)  When asked about how he's challenging himself to be a better writer; because Jim had just told an audience member that a writer should always try to do just a little more than they are already comfortable doing in order to improve, Jim said a recent rereading of The Aeronaut's Windlass felt to him like he had been a kid playing with action figures who smashed them together multiple times in order to have fun.  He wants to tell The Olympian Affair; the next Cinder Spires book, in a smoother and more compact style than he's accomplished before.  He said the same thing applies to future Dresden books.  The word count on Peace Talks is 211,000 words, and that number could still go up a little further.  (I assume he meant through rewriting a scene here and there.)  He wants future Dresden Files novels to be shorter.

(More writing stuff, but again relevant to future Dresden Files.)  Jim said that he didn't realize how much losing his dog Frost had hurt his writing ability.  He said it wasn't until he had a new dog and the cats that sit around him when he writes that his word count started to rise from 250 words a day after Frost died to about 4,000 words a day he can currently do.

(Finally, something specific about Peace Talks.)  In a panel Friday afternoon about writing combat scenes, Jim said the best combat scene he's ever written may be the one he just finished for Peace Talks.  He said "Peace Talks gets apocalyptic; with a small a."

Jim had a couple more more things to say, but they were specifically about the Cinder Spires books, so I'll post them in that section of the forum.