Questions Specifically for Jim

[jimbutcher]

So, to start:
Can Murphy actually use the katana set she has on her mantle?

Yes!  Murphy is a fairly serious traditional aikidoka (though that isn't the only art she's studied or employs) and she's leaned quite a bit of jo technique, which largely carries over to katana technique.  Her knowledge, though, is kinda academic.  She isn't a kendo practitioner, and it's not as though you can just go a few quick practice rounds with swords to keep your reflexes in shape.  So when it comes to large choppy-slashy blades, she's never used it in life.

Well.  Except for this really extreme moment in Hawaii . . .

It's mentioned that the Swords of the Cross have a nail from the Crucifixtion worked into them...are they visible (as in, part of the guard or blade), or are they hidden or reforged into the metal? Also, the katana has the symbol for faith engraved on the blade...do the other two have their respective namesakes engraved on them somehow? What are they? (As in, is it a symbol or word in the blade of the broadsword and calvary sabre?)

The nails are visible--Harry does his best to convince himself that it's rust, not blood, on the nail in the hilt of Michael's sword in Grave Peril.  They are worked in to the metal of the blade, at the base, just above the guard, point toward the end of the blade.

The other two swords bear one kind of marking or another, but Shiro's was very specific to him, as he had to seek out a new sword when he inherited the old Fidelacchius.  His was custom work, essentially.  Sanya's sword actually has an Egyptian heiroglyph for the sun on the pommel, and he could use it as a letter-seal if he was of a mind to do it.  The Egyptian, who had the sword before Sanya, often did.  Sanya isn't really the wax-seal-letter-writing kind.

Amoracchius, though, is completely unadorned, pure function.  Though it's possible that there may have been designs on the crossguard or hilt that have worn away over time.

Is it supposed to be a mystery at this point whether that was Mab or not on the roof of Arctis Tor? There's been much discussion as to whether or not it was or was not, and if it's supposed to be a mystery, great, but if not, did we just miss it? (This question is purely to determine whether we, the audience, are supposed to know, or if it's still a mystery.)

I said what I wanted to say about Arctis Tor.  I'm just not done telling that entire story yet.   There will be more, never fear.

Jim

[jimbutcher]

As the maintainer of the timeline, I have a bunch of timeline-related questions!  Feel free to ignore or mock any question you don't feel like answering.

Mwoo hah, got it!

1)  Some have reported you saying that we have already been given enough evidence to determine Harry's age.  One point of contention is the real-life timeline of David Copperfield, who only adopted that stage name in 1974 and gained national recognition in 1977.  Did you have these dates in mind when you named Harry, and if so, does this give us an upper limit on Harry's age?  Is the smallpox vaccination scar also meant to be a clue?

Some, kind of, and yes.   Harry's dad was acquainted with DC from the SAM when both were at a similar point in their careers--just getting going.  Malcolm was a bit older and more experienced, but didn't have the same kind of raw talent and had not had any major success or anything.  Malcolm had an enormous amount of admiration for the young performer (and may or may not have contributed the notion for his stage name).

2)  How long was Harry in Chicago before opening his detective business, and how long did he work with Nick at Fallen Angel?  (Also, can we get a last name for Nick?)

Harry was in Chicago for most of two years before he started working with Nick.  He spent three years at Ragged Angel.  Nick's full name is Nicholas Christian, and he was the protagonist of three or four short stories I wrote when I was even more ignorant about writing and storytelling--and was in fact my "original" prototype for Harry Dresden.  No wizard stuff or anything, just sluething and savvy, a little karate and a gun.

3)  How long was Harry with Ebenezar?  Was there much intervening time between when he left Ebenezar and when he moved to Chicago?  (Yeah, so #2 and #3 together are tantamount to asking "How old is Harry in Storm Front?"  Was it that obvious? )

Harry was with Ebenezar for nearly three years, from sometime not too long after his 16th birthday until his 19th or so.  He roamed around for a while before winding up in Chicago, but it wasn't Children of Israel In The Desert roaming or anything.  Call it somewhere between nine and twenty months.

4)  Did you happen to have any point in time in mind for "Vignette," the short story in which Harry and Bob discuss his yellow pages ad?

Not particularly.

5)  Care to pin down specific years for the actual books so we don't have to rely on my ridiculous BSF/ASF system? *puppy dog eyes*

See above answer.

6)  Sorry, after the revelations at Dragon*Con, I had to add a sixth.  You spoke of the age difference between Molly and Daniel as being part of the reason Molly will be the only magical Carpenter kid.  However, Molly is 17 in Proven Guilty, whereas Daniel is about 15 or 16, "maybe old enough to take a driver's test."  There's not much of an age difference at all.  Should I get a life?

Always!   But what's critical to this particular equation is the fact that Charity was consciously and deliberately neglecting her talent--which hadn't been all THAT hot to begin with.  She went through the time she got engaged to Michael, all the way through Molly's term, all the intervening time, etc, before she got to Daniel.  It had been more than two, maybe three years since she'd done anything with her magic by the time Daniel was conceived.

About how old is Alicia Carpenter in Proven Guilty?  We're given approximate ages for all the kids but her.

Uh.  Hsm.  My notes are buried under about six weeks of "I'll get to it in a bit" work that's been accumulating (of which answering questions here is some!).  I'll try to find it.   But the Carpenter kids' births are all pretty much within six months of being annual occurances.

What is Richard's (Murph's second husband's) last name?

Boughton.

Care to give us approximate ages for Luccio and Morgan?

Morgan was born fairly late in the 19th century, and fought for Britain in the Great War.  Luccio can barely remember the War of 1812 (which puts her in the same category with most modern American students), but it was of no interest to her at the time, growing up in southern Italy.

And finally, I know you're extraordinarily busy, but if you happen to glance over our timeline and notice any glaring errors, please point them out!

No promises!  I still have the next Furies book to hammer out!

Jim

[Bynjaimyn]

My question is not about your books, but rather about whether or not you do book signing's and stuff. I work in a Barnes and Noble in Sugar Land (outside of Houston), Texas, and was wondering if you'd like to come down and do a book signing, etc. I still have to work out how to do this at the store if you can, but would rather know how possible it is that you could (or would want) to do this. Thanks

[jay]

What beer do you base McAnally's brew off of? Or, is it just the type of beer you prefer . . .
 
  Maybe not the standard question, but I have been wondering . . .

[Mickey Finn]

Side note for Jim on the signing: Remember the Romance Con Shannon wants to hit in Houston.

[Priscellie]

THANK YOU!  Jim, you have the patience of a saint for indulging us in this thread. 

So now, thanks to Ortega's comment in "Death Masks", saying that Harry's detective business had been around for five years, we have a definite age for Harry:  27-28 years old in "Storm Front," just about the same age as Murphy. 

Edit: I've blocked off my next logic train, because it's now mostly irrelevant to current timeline discussion.  It doesn't actually contain spoilers, so people don't have to worry about that aspect.
On the other hand, you stated that Harry's smallpox vaccination is definitely meant as a clue to his age.  This should mean that Harry is at least 36-37 years old in Storm Front (assuming it takes place in ~2000, as routine vaccination in America against Smallpox stopped in 1972, and it was usually given at age 5-6 years old.  However, using out most conservative estimates and assuming he was born in 28 BSF and given a vaccination at age 5 in 1972, Storm Front would be set in 1995.

But the few dates we are definitely given cast doubt on this train of logic.  The Unseelie Incursion of 1994 would have happened in time for Storm Front, but the near-burning of the Shroud of Turin in 1997 would not have happened "a few years ago" if Death Masks took place in 1998.  It would also throw it out of whack with the David Copperfield timeline, as Kotkin wouldn't have joined the SAM yet.  We can only assume that either Harry's vaccination wasn't "routine," or that Duke Ortega was mistaken about the number of years Harry's investigative business had been open, and my entire Harry-timeline is off.  I know which option I'd rather believe!

Of course, many fans are coming forward with evidence that "non-routine" vaccinations were a lot more common than I would have guessed.  Amber has discovered that the military continued to vaccinate until the 1980s (like 1989, I think), and that smallpox wasn't declared eradicated until 1980 (the last naturally occurring case being 1977), and she believes that they might have continued to give the vaccine in orphanages.

Still, what's also weird is that Butters just assumes Harry is vaccinated.  Unless Murphy somehow knew and told him when they were setting up their meetin in "Death Masks", I can't fathom how he could have known.

(If I only put this much effort into my studies...)


And aside, "Karrin Boughton"?  No wonder she divorced him!

Edit:  I'd like to keep fan discussion of this matter in the timeline thread.  Until Jim responds again, I'll update this post periodically to keep it up to date with the current fan theories.

[WhiteCouncilLackey]

I got a small pox vaccine at 19.  If a doctor even thinks you have something close to small pox they shoot you up with as much vaccine as they think won't kill you. 

Editted to add that I have a small pox scar, and I was born in 69. -Mickey, who editted rather than post a new message in order to keep this thread relatively clean.

[BigMama]

Yes Jim. Remember the Romance Con Shannon wants to hit in Houston. It is called Romantic Times and it is in April 2007. Many folks (including me!) will be there. 

[Ghsdkgb]

Are we ever gonna see Harry in Calderon?

Not even necessarily as one of the books in the series. Maybe just a small, non-canonical short story written to please the supergeeks like myself?

Please?

[Elanel]

Uh, I'm not seeking a great spoiler, no, no, but... Ha! Will Eastern philosophies play a bigger role in the larger plot details of the novels, in particular Hinduism?

Thank you