We hope you enjoyed our little prank yesterday. While the trilogy of “Bigfoot as Harry’s client” short stories is indeed on the horizon, there is no spinoff paranormal romance series in the pipeline. Jim is hard at work on Cold Days! It doesn’t have a release date yet, but you can be certain, we’ll be shouting it from the hilltops as soon as it’s been set!

Take the edge off the wait with the upcoming Bigfoot trio:

“I Was A Teenage Bigfoot” — from Blood Lite 3: Aftertaste, edited by Kevin J. Anderson.
Takes place circa Dead Beat.
Released 5/29/2012.

“Bigfoot on Campus” — from Hex Appeal, edited by P.N. Elrod.
Takes place between Turn Coat and Changes.
Released 6/05/2012.

“B is for Bigfoot” — from Under My Hat: Tales From the Cauldron, edited by Jonathan Strahan.
Takes place between Fool Moon and Grave Peril.
Released 8/28/2012.

There is also a Molly POV short story in “Dangerous Women,” edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Duzois, but its title and release date haven’t been announced yet. The story is set between Ghost Story and Cold Days.

What were your favorite April Fool’s Day jokes online yesterday? Share them here!

Back in December, Jim talked about two new series he was auditioning, a high fantasy saga and a steampunk series. However, there was a third simmering on the back burner, and it’s since shoved its way to the fore. We can now announce Jim’s next series: A paranormal romance series, starring Bigfoot!

“The plan was to start writing Cold Days early this year,” Butcher explains, “but as I was finishing the trio of Bigfoot shorts, in which Bigfoot is Harry’s client, I realized there was so much more in his world I wanted to write. It really consumed my brain. The betas are eating it up, so I’m hoping the fans dig it, too.”

Jim credits his wife Shannon, author of over a dozen romantic suspense and paranormal romance novels, with the inspiration for his new direction. “Bigfoot is basically just an alpha male, exaggerated: Big, strong, hairy, and isn’t much for ballet. Makes him a good candidate for romance. ”

While this new series takes place in the same universe as The Dresden Files, it will focus on entirely new characters. However, be on the lookout for the occasional familiar face!

Look for Great North Passion in stores October 2nd, 2012. Its sequel, Land of the Midnight Desire is expected in Fall 2013.

Discuss this news here!

You can learn more — and hopefully contribute! — at:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/evilhat/spirit-of-the-century-presents-the-dinocalypse-tri

Also, the second sample chapter for Dinocalypse Now just went up:

http://www.deadlyfredly.com/2012/03/dinocalypse-now-chapter-two/

You can find others at the same blog, and more info at:

http://www.dinocalypse.com/

Issue #5 of the Fool Moon graphic novel hits comics stores tomorrow! Find one near you at comicshoplocator.com. You can also check out a five-page preview at Comic Book Resources.

Jim updated his LiveJournal a few weeks ago with an update on his most recent projects:

Stuff I Been Doin’

Okay, for the folks who want to know, here’s what I’m up to lately.

Over the past four months, I’ve been busy working several different things. First, I’ve been getting in some quality LARP time on weekends at least once a month. Hooah! It’s really cool to not work weekends!

Oh, and some writing too:

First, our LARP organization is putting together a second rules set, one which hopefully will effectively transcend the stickiest problems of the current system. Chapters will be able to run whichever they like, but our hope is to create a system that is so nifty that you can’t NOT want to play it. That’s been a HUGE amount of work, and is going to be more, but we’re getting to the point now where I’m impatient to have it finished because I wanna go PLAY it! It will be some serious fun.

I’ve done a trilogy of short stories with linked characters in which Bigfoot is Dresden’s client. They take place spread out over the length of the series so far. The Bigfoot stories were about 40 percent of a novel in total page length. Then I sat down and wrote out the foundation for two more series: the first was a Black Company-inspired fantasy series which would be a prelude trilogy to my epic epic fantasy epic. The second is a steampunk fantasy series, with lots of airships, crystals, goggles, manners, and Hornblowerism. The steampunk stuff seems to be ringing the beta readers’ bells, so I think that will be the next project I go to town on.

But that will probably have to wait. I have at least one more short story to get in before the year is up. It’s for the “Dangerous Women” anthology, and I’m leaning toward writing it from Molly’s point of view, in the time between Ghost Story and Cold Days. Come the new year, I’ll start Cold Days. With any luck, there will be snow on the ground when it happens, and I can write the first few chapters with the only light in the room being reflected from the snow outside. That would be perfect.

Someone have a word with the people who schedule the weather, will you?

I’m just about done writing short stories. I’ve got two more next year and maybe one more novelette for the second short story anthology, and then I’m done with them. I need to focus on writing, you know, novels.

All three Bigfoot stories are already available for preorder:

“B is for Bigfoot,” set between Fool Moon and Grave Peril, will be included in the Paranormal Y.A. anthology Under My Hat: Tales from the Cauldron by Jonathan Strahan, due out August 28th, 2012. It contains a jaw-droppingly impressive list of contributing authors, including Neil Gaiman, Tanith Lee, Jane Yolen, Peter S. Beagle, Garth Nix, Charles de Lint, and Delia Sherman!

“I Was A Teenage Bigfoot,” set around the time of Dead Beat, will be included in Kevin J. Anderson’s Blood Lite 3: Aftertaste, due for release May 29, 2012.

“Bigfoot on Campus,” set between Turn Coat and Changes, will be included in P.N. Elrod’s Hex Appeal, slated for June 5th, 2012.

The Molly story will be published in Dangerous Women, a cross-genre anthology featuring stories about women warriors, co-edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois. It is not yet available for preorder.

* * *

Subterranean Press, publishers of Backup and the illustrated limited editions of The Dresden Files, offers fans an update, as well:

Here’s a first look at Vincent Chong’s cover for our upcoming edition of Jim Butcher’s Side Jobs, which collects short stories and novellas set in the world of the Dresden Files. Vinny is at work on the interior illustrations, and Jim has the signature pages. As soon as those elements are in house, it’s off to the printer for this long-awaited title.

Speaking of Jim, we’re also working on a couple of other books by him: a very small limited edition of his epic fantasy, Furies of Calderon, and the next Dresden Files novel, Death Masks. More on those as they progress.

Note: In this limited edition of Side Jobs, “Backup” will feature new art by Vincent Chong. The Mike Mignola illustrations are only available in Subterranean Press’ sold-out 2008 hardcover edition.

* * *

Finally, with Hugo and Nebula nomination season upon us, here’s a list of Jim’s eligible works, plus some eligible folks Jim has worked with this year:

Novel:
Ghost Story – Jim Butcher (Penguin)

Short Story:
“Curses” – Jim Butcher (The Naked City, St. Martin’s Griffin)

Graphic Novel:
Fool Moon – Jim Butcher, Mark Powers, and Chase Conley (Dynamite Entertainment)

Editor, Long Form:
Anne Sowards

Editor, Short Form:
Ellen Datlow (editor of The Naked City)

Plus an anthology that contains an essay written by the Codex Alera map artist, Priscilla Spencer, as well as other awesome folks Jim’s fans love, like Seanan McGuire, Jane Espenson, Elizabeth Bear, Nancy Holder, and Catherynne M. Valente:

Related Work:
Whedonistas: A Celebration of the Worlds of Joss Whedon by the Women Who Love Them – Lynne M. Thomas and Deborah Stanish (Mad Norwegian Press)

Discuss this post on the forum.

Go vote for your favorite! Voting ends November 30th.

Discuss this on the forum.

Harry Dresden`s life is a mess. His top client (and close friend), Lt. Karrin Murphy, no longer trusts him. Chicago`s underworld and the cops alike think he’s mobster Johnny Marcone’s supernatural enforcer. And the enigmatic White Council continues to view him with suspicion. If all that weren’t enough, a pack of werewolves have unleashed a wave of terror on the Windy City.

But as is always the case when it comes to the creatures of the Nevernever, there’s far more going on than meets the eye. Before it’s all over, Harry will find himself caught between friends, enemies, and arcane forces bent on his destruction. Is it any wonder he can’t find a date?

Expanding on Book Two of Jim Butcher’s New York Times bestselling saga, and featuring writer Mark Powers and artist Chase Conley, Fool Moon collects the first half of the 8-issue series in one volume, complete with bonus material and a cover gallery.

Check out a twelve-page preview at DynamiteEntertainment.net. You can order a copy there, or you can grab one at your favorite local comics shop. It doesn’t seem to be available yet from Amazon or Barnes and Noble, but hopefully they’ll catch up in the next few days.

I auction off books signed by some of your favorite writers, with the proceeds going to help fight cancer. Genres range from fantasy to romance to graphic novels to mystery/horror, so there’s a good chance you’ll see an author you like or discover someone new you’ll love!

Jim’s signed copy of Side Jobs joins contributions from Terry Pratchett, Naomi Novik, Salman Rushdie, C.E. Murphy, Lev Grossman, Kelly Link, Kate Beaton, and many more!

Browse the full list and bid here!

Can’t bid? You can still help fight breast cancer by picking a favorite and spreading the word through email, facebook, twitter, G+, Morse code, interpretive dance–whatever! You can discuss this on the forum here.

Thanks for helping us Save the Boobs!

We’re also pleased to note that Ghost Story has been nominated for Best Paranormal Fantasy at the The 2011 Goodreads Choice Awards. Jim shares the field with over a dozen rock stars of the urban fantasy genre, including Seanan McGuire and Charlaine Harris. There are a slew of categories to vote in, celebrating authors like Patrick Rothfuss, John Scalzi, Jo Walton, George R.R. Marin, Mira Grant, Tina Fey, Kate Beaton, and Terry Pratchett, so get out there and vote for your favorite books of 2011! Round 1 ends November 13, 2011.

Discuss these topics on the forum.

But Jim isn’t the only birthday boy around. Fans in Kansas City and the mid-Atlantic states are planning birthday meetup events for Harry Dresden this weekend.

In the D.C. area:
Ireland’s Four Provinces
105 W Broad St.
Falls Church, VA
Sunday, October 30th, 11:30am
RSVP at the Mid Atlantic Harry Dresden Fans Facebook page

In Kansas City area:
Matt Ross Community Center
8101 Marty St.
Overland Park, KS 66204
Saturday, October 29th, 7pm to midnight
RSVP on the forum