The wait is finally over! After some major upheaval backstage, involving a change of publisher and artist, issue #6 of Storm Front is here! Issue #6 is illustrated by Ardian Syaf and Brett Booth, adapted for comics by Mark Powers. You can check out a five-page preview at Dynamite Entertainment.

Not sure where to find a comics shop near you? Plug your zip code into Diamond's Comic Shop Locator! You can also order the issue online through the above link to Dynamite's website.

Discuss this on the forum here.

Fans of James Marsters' performance on the Dresden Files audio books will be delighted to learn that he has been confirmed as the reader for Side Jobs, the compilation of Dresden Files short stories.

Side Jobs is due out in hardcover October 26th and audio book November 11th. You can see a list of the stories included here and preorder it from the store here.

Discuss this news on the forum here.

"A successful murder is like a successful restaurant: Ninety percent of it is about location, location, location." --John Marcone

In one month, Jim Butcher takes us inside the head of Gentleman John Marcone.

It's cold in there. Better bring a coat.

Preorder Dark and Stormy Knights, containing Jim's Marcone-POV short story "Even Hand" and his wife Shannon's "The Beacon," at the Jim-Butcher.com store.

Discuss it on the forum.

It's official: Changes is in its TENTH week in a row on the New York Times Bestseller List! We thought this deserved a little celebration.

Share in the Dresden glee with Chris McGrath's cover art for the thirteenth Dresden Files novel, Ghost Story! Ghost Story is due out March 29th, 2011. Click to enlarge.

We also have wallpaper for Jim's next release, Side Jobs, a compilation of Dresden Files short stories. Slated for October 26th, this anthology contains the following stories:

• "Restoration of Faith"
  
• "Vignette"
  
• "Something Borrowed" -- from My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding
  
• "It's My Birthday Too" -- from Many Bloody Returns
  
• "Heorot" -- from My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon
  
• "Day Off" -- from Blood Lite
  
• Backup -- novelette from Thomas' POV, originally published by Subterranean Press
  
• The Warrior -- novelette from Mean Streets
  
• "Last Call" -- from Strange Brew
  
• "Love Hurts" -- from Songs of Love and Death
  
• Aftermath -- post-Changes novelette from Murphy's POV, EXCLUSIVE to this anthology!

Download the cover art as desktop wallpaper in about every desktop size imaginable:

800x600
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Pre-order Side Jobs and Ghost Story (or catch up on the previous novels in the series) through the Jim-Butcher.com store!

Discuss this on the Jim-Butcher.com forum here.

Next week (May 24th-30th), Barnes and Noble is giving away free eBooks of Jim Butcher's Storm Front in a special promotion!

Here’s how it works:

• Download the FREE BN eReader to your mobile device. This can be an iPhone, iPod Touch, Blackberry, or Mac or PC laptop. Own a NOOK? You're all set - no need to download.
  
• Visit any Barnes & Noble store and show your NOOK or mobile device to one of our booksellers, and receive a voucher for the FREE eBook. This week's eBook is Alexander McCall Smith's The #1 Ladies Detective Agency, and next week's is Jim Butcher's Storm Front! Find a Barnes & Noble store near you.
  
• Enter the access code on the voucher at BN.COM/redeem.

The folks over at The Dresden Files RPG website are previewing an exclusive short story found in the second volume of the game. Drop on by and have a look!

http://www.dresdenfilesrpg.com/2010/05/04/a-peek-into-our-world-aaaa-wizardry/

Remember Jim's virtual Q&A last month, hosted by Bitten By Books? Shannon is doing one TODAY to launch Running Scared, the newest novel in her thrilling Sentinel Wars series! Join her at noon CST (1pm EST, 11am MST, 10 PST, 6pm GMT) at BittenByBooks.com!

Note: This new policy was put in place on the forum several months ago, but we felt it needed to be announced in a more public place!

We are pleased to announce that Jim is altering his stance on fanfiction, much like Mercedes Lackey did last October. Rather than upholding the awkward "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy towards fanfiction he used in the past, Jim is embracing the Creative Commons. Now, fanfiction is to be licensed as derivative, noncommercial fiction under the Creative Commons umbrella.

What does this mean?

A) You can't make money from fanfic based on Jim's work.
B) Jim still isn't going to read it. (Wouldn't you rather he spend that time writing the next book, anyway?) Do not send Jim your stories or story ideas.
C) You need to post a disclaimer on your fic, like this handy example: "The Dresden Files/Codex Alera is copyright Jim Butcher. This story is licensed under the Creative Commons as derivative, noncommercial fiction." In doing so, you waive any rights to that work--you can't sue Jim for compensation if he writes something similar.
D) Fanfic can now be talked about in places that had previously been off-limits, like our forum. We've created a separate "Fan Creations" section of the forum for for this purpose.
E) Ponies and ice cream for everyone!*

* This is not actually a byproduct of the new policy. Sorry.

Happy writing, folks!

Discuss this article on the forum.

Jim and Shannon are still expected to arrive at the Romantic Times Booklovers' Convention in Columbus, OH, from April 28 to March 2, 2010 -- but they're going to show up later than expected, and will miss their panel appearances today. As reported on Jim's and Shannon's twitters, American Airlines goofed up their flight scheduling and failed to make the connecting flight (in Chicago -- is that irony?) a possibility. Jim and Shannon are absolutely crushed, but as we understand it will still be trying to make it out for most of the Convention -- somehow!

The Dresden Files RPG preorder is entering its fourth week, and continues to go strong -- over a thousand copies of the first volume, Your Story, have already been preordered with the second volume, Our World, not far behind. Things are looking great for the game! You can preorder the books at the Evil Hat Webstore, and learn more about the game at the game's website.

And thanks to a "preview edition" PDF of each book going out right away to the people who preorder, people are already starting to play and discuss the game. You can find a lively discussion of the RPG over on the Dresden Files RPG boards on the Jim Butcher Online forum. Drop on by!

Last week, the Books for Boobs project made its debut, launching a series of auctions of autographed books to raise money for the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. The first wave ends tonight, and the second ends tomorrow! You only have four more hours to bid on autographed copies of Changes, a number of Shannon's books, and books from a host of other great sci-fi, fantasy, and TV-related authors! Also ending tonight is the auction for a 13"x19" poster of the Codex Alera map, signed by Jim and artist Priscilla Spencer. You can check out the full list of participating authors here.

Support your favourite authors and help fight breast cancer! Bid here. You can talk about it on the forum here.

Hey, everyone! It's me, Priscilla, your friendly, neighborhood site moderator.

Looking for an opportunity to help fight breast cancer and support your favourite writers at the same time? I've started a project called Books for Boobs, in which I'm auctioning off books signed by some of your favourite authors, with the proceeds going to the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. Genres range from sci-fi and fantasy to romance to humor, so there's a good chance you'll see an author you like or discover someone new you'll love!

Jim donated a signed copy of Changes and his wife Shannon generously contributed five of her novels. Together, Jim and I conspired to bring you a 13"x17" poster of the map of Alera that appeared in First Lord's Fury, signed by both of us! (I'm also the map's illustrator, for those unaware.)

Browse the full list and bid here!

Laura Bennett, Didn't I Feed You Yesterday?
Amber Benson, Cat's Claw
Jim Butcher, Changes
Jim Butcher and Priscilla Spencer, Codex Alera Map poster (13"x19") -- currently the only one of its kind!
Shannon Butcher, Delta Force duo
Shannon Butcher, Sentinel Wars duo
Shannon Butcher, Love You To Death
Eoin Colfer, And Another Thing...
Ellen Datlow, Lovecraft Unbound
Ellen Datlow, The Dark of the Woods
David Anthony Durham, Acacia
Jasper Fforde, Shades of Grey
Lev Grossman, The Magicians
Tim Gunn, A Guide to Quality, Taste, and Style
Tim Gunn, Models, Inc. (Graphic novel)
John Hodgman, More Information Than You Require
N.K. Jemisin, The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
Ellen Kushner, The Privilege of the Sword
Ellen Kushner, Thomas the Rhymer
Chris March, I Heart Chris March
Patrick Rothfuss, The Name of the Wind
Brandon Sanderson and Robert Jordan, The Gathering Storm
Michael Shea, The Extra
Thomas Sniegoski, A Kiss Before the Apocalypse
Anton Strout, Dead Matter

Support your favourite authors and help fight breast cancer! Bid here. You can talk about it on the forum here.

Thanks for helping us save the boobs!

Congratulations, Jim! Changes is #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List and #3 on the USA Today Bestseller List (which is a list of all books--fiction, nonfiction, children's, etc--not separated by category).

May it stay in the top ten for many weeks to come!

If you haven't read it yet, you can buy it through the Jim-Butcher.com store in hardcover and audio formats, read by James Marsters. If you've already read it, come on down to the forum and share your thoughts.

The BittenByBooks Q&A is now live! Submit your questions and see Jim's responses here.

You can discuss Jim's responses on the forum here.

Join NY Times #1 Best Selling author Jim Butcher tomorrow, April 14th, online at http://bittenbybooks.com for an exclusive Bitten by Books interview! Since this event is online, you can come by any time during the day and ask Jim questions on the Bitten By Books blog.

The event starts at 1pm EST (noon CST/11am MST/10am PST/6pm GMT) and runs throughout the day. Just stop by the main Bitten by Books site to participate. RSVP and be entered in a raffle for one of ten copies of Changes!

Get your questions ready!

Talk about the event on the forum.

Tonight, Jim has his first stop on the Changes signing tour! We hope you'll be able to join him along the way.

April 6, 2010, 6:30PM
MURDER BY THE BOOK
2342 Bissonnet St
Houston, TX
http://www.murderbooks.com/
Discuss this event

April 7, 2010, 8:00PM
UNIVERSITY BOOKSTORE
4326 University Way NE
Seattle, WA
Seattle/Tacoma, WA
www.bookstore.washington.edu
Discuss this event

April 8, 2010, 7:00PM
POWELL'S BOOKS/Cedar Hills Crossing
3415 SW Cedar Hills Blvd
Beaverton, OR
Portland, OR
Discuss this event

April 9, 2010, 7:00PM
MYSTERIOUS GALAXY
7051 Clairemont Mesa Blvd, Ste 302
San Diego, CA
www.mystgalaxy.com
Discuss this event

April 10, 2010, 3:00PM
BARNES AND NOBLE #2743
7881 Edinger Ave.
Huntington Beach, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Discuss this event

April 12, 2010, 7:00PM
BORDERS #464/Lee's Summit
1664 N.W. Chipman Road
Lee's Summit, MO
Kansas City, MO
Discuss this event

"Changes" is released today!

Unfortunately, it's still not yet available for Kindle, but we hope Penguin and Amazon will resolve their differences before too long. We invite folks to share their thoughts on the forum, but please, confine your remarks to the "Spoilers" section, and always place clear warnings in the subject line when creating a new Changes-related thread. Remember that many of Jim's fans don't or can't read the book the day it's released, so please be cautious and courteous of your fellow posters.

If you haven't gotten your copy yet, you can order it through the Jim-Butcher.com store!

And yes, there will be more books in the Dresden Files series. Jim has plans for at least 20 total!

You can learn more about the particulars of the preorder -- and place your early order for both books in the set, including getting access to the almost-complete PDFs right away -- at the Evil Hat Productions web store:

http://www.evilhat.com/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=65_72

Free shipping is available in the USA to people who place a preorder for both books, and the final PDFs will be made available to preordering customers once they are available (which should include the addition of a short story by Jim, still getting written as we speak)! The books will ship out in late June/early July.

Fans of the series may be particularly interested in the second book, which among other things provides a comprehensive character guide up through Small Favor. A handy reference to have on hand as you read through Changes!

You can learn more about the game at http://www.dresdenfilesrpg.com/ -- make sure to check out the "Nevermore" post for a peek at what a Dresden-ized version of Baltimore looks like.

Thanks everyone!

The Jim-Butcher.Com Team