Month: March 2020

Last week’s Dresden Drop looked to the future, revealing the long-awaited trailer for Peace Talks and the bombshell announcement that there will be TWO Dresden novels this year. This week, we’ll look to the past, celebrating the 20th anniversary of the publication of Storm Front on April 1st, 2000.

Paranoid? Probably. But just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean there isn’t an invisible demon about to eat your face.

But before we dive into that, let’s do a quick recap of the week. First off: if you haven’t seen the trailer yet, what are you waiting for?

Support this website by preordering Peace Talks and Battle Ground using the referral links in our store!

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Media Recap

Last week’s announcements saw a rush of media attention. io9 kicked off the party with the big reveal, as well as the first chapter of Peace Talks. This was immediately followed by a Live Q&A with Jim and Priscilla.

Tor.com featured us twice in one day, first to echo the reveals and add the official synopsis, then second to write up the highlights of the Q&A later that morning.

Fantasy vlogger Daniel Greene interviewed Jim, and and it was a delight, as was Greene’s hilarious review of Changes that followed.

The Dresden Files Podcast hosted Priscilla, covering her work on trailer, her history with the fandom, and more.

We also got some attention from Newsweek, as well as geek news sites and blogs in France, Austria, and the UK! More shout-outs: Den of Geek, GeekDad, Comic Years, Epicstream, and Krypton Radio. Thanks for the love, everyone!

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Our Celebration of Storm Front Begins!

A man’s magic demonstrates what sort of person he is, what is held most deeply inside of him. There is no truer gauge of a man’s character than the way in which he employs his strength, his power. I was not a murderer. I was not like Victor Sells. I was Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden. I was a wizard. Wizards control their power. They don’t let it control them. And wizards don’t use magic to kill people. They use it to discover, to protect, to mend, to help. Not to destroy.

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In the first novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling Dresden Files series, Harry Dresden’s investigation of a grisly double murder pulls him into the darkest depths of magical Chicago. It also pulled readers into a a captivating, addictive saga overflowing with action, humor, engaging characters, and insights into our own world, guided by a protagonist whose persistent struggle to do the right thing has served as a source of comfort and inspiration through readers’ own challenges.

It’s difficult to know how to celebrate a novel that had such a powerful influence on the publishing world, joining the works of Charles de Lint, Emma Bull, and Laurell K Hamilton (and followed quickly by Charlaine Harris and Kelley Armstrong) in helping define the urban fantasy genre.

So rather than trying to capture the weight of that legacy, we’re choosing to highlight a few key places where fans, publishers, and creators in other media have interacted with the work, and we’re going to do so in several installments, spaced throughout the year. (This is mostly because a lot of the files and documents Priscilla needs to do this properly are in her apartment in Los Angeles, whereas she is holed up with her family in Dallas for the duration of the Curve-Flattening Period.)

You don’t go walking into the proverbial lion’s den lightly. You start with a good breakfast.

Today, we’ll start by revisiting Storm Front through series rereads hosted by Goodreads (2020), The Unspoiled Podcast (2018), The Dresden Files Podcast (2018), and Tor (2012). Do you have a favorite review/discussion of the book? Reply to the newsletter/@jimbutchernews twitter/social media post where this blog is linked and tell us about it!

Found in Translation

The traditional 20th Anniversary gift is china, but we can do better than that! Not only do we have China, but we also have Japan, Thailand, India, Russia, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, and so many more. Check out our cover gallery of Storm Front‘s many translations into different languages. No matter where you are in the world, if you need the kind of help only Harry can provide, rest assured: he’s in the book.

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I don’t want to live in a world where the strong rule and the weak cower. I’d rather make a place where things are a little quieter. Where trolls stay the hell under their bridges and where elves don’t come swooping out to snatch children from their cradles. Where vampires respect the limits, and where the faeries mind their p’s and q’s. My name is Harry Blackstone Copperfield Dresden. Conjure by it at your own risk. When things get strange, when what goes bump in the night flicks on the lights, when no one else can help you, give me a call. I’m in the book.

We look forward to digging into more of Storm Front‘s legacy–including adaptions by the Sci-Fi Channel, the Dabel Brothers & Dynamite Entertainment, and Subterranean Press–throughout the year!

Book Discounts

The Summer Knight ebook is on sale for $1.99 through April 5th! Order from the following vendors: Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million, Google Play, or Kobo (here’s how to support your favorite local shop!). The sale runs through March 1st.

Also, for a limited time, Penguin has put the first three books back on sale. If you have friends who are stuck at home because of social distancing and on the lookout for a new series, now is the perfect time to catch up! Four books for under $14? Heck yes!

Storm Front at $2.99:  Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million, Google Play, Kobo.

Fool Moon at $3.99: Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million, Google Play, Kobo.

Grave Peril at $5.99:  Amazon, Apple Books, Barnes and Noble, Books-A-Million, Google Play, Kobo.

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Proven Guilty Read-Along

Our series read-along continues with Proven Guilty! Join the Spoiler-Free or Spoiler-Friendly discussions on Goodreads.

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And that’s it for today! Though not it for this week. If you’ve been a Dresden fan for any length of time, you’ll know to expect April Fool’s hijinks tomorrow. Be sure to come back then!

Visit Jim-Butcher.com every Tuesday this year for weekly Drops of never-before-seen artwork, microfiction, interviews, contests, sample chapters for Peace Talks, or other tasty tidbits in our celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Dresden Files. Join our new mailing list and follow @jimbutchernews on twitter to ensure you don’t miss a moment, and check the announcement post to catch up on prior Drops.

Preorder from the bookseller of your choice while supporting this website by shopping at https://www.jim-butcher.com/store/!

Today will be more explosive than a pyrofuego at a fireworks factory. The trailer is here, and we have massive news! And y’all are so passionate our website went down last night just from the anticipation of the trailer. If it happens again, we’ll be keeping you updated on twitter at @jimbutchernews, so you don’t miss a thing!

Here’s what today’s schedule looks like:

10:30am Eastern: 

• THE TRAILER IS HERE! Hit up io9 for the exclusive premiere of the long-awaited Peace Talks trailer AND read chapter one!
• WE WANT TO SEE YOUR REACTION. Film yourself watching the trailer for the first time and send the video to yearofdresden@gmail.com using the large file sending utility of your choice: Google Drive, WeTransfer, etc. We’ll be editing them together into a massive compilation video, and we’d love to include you.
• Spend the next couple hours rewatching the trailer obsessively, cataloguing every detail, and screaming over the explosive new info with your friends.  
• Realize you have a million questions for Jim and trailer director Priscilla Spencer about what you just saw. Tweet them to @jimbutchernews, and we’ll try to answer as many as we can at:

12:30pm Eastern: 

• Jim and director Priscilla Spencer will jump on Zoom for a Q&A, and you should join us! The first 100 fans can watch live on Zoom’s webinar feature. For everyone else, we’re hoping to stream the Q&A on YouTube or Facebook, so everyone can participate and submit their questions live. If that livestreaming capability is overloaded, we’ll record it and post to YouTube afterwards, so everyone will still be able to see it. Keep an eye on @jimbutchernews for updates!

The Trailer

The Peace Talks trailer was written, directed, and co-executive produced by Priscilla Spencer, working closely with Jim, and it stars Jason Bernardo as Harry Dresden, Sarah Flannery as Karrin Murphy, Christopher Showerman as John Marcone, and Birgit Ludemann as Lara Raith.  A complete list of cast and crew can be found in the description on YouTube.

Preorder Books

Preorder from the bookseller of your choice at https://www.jim-butcher.com/store/!

Stay In the Loop!

Join the Jim-Butcher.com mailing list and follow @jimbutchernews on twitter to ensure you don’t miss a moment in the Year of Dresden, and check the Announcement Post to catch up on prior Drops.

It’s almost here! Tuesday morning at 10:30am Eastern, join us for the premiere of the long-awaited Peace Talks trailer.

We’ll give you a couple hours to watch the trailer a half-dozen times and flail with all your friends about the explosive new details therein, then at 12:30pm Eastern, Jim and director Priscilla Spencer will be jumping on Zoom for a Q&A. After seeing the trailer, folks can tweet questions about the day’s news to @jimbutchernews, and we’ll answer as many as we can until the call ends at 1:30.

The first 100 fans can watch live on Zoom. For everyone else, we’re hoping to stream the Q&A on YouTube or Facebook, so everyone can participate and submit their questions live. However, in our tests today, Zoom’s livestreaming capability seemed to be (understandably!) overloaded. If we’re not able to livestream, we’ll record it and post to YouTube afterwards, so everyone will still be able to see it. Keep an eye on @jimbutchernews for updates!

I don’t know if Nicodemus got his hands on the Shroud again or if Mother Summer got a little over-excitable with her plague jars, but either way, we’ll be spending a lot of time catching up on reading at home as we do our part to flatten the curve!

Need something to keep you entertained during this period of isolation? You can catch up on all our 20th Anniversary “Dresden Drop” posts so far here!

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Trailer Update

First Emerald City Comic Con was canceled, then we rescheduled for Planet Comicon, which was also canceled, and now entire countries are shutting down. Alas, an in-person premiere wasn’t meant to be. But the online premiere date remains unchanged: look for it here next Tuesday, March 24th!

Director Priscilla (me!) is heartbroken that she won’t be able to see all of your faces in person as you watch the trailer for the first time, so she has a request for the fans: when the trailer drops next week, record yourself watching it, then send the reaction video to yearofdresden@gmail.com. We’ll edit them together into a big compilation!

To whet your appetite, here’s a sneak peek at some of our characters…

Actors featured here: Kamy Bruder as Thomas, Birgit Ludemann as Lara, and Christopher Showerman as Marcone.

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Fandom Fun

To fill out today’s Drop a bit, here are some treats generated by the fandom in the past week.

Need something to keep you entertained during the period of social isolation? Adam Mathison-Sward has the answer: Dresdenverse bookmarks! Color your favorite(s), then use one to hold your place in your favorite Quarantine Read. Click to download at full size.

Also, the fan-run Molly Carpenter twitter account offers a suggestion for ensuring you wash a full 20 seconds for optimal virus-fighting effectiveness. Spoilers for Cold Days.

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Dead Beat Read-Along Begins

The world may be becoming increasingly unpredictable, but at least you can rely on our series read-along to stay on schedule! Join the discussion of Dead Beat in our Spoiler-Friendly or Spoiler-Free threads.

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And that’s it for today. Be kind to each other this week, because we’re all in this together, and don’t skimp on the soap! We look forward to dazzling you with the trailer and some other spectacular surprises next week.

Be sure to visit Jim-Butcher.com every Tuesday this year for weekly Drops of never-before-seen artwork, microfiction, interviews, contests, sample chapters for Peace Talks, or other tasty tidbits in our celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Dresden Files. Join our new mailing list and follow @jimbutchernews on twitter to ensure you don’t miss a moment, and check the announcement post to catch up on prior Drops. See you soon!

I could write up an introduction to this post, but let’s be honest. You’re all skipping straight to the new Microfiction, aren’t you? Enjoy!

New Con Appearance & New Trailer Date

Due to public health concerns, Emerald City Comic Con is being rescheduled for sometime this summer. Jim won’t be able to determine if he can attend until they announce the exact dates, but in the meantime, that means we need a new home for the debut of the Peace Talks trailer!

We’ll now be premiering it the following weekend at Planet Comicon in Kansas City. Details are still being worked out, so look for his schedule in next week’s Drop. We should also have a firm date for the online release of the trailer, which has similarly been nudged back a week.

For those who had tickets to the ECCC fan party, ReedPop (the con organizer) should be reaching out to you all to process refunds soon, if they haven’t already. Your patience is appreciated–they have a LOT going on right now!

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This week’s Microfiction is concurrent with the end of Changes and contains RADIOACTIVE-LEVEL SPOILERS for Changes and Ghost Story.

Microfiction #3: “Goodbye”

by Jim Butcher

I hung up the phone on Dresden and stared at it for a moment.

Damn.

And I thought I was a hard case.

Only goes to show you that not only do principles get you raked over the coals, they make you lay, light, and rake them for yourself. A man should live his life for more practical things.

But I had to respect him a little. He believed goofball things about the world, but he meant it.

I went to the closet, opened the safe, and removed my most dangerous weapon, my laptop. It had been secured with absolutely every software and hardware precaution I could arrange, all the most up-to-date surveillance countermeasures that were available. It was impregnable. For the next few weeks. Then someone would do something clever and I’d have to update.

I arranged for travel to Chicago. I arranged for hardware to be waiting for me.

I’d already figured my approach for Dresden as a potential target. He was too annoying for words, and too powerful to ignore. Sooner or later, someone was going to contract him. I just hadn’t expected him to do it himself.

I got my coat and walked out of my bedroom in the safehouse.

The Archive was standing in the hallway outside my room, between me and the door.

She was at that awkward age, where if I’d actually been the single father I was being paid to imitate, I’d have been getting worried about uncomfortable conversations. But she wasn’t a pubescent girl. She was the Archive, the living memory of humanity, and one of the most powerful beings on the planet.

And she was furious.

Dresden had named her Ivy. And she had clung to it like a teddy bear.

I stopped and faced her. I had a gun in the small of my back, another in an ankle holster. I’d store them in a secured compartment in the car before I went into the airport. Not that the gendarmes would appreciate the distinction if I was caught with them.

If the Archive decided to come at me, I doubted they’d do me much good.

She stared at me. A child who I’d been attending since shortly after she could walk. Who I’d watched grow up. Who sometimes had nightmares. Who sometimes got sick.

I’d taken care of her.

If I’d been her father, and not a hired driver and gun, that look would have broken something small and fragile, way down inside.

She knew.

“In the chest, Kincaid,” Ivy said.

If you’re shooting at someone, you’ve already decided to kill him. There’s no reason to shoot him anywhere other than the head, if you can. And I can.

She took a step toward me, maybe ninety pounds of furious, tearful eyes and newly-filled-out lips pulled away from a snarl. “In the chest. Or face me.”

I thought about asking her why. But in the end, it didn’t really matter. She had the power to stop me, for good. And she would use it if I didn’t comply. A chest shot might give the wizard time to throw a death curse at me, if he changed his mind.

It was a less risky proposition than going up against the Archive herself, here, now.

I gave her a small bow.

She returned it. Then she stepped aside, so that I could walk to the door.

“I’ll be back in two days,” I said.

“Kincaid,” Ivy said quietly.

I paused at the door.

“He’s my only other friend,” she said.

I looked back at her.

All the knowledge of humanity in one place. But she still couldn’t keep the schoolgirl stockings from rumpling by herself. She had power and ageless wisdom, but she was still a child. Tears stained her cheeks.

“My feet reach the pedals, now,” she said. “Your services are no longer required.”

For a moment, it was hard to move.

But I owed the wizard. And I repay what is rightfully owed.

Spend enough time on this earth, and that’s all that makes sense.

It was only a job, I told myself.

I turned my back on the little girl and left to kill the wizard.

Never did say goodbye.

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Virtual Signing

Want to pre-order a signed and personalized copy of Peace Talks? Now you can do so through our Virtual Signing!

What is a Virtual Signing? It’s essentially a signed preorder. Submit your order now and specify an optional personalization, and around the time of the book’s release, Jim will sign them all, and BT will mail them your way!

NOTE: Because of the timing of Jim’s signing tour, it is likely that you will not receive your books until 2-3 weeks AFTER the release date. If it’s important to you that your books arrive sooner, sit tight. There will be other opportunities in the coming months to preorder signed copies of Peace Talks. But this will be the only chance for personalizations and signed books from Jim’s back catalogue, so if that’s your priority, then the Virtual Signing is for you!

You can snag up to two copies of Peace Talks for $30 each, then fill in your bookshelf’s back catalogue while you’re at it: Mass Market paperbacks of the Dresden, Alera, and Cinder Spires novels are $12 each; paperbacks of Side Jobs and Brief Cases are $20; and the paperback of Spider-Man: Darkest Hours is $30.

Signatures are free, and Jim is happy do personalizations (brief notes like “Thanks, Jamie!” or “To Al: Polka Will Never Die!”) for an additional $5 each, which will be donated to Jim’s favorite charity, Missouri Pitbull Rescue.

Email btvirtualsigning (at) gmail.com with a list of the books you want, and the team will issue you an invoice and calculate shipping. All questions regarding the virtual signing should also go to that address.

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And that’s it for this week!

Be sure to visit Jim-Butcher.com every Tuesday this year for weekly Drops of never-before-seen artwork, microfiction, interviews, contests, sample chapters for Peace Talks, or other tasty tidbits in our celebration of the 20th Anniversary of the Dresden Files. Join our new mailing list and follow @jimbutchernews on twitter to ensure you don’t miss a moment, and check the announcement post to catch up on prior Drops. See you next week!