Priscilla Spencer has been Jim's creative consultant since 2007. In addition to managing content for Jim-Butcher.com and its social media channels, she beta-reads all of Jim's works, serves as a thematic consultant on the graphic novels and role playing games, and illustrates the maps for his books. The whole "Year of Dresden" thing is largely her baby. Her latest claim to fame is directing the official book trailers for Peace Talks and Battle Ground.
In her professional life, Priscilla is a Producer, Writer, Photographer, and Fantasy Map Illustrator working towards a career in producing TV. She enjoys musical theatre, gluten-free cooking, sci-fi/fantasy, and weightlifting. She aspires to travel the world and pet every dog.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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!
This week’s Dresden Drop includes videos from Pensacon, the results of the fanart contest, the launch of the Blood Rites read-along, and a new giveaway from Penguin Random House!
Apologies for having to go handheld! I brought my tripod to the panel room, but I accidentally left the cell phone adapter in my suitcase. D’oh. XD
Fanart Contest Results
We have our winners! Thanks to all the incredible artists who entered. We’ll be reaching out to the grand prize winner and runners up for their shipping information and prize preference this week.
The grand prize goes to David Vargo, who submitted two breathtaking pieces: one of Harry and Lash and the other of Harry and Mab. His dreamlike compositions and vivid colors capture an eerie energy, perfect for the series. Marvel at more of his work at DavidVargo.com! David’s prize includes an ARC of Peace Talks and a Mika Kuloda print, both signed by Jim.
Harry and Lasciel by David Vargo
Harry and Mab by David Vargo
Our three runners-up will each win a Mika Kuloda print, signed by Jim. Check out their portfolios!
Also, we wanted to give some Honorable Mention recognition to Pika-la-Cynique, who gives Harry frequent cameos in her long-running crossover webcomic Girls Next Door. Too fun!
Thanks again to all who submitted. We had so much fun reviewing your work. We’re in awe of the talent in this fandom!
Penguin Random House’s March giveaway is a copy of Welcome to the Jungle, the graphic novel written by Jim Butcher and illustrated by Ardian Syaf. Enter for your chance to win one of five! Open to U.S. residents ages 18 and older.
2020 is the 20th Anniversary of the Dresden Files! 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 the Year of Dresden. Join our new mailing list and follow @jimbutchernews on twitter to ensure you don’t miss a moment in our 20th Anniversary celebration, and check the announcement post to catch up on prior Drops. See you next week!
The announcement of the fanart contest winners has been delayed until next week, so Jim can weigh in on the artwork while he’s at Pensacon this weekend. The submissions we’ve received are INCREDIBLE, and we can’t wait to share them with you and crown the winners.
Trailer Teaser
But today’s big news? We have a premiere date and a sneak peek at some of the storyboards for the upcoming live-action book trailer for Peace Talks!
We’re thrilled to announce that the trailer will premiere at the 20th Anniversary fan party at Emerald City Comic Con on Thursday, March 12th! Tickets to the party are long since sold out, but ECCC attendees can catch it again at a Q&A with Jim and director Priscilla Spencer on Sunday, March 15th. Full ECCC schedule coming soon.
As for the rest of the world, the trailer will hit the net early the following week! We’re still working on nailing down the exact date.
To whet your appetite, here are a handful of our storyboards…
So who are all these people? What’s going on? Let the speculation begin!
Megan Lloyd is a storyboard artist for Dreamworks TV. If you’re a fan of Hamilton or Wicked and you haven’t seen her fanmade animatics for “The World Was Wide Enough” or “Defying Gravity,” you need to rectify that immediately. Find more of her art on tumblr!
Pensacon Prep
This week, Jim is headed off to Pensacon in Pensacola, Florida! Here’s his schedule:
Friday, 2/28/20:
3:00 PM – 4:00 PM — Signing at booth E6/7-F6/7
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM — Signing at booth E6/7-F6/7
Saturday, 2/29/20:
11:00 AM – 12:00 PM — Signing at booth E6/7-F6/7
12:15 PM – 1:00 PM — Comic Book Adaptations. Pensacola Little Theatre Courtroom. Other panelists: Nancy A. Collins, Victor Gischler, Tony Isabella, Robert Pope.
2020 is the 20th Anniversary of the Dresden Files! 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 the Year of Dresden. Join our new mailing list and follow @jimbutchernews on twitter to ensure you don’t miss a moment in our 20th Anniversary celebration, and check the announcement post to catch up on prior Drops. See you next week!
