If you didn't read the my post in the Dresden Files Spoilers page, Jim said at Westercon he will begin writing the next book in the Cinder Spires series in two weeks. He also said that a recent rereading of The Aeronaut's Windlass felt to him like he had been a kid playing with action figures who smashed them together multiple times in order to have fun. He wants to tell The Olympian Affair; the next Cinder Spires book, in a smoother and more compact style (using less words) than he's accomplished before.
(Now to the new stuff.) When Jim was thinking about the characters he had decided to create for the Cinder Spires, he specifically thought about which character cosplayers would most be attracted to and knew it had to be Folly, so he went out of his way to make her appearance memorable. Captain Grimm's appearance was tailored so Jim could play him.
When asked if new etherealists have a choice in whether they will lose some of their grip on reality but maintain their humanity or keep their hold on reality at the cost of their humanity, Jim said the side effects of being an etherealist were completely random. Jim said it was similar to an individual dealing with a mental illness and that he has had to deal with his own depression and feelings of anxiety, and etherialists have to cope with their own individual mental issues.
Jim went on to say that the more etherealists use their ability, the more mental damage they incur and therefore they should use their abilities sparingly. (I think that was already said in the book.) Cavendish blew a hole in her humanity by overusing her talents. However, etherealists can see and do things normal people can't. Jim said he wanted to explore the relationship that sometimes exists between madness and creativity.
In the Olympian Affair there will be a mission to Spire Aurora for an attempt at peace talks which will probably go about as well as the peace talks Harry Dresden has been dealing with. Jim also said the surface of the planet is a green (or grey, I was at the back of audience and couldn't tell, and it was the final question.) hell that no one wants to go down to, so of course that is exactly where we are going in the next book.
