Audience member: What about Murphy?
Jim: Oh, would I write a book from her perspective? Probably not a book but I’d be happy to do some more stories. And also, if there’s ever like a spin-off series where I grab characters and told things from their point of view, that might be fun. But the moment is really nice…did you just say (what sounds like coughBUTTERScough)? But at the time I, uh, kinda need time away from the Dresden Files after I finish a book. Because by the time I get to the end of a book, I’m like, “I’m so sick of you, Harry Dresden. I could just shoot you dead.” (pause, lots of laughs) Oh, wait…. (points to audience member)
Audience member: Did you cackle maniacally when you wrote the end of
Changes?
Jim: Did I cackle maniacally at the end of
Changes? Oh, for like thirty minutes. You know, probably all the way until I found somebody to read it and then scream.
Priscilla: Thanks, Jim.
Jim: (Something unintelligible) Because as you know, writers do not truly exist upon the royalties they receive for their work but upon your pain and suffering.
Shecky: *cough* Skavis!
Audience member: You once said that for
Codex Alera you put together lost legions and Pokemon. Are you putting anything else together for another series?
Jim: He’s referring to the story I tell everyone about how I put together
Codex Alera out of lost Roman legions and Pokemon. And am I doing something like that for any other series. No, I haven’t really thrown together any, like, really semi-lame ideas to make something cool. I try to go with cool ideas, although the more I think about it the more I think, “Maybe I really DO need to try the lame ideas, because heck, it’s been working so far…. You know, if it’s not broke, maybe I shouldn’t fix it. I dunno. (points) Right here, in the beard.
Audience member: Will we be seeing more from the
Codex Alera world?
Jim: “Will we be seeing more from the
Codex Alera world?” was the question. If we do, it’ll be a couple of generations after the story we’ve had so far, where you can see how Tavi has basically wrecked the status quo completely. And it’ll be a much steampunkier Alera if we do that. (points) Right here.
Audience member: Is Lash coming back?
Jim: Specifically, is Lash coming back? Lash actually appeared in
Ghost Story, although not under that name. (lots of groans at the response, then he uses a sing-song voice, waving his hand) I’m not gonna tell you…. (gleefully “evil” at more groans of dismay) Yes,
yes…awww, man, that is like heroin for writers. (points to the next questioner)
Audience member: Are we ever going to hear more about the Oblivion War?
Jim: Are we ever going to hear more about the Oblivion War? Probably not in
The Dresden Files because, you know, Harry’s not involved. It’s something I might, you know, do more work with. Although it’s really a sort of slow, boring war that takes thousands of years at this point to get anything done.
Audience member: Like marriage.
Jim: (laughing) Oh, I dunno if it’s boring. My wife’s heavily armed. (points) Back here with the camera.
Audience member:
Is that - regarding Lash - is that why the whisperer was allowed to be where she was?
Priscilla: No spoilers!
Jim: I..I dunno what you’re talking about. Yes, the question does not compute.
Audience member: Was Little Chicago destroyed with Harry’s apartment?
Jim: Was Little Chicago destroyed with Harry’s apartment? Well, it certainly looks that way. Giant burning house falls onto your pewter model of the city? Pewter doesn’t really stand up well to being in a burning house all that well, so…
Audience member: Do you believe in magic?
Jim: Do I believe in magic? I believe there are more things in heaven and earth than are in your books, Horatio. I do not know where it is, I do not know if magic is really advanced science or if science is magic. I’m not sure I care. I’m just glad there are things in the world we haven’t seen and measured and catalogued, and I’m perfectly happy leaving it right there. Myself personally, I do have faith of my own; it isn’t particularly Wiccan at all, really, but I know people who very sincerely do believe in it and who I respect. But for me myself, yeah, I think there are lots of things going on that we don’t understand yet, and if that’s what magic is, then, okay, I can live with that.
Audience member: Will we see Ivy and Kincaid again soon?
Jim: Will we see Ivy and Kincaid again soon? Uh, probably not. I need to write the short story of Kincaid coming home after that job… (Audience groans.)
Audience member: Is Harry’s debt to Mab fulfilled?
Jim: Is Harry’s debt to Mab fulfilled? Nooooo, ‘tis not. You don’t get away from Mab that easy. I mean, merely being dead? C’mon. Like no one’s every tried THAT before. (points) With the camera right here.
Audience member: Is Harry a Cubs fan or a White Sox fan?
Jim: According to the short story and
Changes, Harry is a Cubs fan. And he often goes there with a…basically a king of the Leprechauns to watch a game, so… Like Harry, the Cubs just…they could be doing so well, and then they just fall apart… So there’s some simpatico going there. (points) Green shirt right here.
Audience member: Have you considered any middle grade or young adult writing as a Dresden Files spinoff?
Jim: Have I considered any middle grade or young adult writing as a Dresden spinoff or as part of the Dresden series? I haven’t really. I’m writing a trilogy of stories right now that I’m calling
The Bigfoot Trilogy where Bigfoot is the client and he’s having issues with his kid and he can’t exactly walk into Chicago and straighten things out with the principal so he hires Harry to help, you know. And the first one is “B Is for Bigfoot” because the kid’s in grade school, and the next one is the kid’s in high school so it’s “I Was a Teenaged Bigfoot.” The last one’ll be when he’s in college and it’ll be “Bigfoot on Campus.” But that’s about as close as I’m going to be able to come to Young Adult is to have that out there. (points) Right here. Airborne.
Priscilla: Lil' Harry Adventures!
Audience member: Archangel. Is ... The people behind the destruction of Archangel--are they dead? And will we see their comeuppance?
Jim: That’s going to be another “I’m not going to tell you” question because it’s more fun to read about it in the books than it is for me to flat out tell you here. (points) In the Ghostbusters shirt.
Audience member: Did you mean to include the author’s note at the end of the last two Dresden Files, the ones that referred to the
Codex Alera or was that an unintentional printing error?
Jim: Oh, that was completely me. Look, I took that bullet for you, Anne. (Fakes getting shot.) Ugh! Oh, everybody, over here with the curly hair, this is my boss Anne Sowards. (Lots of applause.) It’s just a cross-promotional thing, so that people who don’t know that I’ve got something else out there will have a chance that I do and, you know, I wasn’t really bothered that it was still there. It’s still true,, but Alera…I’m done with it for the time being.
Audience member: Are we going to see the Jade Court any?
Jim: Are we going to see the Jade Court at any point? Maybe a little in the honkin’ apocalyptic trilogy at the end. They’re isolationists, you know, they’re going to stay where they are. And if you’re doing things that aren’t actually in China they just don’t care about you. (points) Right here in the hat.
Audience member: Are we going to see more of Maggie and is she a witch?
Jim: Are we going to see more of Maggie and is she a witch? We WILL see more of Maggie and (sing-song voice) I’m not gonna tell yooooou. But yeah, she’s definitely going to be a part of what’s going on and if I ever need to write
Dresden: The Next Generation it’ll center on her.
Audience member: About Murphy’s dad and how he killed himself in the books…was that despair forced on him?
Jim: About Murphy’s dad and how he killed himself in the books…was that despair forced on him? (smirking) Who says he killed himself? (lots of audience reaction) You know, they just found him there and it, you know, looked like a suicide.
Another audience member: And the forums explode. (more reaction)
Jim: Oh, come on, I said this in like Kansas City and they had the YouTube video up like five minutes after I was finished talking.
Audience member: So the swords...they showed up in the fight in
Changes and they were sort of mentioned, but are we going to see the new bearers of the Swords in the future anytime soon?
Jim: Are we going to see anything about bearers of the Swords anytime soon? Maybe not the next book but the one after? Book 15? Yeah, book 15, maybe.
