Q&A: Jim Butcher, Author of ‘Twelve Months’
Hi, Jim! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I’m Jim, and I’m basically a lifelong nerd who has somehow conned a great many people into paying me to write down the conversations of my imaginary friends. If it’s a fantasy or science fiction movie, I’ve likely seen it, and if it’s a similar media intellectual property that started in the 70s, 80s or 90s, I’ve probably loved it.
My hobbies include playing guitar quite badly, live action role play, martial arts, weightlifting, reading books about history and feeling very knowledgeable when I probably shouldn’t, the wide world of cryptid and paranormal encounters, the occasional trip to the pistol range, and random, super-intense obsessions with specific video games.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
I wrote my first fantasy story in fifth grade, where video game characters had invaded the real world, but I made a beginner’s classic mistake in the ending, and had the main character wake up, and it was all a dream.
My teacher refused to accept that ending or grade me until I rewrote it, and read the redone version to the class.
It was all downhill from there.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
- The one that made you want to become an author: Watchers, by Dean Koontz
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: The Black Company, by Glen Cook
Twelve Months is the 18th(!) installment in your Dresden Files series and it’s out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Dresden the man, not wizard.
For those who haven’t picked up the series, what can readers expect?
I sold the series with a pretty simple elevator pitch: “Dirty Harry Potter.”
It’s lead character is Harry Dresden, a wisecracking professional wizard operating out of the city of Chicago in a world where ghouls, ghosts, werewolves and vampires exist in the shadows of modern society.
And for those who have, what’s to come in Twelve Months?
The aftermath of the Battle of Chicago is a pretty brutal landscape. The city’s technology has been blasted back into the nineteenth century by supernatural war, and Chicagoans struggle to survive as they attempt to pick up the pieces.
Harry Dresden, beset by loss and grief and an accumulated lifetime of various flavors of trauma, has been beaten into the dirt by supernatural conflict, and has got to pick himself up again—and he’s got to do it in a hurry, before his friends and allies suffer or his enemies come to destroy him.
He finds himself dealing with unexpected new allies, not all of whom necessarily have his best interests in mind, and must face an escalating series of local problems while struggling to find a way to save his brother’s life.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring further?
There are a couple of new characters I really enjoyed writing, and getting to explore some of Harry’s long-time frenemies, Lara and Mab, in more detail was a hoot.
Will we see Dresden back on a screen any time in the future?
It is certainly a possibility! I’ve always been in favor of another attempt at jumping media, and I am quite hopeful that we’ll see a return to one screen or another—only this time, I hope to have a bit more influence on the final product.
Storm Front, the first book in the series, marked your debut 26 years ago. What are some of the key lessons you’ve learned as a writer between then and now?
Writing is a marathon. Don’t wear yourself out trying to sprint through something. A steady, gentler pace will get you a lot further than a mad sprint for productivity.
Keep things simple. Practice the fundamentals of writing craft. Make sure to thank the people who help you.
And remember. In the end, you work for the reader, not the publisher.
Lastly, what’s next for you?
I’m already a third of the way through the next Dresden title, “Mirror, Mirror.”
Will you be picking up Twelve Months? Tell us in the comments below!
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