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Captain Capacitor posted:I just realized how I'd like to see Murphy change. Just let her retire or go out in a blaze of glory and be something for Harry to get over/rally around. The Character doesn't really fit anymore. No matter how often we're told "Plain vanilla mortals are the most dangerous...", it's only in context of a zerg rush essentially. Besides at this point to let Murphy keep pace with the other characters, she has to become more or less unbelievable as a mortal. Super Vamp, a Winter Knight/Wizard Bad rear end, a Winter Queen, hard boiled Werewolves, Super genius with a super info spirit, a Valkyrie, a Holy Knight, Super ectomancer, aaaaaand Murphy... I mean at this point Marcone can fill Murphy's role and do it in a way that makes more sense. Murphy used to have at least the Cop aspect for info gathering or for providing Dresden with income, now she's just this PTSD Soldier essentially. There's no reason for her to go anywhere outside Chicago, and realistically as the head of the Super Friends, she can't really, so either all the plots have to lead to Chicago or you have to take the character out of the only place she really has value anymore. You could make a lot of the same arguments about Marcone, outside of the dynamic he has with Harry, and the fact that if he is outside of Chicago, he'll use it to further his own power base. With Murph you're just going to get maybe accurate and character correct angst, but angst. Eh I dunno, never liked the character to begin with, I say she be retired.
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Mar 29, 2014 07:41
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SageSepthAtWork posted:Just let her retire or go out in a blaze of glory and be something for Harry to get over/rally around. The Character doesn't really fit anymore. No matter how often we're told "Plain vanilla mortals are the most dangerous...", it's only in context of a zerg rush essentially. Besides at this point to let Murphy keep pace with the other characters, she has to become more or less unbelievable as a mortal. Super Vamp, a Winter Knight/Wizard Bad rear end, a Winter Queen, hard boiled Werewolves, Super genius with a super info spirit, a Valkyrie, a Holy Knight, Super ectomancer, aaaaaand Murphy...
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Mar 29, 2014 07:55
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As I said, Murphy is the only character willing to call Harry on his poo poo and who he'll listen to. Thomas might be willing to do it but Thomas has enough of his own poo poo he won't. Everyone else is either supernatural or infinitely patient and not around much. (i.e: Michael.) Marcone can't fill that role because Harry can and will blow him off and because Marcone is perfectly willing to not call Harry's poo poo when it works in his favor. That's a big thing about Harry. He is surrounded by people completely unwilling to call him on his poo poo either because they are supernatural beings who want to use him, have problems of their own, or hero-worship him, or Harry himself is likely to blow them off or ignore them. The two characters most likely to call Harry out and who he will listen to are Murphy and Michael. Without those characters, Harry basically has nobody balancing him out. It also isn't a case where you can just slot someone else in to fill the role. Harry listens to those two characters because they have a long history together and he's trusted their opinion above anyone else's. Even if you brought in another Cop character, Harry would be far more likely to blow them off because they don't have a history together and developing a new history ain't going to happen in a single book. That is the role Murphy needs to play. Not Vanilla Mortal or Cop or anything like that. It is why her replacing Michael as a swordbearer is also a natural development because Michael was the other guy who was closest to that. ImpAtom fucked around with this message at 08:05 on Mar 29, 2014 |
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Mar 29, 2014 07:55
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ImpAtom posted:As I said, Murphy is the only character willing to call Harry on his poo poo and who he'll listen to. Thomas might be willing to do it but Thomas has enough of his own poo poo he won't. Everyone else is either supernatural or infinitely patient and not around much. (i.e: Michael.) Marcone can't fill that role because Harry can and will blow him off and because Marcone is perfectly willing to not call Harry's poo poo when it works in his favor. I get that, but honestly I could see MArcone morphing into that position, given that Harry has had time to "grow up", living in and working for Winter, he can understand power and the lengths one can go for power, he can reconcile Marcone I think. Molly could also become that balance for Harry or Elaine or Luccio. I just can't see Murphy keeping pace without giving her a power boost, but the only way she's getting one is if she can get past some of her emotional issues, which she has reason to have, but are A not fun to read, and B not fun to read. If she would take the sword, or die and come back as a Valkyrie I think she could be redeemed, cause she could at least keep pace plausibly, and have a reason to leave Chicago, and still have a power base. But as she is, she just holds everything up.
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Mar 29, 2014 08:03
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SageSepthAtWork posted:I get that, but honestly I could see MArcone morphing into that position, given that Harry has had time to "grow up", living in and working for Winter, he can understand power and the lengths one can go for power, he can reconcile Marcone I think. Molly could also become that balance for Harry or Elaine or Luccio. I just can't see Murphy keeping pace without giving her a power boost, but the only way she's getting one is if she can get past some of her emotional issues, which she has reason to have, but are A not fun to read, and B not fun to read. If she would take the sword, or die and come back as a Valkyrie I think she could be redeemed, cause she could at least keep pace plausibly, and have a reason to leave Chicago, and still have a power base. But as she is, she just holds everything up. The thing is that there's no way Harry will ever come eye-to-eye with Marcone. He may accepting him but the two of them have allied and worked together and Harry has made it clear that he's never going to be on-board with Marcone as a person. He treats him the same way he treats the White Court, basically. Even if they somehow became friends (which is pretty drat unlikely), it wouldn't be a case where Harry would be willing to treat him as someone he'd unquestioningly agree with. Harry is (rightfully) untrustworthy even of people he considers friends. Almost always in a bad way considering how many of his problems could be solved by him going "hey guys, hosed up stuff happened, help." Someone like Marcone is gonna need one hell of a plot twist to become a guy Harry trusts enough to give him poo poo and Harry to take it seriously. And honestly as far as "she'll be fine if she gets past her emotional issues," that basically describes the entirety of the hero/hero-like cast in the series. That's probably not going anywhere because pretty much every major character in the books at the moment is a major seething pile of angst just waiting to boil over and explode at any given moment. Half the last book was dedicated to Harry angsting over some variety of his fuckups and the one time he let loose and seemed to have fun he got a Literal Murderboner from it. That element of the story probably isn't going anywhere, especially not with what happened to Molly which is going to be like a metric pile of angst dumped directly onto Harry's head. Murphy'll get her sword or she'll get some plot-twisty equivalent powerup. And as far as the story being stuck with Chicago: Demonreach kind of does that more than any single character could. Pretty much the entire reason Demonreach exists is to force Harry into a position where Chicago has to be relatively close by on a regular basis.
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Mar 29, 2014 08:17
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You make valid points, I think maybe I just putting my disappointments with where the series is, on that particular character cause I've never liked her. She's not particularly more whiny or angsty then any of the other characters, I just think the series is becoming some what depressing, and then year + wait between and the knowledge that like 9 more books are coming is a bit much. Could be 2030 by the time this series completes. I think personally it's the fact that I got into the story when Turn coat was coming out, so I was able to binge from Storm Front to Turn Coat and then Changes came out a few weeks later. But Changes/Ghost Story/Cold Days, the fun is somewhat gone, I mean I understand the Noire aspect and all, but there was quiet a bit of "fun" in the older books that seems to have been replaced with a sense of futility and depression. It's ironic in a way, the point I use as a selling point to get people into the series is starting to become kind've a negative. The fact that everything is connected and everything that happens matters and is referenced. It's great cause it gives you a much more detailed and robust world that evolves and changes in a truely great way, but at the same time the scars and wounds are becoming pretty heavy. The Gone are things like "War council" with Burger King hats and french fries, gone are rains of toads and ending up covered in mud in trees. The fun is gone. All the characters are adults, all the innocence and wonder is being replaced with jaded malaise and grayness. An it makes sense, they aren't those characters anymore, the things that go bump in the night have bumped hard in the last few years, but for me anyway, knowing that there's not much in the way of bright spots or the such to look forward to makes reading each new book, weirdly painful I guess? Second downside is because of all the interconectivity and the such, it take Butcher even longer to write each book as he makes sure he doesn't retcon or gently caress up his already established lore.
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Apr 1, 2014 04:32
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I can see your point, but hasn't the series always had a mix of serious and light hearted scenes? The very first book ended with Harry over dramatizing his rage while deciding not to murder a guy. The latest book involved punching Santa and a little fairy getting a crush on another little fairy.
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Apr 1, 2014 05:26
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Wittgen posted:I can see your point, but hasn't the series always had a mix of serious and light hearted scenes? The very first book ended with Harry over dramatizing his rage while deciding not to murder a guy. The latest book involved punching Santa and a little fairy getting a crush on another little fairy. I just think because of the cumulative weight of all the hosed up poo poo they've overcome, it's weighing down any moments of levity or lightheartedness, the balance is off because of it.
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Apr 1, 2014 05:50
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So I was just at Emerald City Comic Con. I was tabling next to Tyler Crook (he drew BPRD up until recently). While we were goofing off he asked me what he should draw. I told him "Harry Dresden" His wife told him "Now draw Murphy" Here is the result 
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Apr 1, 2014 06:33
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Murphy appears to be good people. Perhaps Harry could confirm that.
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Apr 1, 2014 06:39
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 Please someone hire him to draw the whole book series. I know there's a graphic novel already but I'm not a huge fan of it.
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Apr 1, 2014 06:40
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I don't know if it's come up before, but you might consider adding the web serial Pact to the recommended Urban Fantasy section. It's the second web serial by Wildbow (the first being the monstrous 1.75 megaword superhero/villain story Worm) and updates 2-3 times a week.from the About page posted:Blake Thorburn was driven away from home and family by a vicious fight over inheritance, returning only for a deathbed visit with the grandmother who set it in motion. Blake soon finds himself next in line to inherit the property, a trove of dark supernatural knowledge, and the many enemies his grandmother left behind her in the small town of Jacob’s Bell. A fairly standard setup, but I find myself eagerly anticipating every midnight update.
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Apr 1, 2014 07:04
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Holy poo poo you just made my week. I had no idea the guy that did Worm was writing something else now, this should be amazing.
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Apr 1, 2014 17:28
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God I fucking love Diablo 3 gold, it even paid for this shitty title
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Suprfli6 posted:Holy poo poo you just made my week. I had no idea the guy that did Worm was writing something else now, this should be amazing. It is. It's not quite as balls-to-the-wall-holy-poo poo-tense as Worm managed to consistently be, but Pact has its moments in spades. Edit: There's also a dedicated thread for Wildbow-chat already. If you're on the fence, come join us and ask for lots of good reasons why you should read Worm and Pact.
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Apr 1, 2014 20:08
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Captain Capacitor posted:
Him and I were actually joking the whole weekend about how we both think the Dresden Files comics could be way better, especially if the two of us did them. KellHound fucked around with this message at 23:47 on Apr 1, 2014 |
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Apr 1, 2014 23:41
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KellHound posted:Him and I were actually joking the whole weekend about how we both think the Dresden Files comics could be way better, especially if the two of us did them. Didn't you do the Grave Peril drawings a while back? I have all of those saved, I hope you keep going through the series. I'd love to see your take on the Erlking!
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Apr 2, 2014 04:37
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CainsDescendant posted:Didn't you do the Grave Peril drawings a while back? I have all of those saved, I hope you keep going through the series. I'd love to see your take on the Erlking! I did, and I will eventually. Right now I'm finishing my webcomic Sorcery 101 and working on a graphic novel called Misfits of Avalon for Darkhorse Comics (both are on http://kelmcdonald.com) so haven't had much sketching time. I got the whole booklet up on gumroad for free if anyone wants it. https://gumroad.com/l/RpbD I gave one to Jim butcher at SDCC. I hope to eventually have a little booklet for each book. I started Summer Knight but it's been so long I will probably redo the handful I did for Summer Knight KellHound fucked around with this message at 05:38 on Apr 2, 2014 |
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Apr 2, 2014 05:20
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"Don't plan to bind or banish you, old ghost. Just gonna kick your rear end up between your ears." might be one of my favorite lines in anything ever.
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Apr 3, 2014 17:55
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Has there ever been anything like this, but set in space? Like, I don't mean Star Wars necessarily. I mean, imagine something like the anime Cowboy Bebop, but the main character is a wizard. Does anyone get what I'm saying?
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Apr 3, 2014 18:00
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Thunderfinger posted:Has there ever been anything like this, but set in space? Like, I don't mean Star Wars necessarily. I mean, imagine something like the anime Cowboy Bebop, but the main character is a wizard. Does anyone get what I'm saying?
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Apr 3, 2014 18:17
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Nihilarian posted:I think "Space Wizard Detective" might be slightly too narrow a genre. It wouldn't be too hard to pull off in the right kind of space opera setting. I could totally see it working in the Mass Effect universe. I AM A BIOTIC GOD!
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Apr 3, 2014 18:36
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ConfusedUs posted:It wouldn't be too hard to pull off in the right kind of space opera setting. I'm Harry Shepard and this is my favorite Burger King on the Citadel!
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Apr 3, 2014 20:56
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Nihilarian posted:I think "Space Wizard Detective" might be slightly too narrow a genre. There have been psychic space detectives before I'm pretty sure, at least as minor characters in other series.
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Apr 3, 2014 20:58
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One thing a friend pointed out to me, and it seems entirely circumstantial (but we all know Butcher) is that Cowl is present when Lash starts interacting with Harry, and when she "dies". Sure, she's hanging around silent for a book, but she's not active until Cowl shows up and Hellfire gets thrown around. Next time Cowl is on the scene is when she goes out. It's probably purely circumstantial, but interesting.
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Apr 3, 2014 21:26
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SO what you're saying that not only is Cowl future Harry, but Kumori is future head baby Lash?
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Apr 3, 2014 21:32
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Mortanis posted:One thing a friend pointed out to me, and it seems entirely circumstantial (but we all know Butcher) is that Cowl is present when Lash starts interacting with Harry, and when she "dies". Sure, she's hanging around silent for a book, but she's not active until Cowl shows up and Hellfire gets thrown around. Next time Cowl is on the scene is when she goes out. I don't think Cowl was active when Harry almost got sold on ebay?
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Apr 3, 2014 21:50
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Hieronymous Alloy posted:There have been psychic space detectives before I'm pretty sure, at least as minor characters in other series. Peter F. Hamilton has a (bad) series about a psychic detectivish protagonist, starting with "Mindstar Rising". Lots of sex, evil communists, and it's kind of mediocre overall. Not amazing mysteries. Noir/Space Mysteries are kind of a thing now, with Alastair Reynolds, Richard Morgan, and others all contributing to the genre.
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Apr 4, 2014 00:18
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Thunderfinger posted:Has there ever been anything like this, but set in space? Like, I don't mean Star Wars necessarily. I mean, imagine something like the anime Cowboy Bebop, but the main character is a wizard. Does anyone get what I'm saying? Not literature, but there's also an old 80's space opera anime called Outlaw Star where the main antagonists are space pirates led by Taoists mages.
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Apr 4, 2014 01:01
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Exmond posted:I don't think Cowl was active when Harry almost got sold on ebay? Nope. That happens in Proven Guilty, which is the book directly after Dead Beat.
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Apr 4, 2014 01:13
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Angry Lobster posted:Not literature, but there's also an old 80's space opera anime called Outlaw Star where the main antagonists are space pirates led by Taoists mages. Yeah I haven't seen that yet, but I have heard of it and heard it was pretty cool. But is there not really anything like it in literature?
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Apr 4, 2014 01:39
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Lash is Mister projecting into Harry's head, it is known. Any scuttlebutt about when the next book is coming?
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Apr 4, 2014 16:43
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Thunderfinger posted:Yeah I haven't seen that yet, but I have heard of it and heard it was pretty cool. But is there not really anything like it in literature? Rachel Bach's Paradox Trilogy published by Orbit. Books 1 and 2, "Fortune's Pawn" and "Honor's Knight," are our now the third one later this year. It's got space, magic, and space magic. It's completely batshit insane and it's not good by any rational definition of the word. The protag murders a score of sentient aliens and barely noticed, because the books action beats run on videogame logic (the rest runs on romance novel logic). But it is fun.
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Apr 4, 2014 16:49
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Smashurbanipal posted:Lash is Mister projecting into Harry's head, it is known. Skin Game releases late May, after that, nope.
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Apr 4, 2014 17:03
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Arcsech posted:Skin Game releases late May, after that, nope. I thought the release date was finalized already? Amazon has it up as May 27th
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Apr 4, 2014 23:56
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Xtanstic posted:I thought the release date was finalized already? Amazon has it up as May 27th Skin Game comes out in late May (the 27th) as he said. After that, we don't know when the next book comes out.
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Apr 5, 2014 00:06
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Oh right I'm dumb. We've pretty much accepted that 1 book a year is no longer attainable right?
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Apr 5, 2014 01:37
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Xtanstic posted:Oh right I'm dumb. We've pretty much accepted that 1 book a year is no longer attainable right? the dream of a book a year is like polka - it will never die.
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Apr 5, 2014 02:03
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Jim said somewhere that it might speed up a bit once he starts working on his new series (The Cinder Spires, or something. That might be the name of the first book instead of the series though). Apparently, when he takes a break from writing one book he works on another to cool down. I guess it makes sense, if you accept at face value that he loves his job and is thankfully no GRRM.
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Apr 5, 2014 03:08
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Thunderfinger posted:Has there ever been anything like this, but set in space? Like, I don't mean Star Wars necessarily. I mean, imagine something like the anime Cowboy Bebop, but the main character is a wizard. Does anyone get what I'm saying? Brandon Sanderson's third Mistborn trilogy will be this.
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Apr 5, 2014 03:38
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So i just went to the con on the gold coast in aus to get one of my books signed, and attend the seminar thingie, and jim butcher is a really nice guy. so nice in fact i completely forgot what i wanted him to sign in my books. hur dur.
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Apr 5, 2014 07:58
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