As an early Father’s Day gift this year, I took my dad to an author Q&A session with Jim Butcher, author of The Dresden Files series of books about Chicago’s first (and only) wizard private investigator. I prepared for the session by listening to a couple of the books (they’re narrated by James Marsters, who plays Spike on the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” TV series), and really enjoyed them.

Butcher has a distinct voice in the books which also really came through at his author event – the Q&A session was very entertaining. About 500 people showed up, and the questions were quite varied. He talked a bit about his own background in martial arts, and how that played into Det. Karrin Murphy practicing aikido in the books. He also talked about his writing process, how he uses strong outlines, and never feels like he backs Dresden into irretrievable corners, because that’s the opportunity to do something really creative and interesting. Based on the three books I’ve listened to, I’d say he’s succeeded at that!

I saw only a couple of cosplayers at the author event – one woman (not sure who she was dressed as – it wasn’t Det. Murphy) and one pretty spot-on Dresden. If you’re looking to cosplay as Dresden, you might be interested in this shield bracelet project (pictured above) by SilverMoon Dragon. I love the layered look with the cloth strips, chain and coins. She also made an awesome crochet “Bob” from the Dresden Files – be sure to check out her other Dresden crafts on her blog.

Have you read the Dresden books? They’d make a great addition to your geeky to-read list!

Links of Interest:

• Dresden Files shield bracelet on Craftster
• Dresden crafts on Never Mind the Claw Marks
• More cosplay crafts on GeekCrafts