Jim Butcher was born on 26, 1971 in Independence Missouri. He was influenced to become a unique storyteller from early on in his life by his two older sisters who first introduced him to the fantasy and fiction genres. Entranced by the fantasy worlds of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings trilogies by J.R.R. Tolkien along with many works by C.S. Lewis, he quickly picked up a burning passion for storytelling at a young age. Drawing inspiration from these novels and through his own rich imagination of landscapes and magic he began writing short stories that he would share with his friends and family. The stories would be epic tales of fancy magic and grand adventures, although he did not start out with as epic of writing skills as seemed. As Butcher grew a little older his burning passion never got snuffed out and he would go onto college with the goal of eventually becoming a published author. Straight after high school he enrolled at the University of Oklahoma to study English literature. While studying he dove deep into writing, immersing himself in many works made by several renowned authors. He also explored many literary traditions which helped him come into his own style of writing (About Jim). 

Butcher’s career first started while he was still in college actually. He wrote his first ever novel at the age of nineteen but he admits that his first and many that came after were not of the highest quality of writing. With time he persisted and kept on writing and while gaining experience he would shape up his writing to be able to meet that high quality he did not achieve before. The first book of his most famous series, The Dresden Files, was written for one of his writing classes during college called Storm Front. Fool Moon, the second book in the series, he wrote in the same class, just a semester later, and then continued onto the third installment after that. Butcher tried vigorously to get an agency or editor to accept Storm Front but didn’t have much luck. Through many conventions and events he would talk to as many people as he could to make connections so that he had any sort of chance of his book being accepted. One of the agencies he tried to contact was led by Ricia Mainhardt, which at first declined him when he sent in a letter. Not giving up, he tracked Mainhardt down at a convention and tried to convince her in person to pick up his book. After some chit-chat, Mainhardt agreed to publish it through her agency. Once the deal was finished he asked her why she accepted it now even though she rejected it before, to which she responded by “Well yeah, but that was before I met you” (About Jim).

Throughout the struggle to get his book published and his schooling he still kept on writing and has not stopped ever since. His first series which he started in the early 2000’s, The Dresden Files, are about a private investigator wizard who is based in Chicago who gets himself hired into sticky situations with the paranormal. The series currently has seventeen novels and he is currently working on the eighteenth. Butcher’s set in stone success didn’t start until he wrote his second series in 2004 called Codex Alera. This new series showed how he had the ability to be a multifaceted author by combining elements of magic, world building, and politics. The main point of this series was so that he could show people his whimsical worlds that he had in his imagination. Continuing those series pretty much exclusively until 2015, where he released his third series called The Cinder Spires which had fantastical steampunk ideas woven into it (Jim Butcher Biography).

Butcher’s writing wasn’t just those few series though. He once wrote a Spiderman comic in thirty days due to time constraints he had at the time. Once he believes he is a good enough writer he wants to write an “epic epic fantasy epic.” Finally, his advice and what he believes makes a good writer is to never stop writing and keep persisting (Lovatt). 

His books may sound nerdy, but that's because they are! He is a huge nerd and loves video games, board games, live action role playing, the guitar, and various forms of martial arts. Butcher lives in Denver Colorado with his wife and son who is currently in college (About Jim). Mrs. Butcher is also a writer but she is at the other end of writing with romance novels. The nerdiness also runs in his blood as he and his son bond over going out and participating in large live action role playing events together (Hicks). He says that he gains inspiration from going out and doing live action role play along with going to many conventions and events to meet with fans and have a good time (Lovatt). Through these events his readers are able to connect with him and he is known for his warmth, humor, and great appreciation for fans (Jim Butcher Biography).