Charity is really SUCH a wonderful example of a character who could so easily have been a flat, uninteresting stereotype in any other writer's hands, but Butcher brings her to life on the page. :D She's introduced as just "the mom" -- the alternately haranguing and dutiful wife who cooks, cleans and takes care of Michael's kids. And then she starts showing more and more facets, and it becomes obvious in Proven Guilty that she chose this life; Michael's love and her life as a homemaker literally saved her from going darkside, but it doesn't mean she can't still pick up a GIANT FREAKING WARHAMMER and go kick ass when necessary. :D I also loved that bit in Proven Guilty -- which happens to be the book I just finished reading -- when Harry expresses surprise at her fighting skills and she gives him a "duh, you idiot" look and points out that Michael had to hone his sword skills somehow -- "Who do you think he's been sparring with for the last twenty years?"

One of the things that makes these books feel so solid and grounded, I think, is that Butcher really thinks this stuff through -- how the characters pay for groceries or keep their jobs while running off to fight baddies or keep their fighting skills sharp.

Man, what I'd love to see for this series would be a series of theatrical movies like Harry Potter or LoTR. Yeah, it's just a dream, I know. :D But seeing the books really done justice, with great f/x and the whole works ... that would be so lovely! (And I desperately wish that I had visuals to vid with, because I already have a playlist of songs that I'd love to make vids to!)