Subject index
Listing of questions J.K. Rowling answered, alphabetically by subject.
If a subject was raised in more than one question the subject is listed
several times accordingly.
Advice for young writers
Subject is mentioned here in the question
In both Harry Potter books, your vocabulary is
extraordinarily rich and inventive. How does one encourage
children to cultivate a bank of words like this?
Advice for young writers
Subject is mentioned here in the question
What advice would you give to young writers today?
Advice for young writers
Subject is mentioned here in the question
What advice would you give to your writers?
Advice for young writers
Subject is mentioned here in the question
What would your advice be to any other young people that
would want to write stories?
Banning the Harry Potter books
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Every time writers get immensely successful, they draw the
ire of some reactionary group. In your case it seems to be
people accusing you of encouraging Devil worship.
Banning the Harry Potter books
Subject is mentioned here in the question
How do you feel when people try to censor your books because
of their religious beliefs about witchcraft?
Banning the Harry Potter books
Subject is mentioned here in the question
What do you think of the people who want to ban your books?
Being a single mother
Subject is mentioned here in the question
As a mom, did you feel like a failure? You're broke.
Suddenly you have this kid.
Being a single mother
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Being a mother often requires a sort of generalist or
Jill-of-all-trades expertise -- part nurse, playmate, chef,
maid, bodyguard -- with endless distractions. It is so
different from writing, where single-minded concentration
and discipline is usually needed. How do you reconcile the
two?
Being a single mother
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Did any characters or scenes in "Harry Potter" stem from
your experience as a single mother?
Being a single mother
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Do you have any advice for struggling single mothers?
Being a single mother
Subject is mentioned here in the question
The advertising copy for your book says that you were a
struggling single mother when writing "Harry Potter and the
Sorcerer's Stone." Could you tell more about that time?
Being a single mother
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Why did you decide to write during that period? Most single
mothers who are broke and have got a kid, they just want to
make money. They forget their ambition to write, forget
their dream. They have to be a little more practical.
Being a writer
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Did you want to be an author when you were younger?
Being a writer
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Do you have any sort of target audience when you write these
books?
Being a writer
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Do you like being a writer?
Being a writer
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Do you write by hand or on a computer?
Being a writer
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Has writing changed you personally?
Being a writer
Subject is mentioned here in the question
How do you come up with the names of your characters?
Being a writer
Subject is mentioned here in the question
What ingredients do you think all the Harry Potter books
need?
Being a writer
Subject is mentioned here in the question
When did you start writing Harry Potter?
Being a writer
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Why did you choose to be an author?
Being funny
Subject is mentioned here in the question
The Harry Potter series has lots of humorous moments. Do you
consider yourself to be a really funny person?
Being rich
Subject is mentioned here in the question
And what about the money? A lot of people when they suddenly
make a lot of money, feel guilty about it. Do you feel
guilt?
Being rich
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Do you even know, when it gets to the level you're at. Do
you even know what you are earning?
Book The goblet of fire
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Book four opens with a murder and then there's one at the
end. I won't say who it is. You cried then?
Book The goblet of fire
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Book four is the crucial book, because after this book,
everything changes. The whole world seems to go through a
radical transformation.
Book The goblet of fire
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Civil rights becomes a theme in Goblet of Fire. It shows up
in Hermione in relation to the rights of elves.
Book The goblet of fire
Subject is mentioned here in the question
In the fourth book, when Harry tells Dumbledore about his
fight with Voldemort and how Voldemort could touch him after
he took Harry's blood, Harry thinks he sees Dumbledore smile
slightly. Why? Is Dumbledore really on Voldemort's side
after all?
Book The goblet of fire
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Is book four as suitable for the six- and seven-year-old who
loved Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone?
Book The goblet of fire
Subject is mentioned here in the question
This is the keystone book, in terms of the plot?
Book The goblet of fire
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Why did Dumbledore have a look of triumph in his eyes at the
end of book four?
Book The goblet of fire
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Will it be the biggest?
Book The Order of the Phoenix
Subject is mentioned here in the question
In the Order of the Phoenix Harry and Ron and Hermione are
all going to be older. How are they going to change?
Book The Order of the Phoenix
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Is Harry going to become a bolshy teenager in The Order of
the Phoenix?
Book The philosopher's stone
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Are any of the stories based on your life, or on people you
know?
Book The philosopher's stone
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Was it hard to get Harry Potter published?
Book The Prisoner of Azkaban
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Can you explain how Lupin turns into a werewolf, since he
didn't turn in the Shrieking Shack in Prisoner of Azkaban,
but instead he turned only when the full moonlight hit him
outside the tunnel? If he only turned into a wolf in the
moonlight, why didn't he just stay inside? Did it have to do
with the potion? Or was the moon not up yet?
Book The Prisoner of Azkaban
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Is the island that Azkaban is on located at the southern end
of the U.K. since Black had to pass the Dursley's place on
his way to Hogwarts?
Book The Prisoner of Azkaban
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Where is Azkaban?
Books before Harry Potter
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Did you write another book before writing the Harry Potter
series?
Books before Harry Potter
Subject is mentioned here in the question
How long have you been writing for?
Books before Harry Potter
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Is this the first book/story you ever wrote? If not, is it
the first one ever published?
Books before Harry Potter
Subject is mentioned here in the question
The two books before "Harry Potter"?
Books before Harry Potter
Subject is mentioned here in the question
What was the story Rabbit about?
Books before Harry Potter
Subject is mentioned here in the question
When you were my age, did you ever write a book? I am in the
fifth grade.
Books getting darker each part
Subject is mentioned here in the question
My impression is that the Harry books are getting "darker"
somehow. Is this because he is growing up, and his readers
have to do the same?
British Book Awards
Subject is mentioned here in the question
How do you feel about receiving the British Book Awards
Children's Book of the year?
British comedy
Subject is mentioned here in the question
As an adult reader, I loved the books and was surprised at
how much humour is in them. The Dursleys sound like
something out of Monty Python! Do you like British comedy?
Canada
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Is this your first trip to Canada?
Canada
Subject is mentioned here in the question
What did you think Canada would be like?
Casting the movies
Subject is mentioned here in the question
How hard was it to pick the actors to play the characters in
the movie?
Casting the movies
Subject is mentioned here in the question
How much control do you have over the film?
Casting the movies
Subject is mentioned here in the question
So have they cast it?
Cat motif in the books
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Is there something more to the cats appearing in the books
than first meets the eye? (i.e. Mrs. Figg's cats,
Crookshanks, Prof. McGonagall as a cat, etc.)
Chamber of secrets
Subject is mentioned here in the question
How did you come up with the idea of the underground chamber
in Chamber of Secrets?
Chamber of secrets
Subject is mentioned here in the question
What did you have to do to make sure readers could start
with Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and not be
confused?
Changing words in US edition
Subject is mentioned here in the question
After the first book, you stopped converting English words
to American words. Is there any reason for this?
Changing words in US edition
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Do you think the English language is more alive in Great
Britain than in the United States?
Changing words in US edition
Subject is mentioned here in the question
What kind of manuscript changes had to be made to make the
U.S. version more understandable to American readers?
Specific things, like the title change of the first Harry
Potter book?
Character Albus Dumbledore
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Do you have more fun writing the evil characters? Because
Lord Voledmort is the quintessential evil character.
Character Albus Dumbledore
Subject is mentioned here in the question
How old is Professor Dumbledore?
Character Albus Dumbledore
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Why does Professor Dumbledore like sherbet lemons?
Character Arabella Figg
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Is the Mrs. Figg with all the cats in the Dursleys'
neighborhood the same Arabella Figg that Dumbledore
mentioned at the end of book 4?
Character Dudley Dursley
Subject is mentioned here in the question
How did the Dursleys explain away the tail when Dudley had
to have it removed at the hospital?
Character Fawkes
Subject is mentioned here in the question
What is Bonfire Night?
Character Gilderoy Lockhart
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Do you take real people you know and put them in your books?
Character gnomes
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Why are the gnomes bad? What do they do?
Character goblins
Subject is mentioned here in the question
When people trade in Muggle money for Wizard money, what
does Gringotts do with the Muggle money?
Character Harry Potter
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Did you consider having a girl be the main character?
Character Harry Potter
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Did you ever meet a boy like Harry?
Character Harry Potter
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Does Harry have a middle name?
Character Harry Potter
Subject is mentioned here in the question
From where did you get the name for Harry Potter?
Character Harry Potter
Subject is mentioned here in the question
How did you come up with Harry Potter?
Character Harry Potter
Subject is mentioned here in the question
How overtly concerned are you with the idea of Harry's
growing up in the books?
Character Harry Potter
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Is Harry Potter ever going to fall in love with Hermione or
is he going to fall in love with Ginny Weasley?
Character Harry Potter
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Some people say good characters are boring and evil
characters are always the more interesting. There's the
famous line about Milton and Paradise Lost: God is a bore
and the devil is interesting.
Character Harry Potter
Subject is mentioned here in the question
What kind of kid were you? Where you shy?
Character Harry Potter
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Who were the Potters?
Character Harry Potter
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Why did you choose a male character as the lead instead of a
female?
Character Harry Potter
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Why did you choose the lightning bolt as a trademark for
Harry Potter?
Character Hermione Granger
Subject is mentioned here in the question
If you could be a wizard, who would you be?
Character Hermione Granger
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Is that brainy girl Hermoine based on you?
Character Hermione Granger
Subject is mentioned here in the question
One of the book's loveliest characters is Hermione Granger,
one of Harry's best friends and a bookworm whose research
invariably helps him unravel the mystery at hand. Hermione
makes erudition seem so juicy and worthwhile, yet she's very
real, prone to crushes on self-inflated types. How did you
dream her up?
Character Hermione Granger
Subject is mentioned here in the question
When is Hermione's birthday?
Character Hermione Granger
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Which character reflects your personality the most?
Character James/Lily Potter
Subject is mentioned here in the question
What did James and Lily Potter do when they were alive?
Character James/Lily Potter
Subject is mentioned here in the question
What did the Potter parents do for a living before Voldemort
killed them?
Character James/Lily Potter
Subject is mentioned here in the question
What position did James play on the Gryffindor Quidditch
team? Was it seeker like Harry, or something different?
Character James/Lily Potter
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Where did James get his Invisibility Cloak?
Character James/Lily Potter
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Which house was Lily Potter in, and what is her maiden name?
Character Mad Eye Moody
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Can you give an example of a surprise in your writing
process, such as a character you weren't expecting?
Character Minerva McGonagall
Subject is mentioned here in the question
How old is old in the wizarding world, and how old are
Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall?
Character Minerva McGonagall
Subject is mentioned here in the question
In the second book, Harry and Ron went to the girls' toilet
and met McGonagall. They told her that they were going to
visit Hermione, and she started crying. Why?
Character Muggles
Subject is mentioned here in the question
How do you come up with all the unique names, places and
things that help make the Harry Potter series so intriguing?
Character owls
Subject is mentioned here in the question
How did you come up with all the unusual names in your
books?
Character owls
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Why did Harry have a pet owl instead of something else?
Character owls
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Why did you choose the owl as the animal messenger in your
books?
Character Petunia Dursley
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Since Harry Potter's parents were sorcerers and Petunia was
Harry's mother's sister. Shouldn't Petunia be a witch or
wizard?
Character Quirrell
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Why did you make Quirrell the bad guy instead of Snape?
Character Remus J. Lupin
Subject is mentioned here in the question
If you had to choose one teacher from your books to teach
your child, who would it be and why?
Character Remus J. Lupin
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Will we be seeing Lupin anytime soon?
Character Ron Weasley
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Ms. Rowling, in an article I read in Good Housekeeping, you
stated that the character Hermione received her personality
from her likeness of you at the age. What other things
inspired you for other aspects or details in your books?
Character Ron Weasley
Subject is mentioned here in the question
You used to teach French to teenagers. Did you base any of
your characters on kids you taught?
Character Ron Weasley's cousin
Subject is mentioned here in the question
You said Ron's cousin was taken out of Book 4, and you
developed Rita Skeeter more after that. Do you still think
that it would have been more fun to keep her? Can you tell
me anything about what she was going to be like?
Character Scabbers
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Will we ever see Scabbers again?
Character Severus Snape
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Are any of the characters in the books based on real people?
Character Sirius Black
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Where did Sirius Black and Buckbeack go after they went into
hiding?
Character Sirius Black
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Will Harry ever get to go with his godfather (Cornelius
Black)?
Character Voldemort
Subject is mentioned here in the question
How does the Dark Lord affect American wizards and witches?
Character Voldemort
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Is it true that since Voldemort took Harry's blood by force,
that Harry can kill Voldemort, but Voldemort can't kill
Harry?
Character Voldemort
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Is Voldemort some sort of relative of Harry's? Possibly his
mother's brother?
Character Voldemort
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Will Voldemort ever die?
Character Voldemort
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Will Voldemort's evil ways rise again, such as Muggle
killings?
Characters wizards/witches
Subject is mentioned here in the question
In your first book, the witches and wizards stand out as
slightly odd when they're in the "muggle," or normal world
-- cloaked in capes with dozens of pocckets. Are they meant
to remind readers of homeless people?
Covers in different countries
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Since each of the editions is packaged differently, do you
have a favorite?
Covers in different countries
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Why was a different cover illustration chosen for the books
sold in the United States? Why do those books have
illustrations at the beginning of each chapter but the
British books do not?
Editing
Subject is mentioned here in the question
How painful is the editing process for you? Compared with
writing a first draft, how long do you spend editing? Who do
you conference with?
Encouragement to write
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Was there a particular teacher who encouraged you to write
when you were a child? If there was, how did he or she
encourage or help you?
Fame
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Are you recognized now? Do you get stopped for autographs?
Fame
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Has your success placed restrictions on your life? Can you
walk down the street, go shopping?
Fame
Subject is mentioned here in the question
How do you deal with sudden fame?
Fame
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Is it hard being famous?
Fame
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Is it naive to pretend that you're not a celebrity?
Fame
Subject is mentioned here in the question
People always ask does fame change you? Do you guard
yourself against change? As you say, you still want to be a
single mom, but how can you do it now when everybody knows
you?
Fame
Subject is mentioned here in the question
You seem to have kept your life deliberately low-key. You
haven't bought the five cars or the helicopter.
Fame
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Has it come at a price this success and fame?
Fame
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Do you think success has changed you?
Fan fiction
Subject is mentioned here in the question
What do you think of fan fiction being written about your
characters, and have you read any of them on the Internet?
Fantasy books
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Did you write Harry Potter because you like fantasy books,
or just because the idea came to you?
Fantasy books
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Why are the English so good at writing fantasy?
Favorite animal
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Does the animal one turns into as an Animagi reflect your
personality?
Favorite animal
Subject is mentioned here in the question
If you were Animagus, what kind of animal would you be?
Favorite books
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Are there any books you would recommend to your fans to read
while they await Book 5?
Favorite books
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Have you ever been inspired by another author?
Favorite books
Subject is mentioned here in the question
What are you reading now?
Favorite books
Subject is mentioned here in the question
What books and authors did you read as a kid? Which are your
biggest influences?
Favorite books
Subject is mentioned here in the question
What books did you read as a child? Have these influenced
your writing in any way?
Favorite books
Subject is mentioned here in the question
What books do you enjoy reading?
Favorite books
Subject is mentioned here in the question
What books do you read in your free reading time?
Favorite books
Subject is mentioned here in the question
What kind of books did you read when you were young?
Favorite books
Subject is mentioned here in the question
What other books do you recommend (besides your own)?
Favorite books
Subject is mentioned here in the question
What were the most memorable books you read as a child?
Favorite books
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Which book was the most fun for you to write?
Favorite books
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Who are your favourite authors?
Favorite books
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Who is your favorite author?
Favorite characters
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Do you have a favourite character?
Favorite characters
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Which character besides Harry is your favorite, and why?
Favorite characters
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Who is your favorite character?
Favorite characters
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Would you get a mythical pet from one of your books? If you
could, which one?
Favorite motto
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Do you have a favorite saying or motto?
Favorite passage
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Do you have a favorite passage from one of your books?
Favorite pastime
Subject is mentioned here in the question
When you are not writing or reading, what things do you
enjoy in your free time?
Favorite person in history
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Do you have a role model, if so, who?
Favorite person in history
Subject is mentioned here in the question
What person from history has influenced you the most?
Favorite subject in school
Subject is mentioned here in the question
What was your favorite subject in school?
Favorite wizard candy
Subject is mentioned here in the question
What is your favorite wizard candy?
Fear
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Do you think your books frighten children?
Fear
Subject is mentioned here in the question
What ought we to protect our kids from?
Fear
Subject is mentioned here in the question
What shape would a Boggart take if it wanted to scare you?
How would you defeat it?
Fighting in school
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Did you ever fight in school?
Finishing with book seven
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Did you always plan to write Harry's story in more than one
book? If so, how many?
Finishing with book seven
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Is it true you're doing 7 books, one for each year that
Harry will be at Hogwarts?
Finishing with book seven
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Why stop at seven books when you could make up Harry's whole
life?
Finishing with book seven
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Will there by any more Harry Potter books?
Friendship
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Friends are very important in your books. What do you think
is the most important thing in friendship?
Getting bored while writing
Subject is mentioned here in the question
How do you write the really long books without getting
bored?
Getting ideas
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Are you forever stashing ideas? Writers are forever
scribbling and saying this is a perfect idea. Is that your
method?
Getting ideas
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Are your characters based on people you know?
Getting ideas
Subject is mentioned here in the question
But then, there you were, in 1990, on that train stuck
between Manchester and London, staring at a field of cows,
and an image of Harry popped into your mind. That really is
a magical story.
Getting ideas
Subject is mentioned here in the question
How did you come up with the idea for the first Harry Potter
book?
Getting ideas
Subject is mentioned here in the question
How did you get the idea for Harry Potter?
Getting ideas
Subject is mentioned here in the question
How did you think of all the cool things that happened to
Harry?
Getting ideas
Subject is mentioned here in the question
The legend is that your first book came to you all at once.
Is that true?
Getting ideas
Subject is mentioned here in the question
When you were stuck on the train was there anything that
triggered your imagination, and did that incident inspire
Book III?
Getting ideas
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Where did the ideas for the Harry Potter books come from?
Getting ideas
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Where did the ideas for the wizard classes and magic spells
come from?
Getting ideas
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Where do you get the names from?
Getting ideas
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Where do you get your ideas from?
Getting ideas
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Why did you write about witchcraft and wizardry?
Ghosts
Subject is mentioned here in the question
What makes some witches/wizards become ghosts after they die
and some not?
Ghosts
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Why do some wizards/witches become ghosts and others don't?
Gift giving
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Does Harry give Christmas gifts to his friends? The books
mention only gifts he receives. I am interested in knowing
whether he gives gifts and if they are appropriate for the
receiver.
Gift giving
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Ron and Hermione give Harry gifts... does he ever give them
birthday presents?
Help in answering fan mail
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Do you actually answer your fan mail?
Help in writing the books
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Did you have any help writing any of the books?
Hints about upcoming plots
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Any clues about the next book?
Hints about upcoming plots
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Any hints you could share about what to expect in future
Harry Potter books?
Hints about upcoming plots
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Can you say ANYTHING about the next book?
Hints about upcoming plots
Subject is mentioned here in the question
I think the color of Harry's eyes will matter in the books
to come. Yes?
Hints about upcoming plots
Subject is mentioned here in the question
In your first book there is a secret message on the Mirror
of Erised. Are there any other secret messages throughout
the book that we should be watching for?
Hints about upcoming plots
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Is there ever going to be female Defense Against The Dark
Arts teacher?
Hints about upcoming plots
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Will Harry ever get a break and not live with the Dursleys?
Hints about upcoming plots
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Will Harry time-travel again?
Hints about upcoming plots
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Will we ever get a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who
lasts more than a year?
Hints about upcoming plots
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Will we see the Marauders map in a future book?
Hogwarts
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Do you have an actual floorplan for Hogwarts? Do you use it
when writing the books?
Hogwarts
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Have you ever made a map or blueprint of the school?
Hogwarts
Subject is mentioned here in the question
How do you visualize Hogwarts in its entirety?
Hogwarts
Subject is mentioned here in the question
If YOU went to Hogwarts, which house would they put you in?
Hogwarts
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Were you ever involved in a school like Harry Potter's
school?
Illustrations in the books
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Will you ever include more illustrations?
Imaginary friends
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Did you ever have an imaginary friend?
Influence of merchandising
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Do you ever worry that perhaps your legacy will be not this
entire world that you created but lots of bits of plastic?
Influence of popularity
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Has the huge popularity of Harry Potter changed the
direction of the plot in any way?
Influence of rumors
Subject is mentioned here in the question
There are hundreds of rumours and theories going around
about your books! Have you seen these, and do you plan to
use any of the ideas found in them?
Influence of rumors
Subject is mentioned here in the question
What do you think of the guesswork on internet fan sites?
Input on merchandising
Subject is mentioned here in the question
How much control do you have on all of the products flooding
the marketplace with a Harry Potter theme? Do you think they
will sell well?
Input on merchandising
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Parents and even a lot of children are delighted that so far
there are no commercial spinoffs--no dolls, no toys, no
lunchboxes. But that's about to change.
Input on merchandising
Subject is mentioned here in the question
When you look at a lot of that marketing stuff, that
merchandise, when you look at things like the Harry Potter
Ice Pumpkin Slushie maker and all that junk. There's a list
of about 50 of these things. Harry Potter Embroidered Polo
Shirts, the Late Night Ride Towel, Harry Potter and Ron
Weasley alarm clock. I mean it goes on and on.
Input on merchandising
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Couldn't you have said "No, I'm not gonna have any
merchandising".
Input on movie adaptation
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Are you having a lot of input on the new Harry Potter movie?
Jessica Rowling
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Are any of your female characters, like Hermione, modeled
after your own daughter?
Jessica Rowling
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Does your daughter help you with ideas for the books?
Jessica Rowling
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Has being around your daughter day in and day out altered
the way you feel about kids? You were writing about them
before she was born, but--?
Jessica Rowling
Subject is mentioned here in the question
What does your daughter think of your work? What books do
you want and like to read to her? And her to read on her
own?
Jessica Rowling
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Where does your daughter stay when you're travelling?
Jessica Rowling
Subject is mentioned here in the question
Your daughter is now 6. Have you started reading the books
to her yet?
Keeping a journal
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Do you now or have you in the past kept a journal? If so, do
you believe that it helps in your writing?
Killing characters off
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Characters take on their own lives, have their own stories.
Writers often say, "I loved that character and the most
tragic part of my year was having to kill him off".
Killing characters off
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Do you know already who is going to die in the next books?
Killing characters off
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It's hard to draw the line here, isn't it, because someone
could read your book and say there's murder -- not a topic
for kids.
Killing characters off
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People love Ron, for example. Kids think you're going to
knock off Ron because he's the best friend.
Killing characters off
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Some of the characters we might love and you might love
might be killed off?
Killing characters off
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Is there going to be a death in the Order of the Phoenix?
Length of time to write
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How long did it take to write the first book?
Length of time to write
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How long does it take to write one Harry Potter book?
Length of time to write
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How long does it take you to write a book?
Library use
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Did you use the library a lot as a child?
Life after Harry Potter
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Are you going to write a book about other characters than
Harry Potter?
Life after Harry Potter
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Do you have any plans as a writer beyond Harry Potter?
Life after Harry Potter
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Do you have any plans to write books for adults?
Life after Harry Potter
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Do you think that you will write about Harry after he
graduates from Hogwarts? Isn't there a University of
Wizardry?
Life after Harry Potter
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Have you thought about life after Harry Potter?
Life after Harry Potter
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How do you envision your future?
Life after Harry Potter
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When the seventh book in the series is finished, are you
going to start on a new topic?
Life after Harry Potter
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Will you ever write an official autobiography?
Life after Harry Potter
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Do you know what you will go on to next after book 7?
Magic
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Can you do any magic tricks?
Magic
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Did you ever make a study of herbs and other Hogwarts
subjects, or did you create all those classes from
inspiration?
Magic
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Did you invent the spells that the wizards cast in your
books?
Magic
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Do any of the things that happen in the Harry Potter books
reflect any of your childhood fantasies?
Magic
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Does everyone have a little magic in them? Even if they are
Muggles? And if not, how did magic start?
Magic
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How did you make the spells? Did you make them up, or are
they real names of people and places?
Magic
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If you had magic powers like Harry Potter, how would you use
them?
Magic
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One theme that's so powerful in these books is the idea of
the powerlessness of kids--ordinary kids, that is. And I
think it's probably a chief attraction for young readers?
Magic
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The wand chooses the wizard, of course, but what magical
creature would you select for your own wand?
Magic
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What's your favorite spell?
Magic
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When you were a little girl, did you dream or ever think of
Harry Potter or someone like him?
Mistakes in the books
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Harry Potter for grownups again! Is Voldemort the last
remaining ancestor of Slytherin, or the last remaining
descendent of Slytherin?
Mistakes in the books
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In the first book you said Slytherin house Quidditch captain
was sixth year Marcus Flint. If there are only seven years
of Hogwarts, why is he in the third book?
Movie expectations
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Are you excited about the movie deal for Harry Potter?
Where else might we see Harry Potter in the future (toys,
video games, etc.)?
Movie expectations
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Do you think that making a Harry Potter movie will help
people understand the books better or will it ruin the
imagination for the books?
Myth of delay in release dates
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I heard a lot of rumors as to why the fourth book isn't out
yet in the U.S. What is the truth and when will it be out?
Myth of living without heat
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Were you living in an unheated apartment?
Myth of writing on napkins
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Do you still have the napkins that you wrote the first book
on?
Myth of writing on napkins
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There is the myth that you are the welfare mom living in an
unheated apartment in Edinburgh You're scratching out Harry
Potter for two hours a day.
Name Joanne
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We have been instructed to call you Jo, you don't like
Joanne?
Names of monsters
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Was it hard to think of the monsters' names?
Names of the Hogwarts Houses
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What made you think of the people's names and dormitories at
Hogwarts?
Names that start with H
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There are an extraordinary number of names that start with
"H" (Harry, Hermione, Hedwig, Hogwarts, Hagrid, Hufflepuff).
Is there any reason for that?
Number of students at Hogwarts
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How many students attend Hogwarts, and how many students per
year per house?
Other jobs besides writer
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Did your teaching experience help you write for children?
Other jobs besides writer
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From your books it is clear you know your languages. How did
that come about?
Other jobs besides writer
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Would you ever want to consider another job if you had the
opportunity?
Other jobs besides writer
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You used to work for Amnesty International?
Outlining the plot
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Did you make up the plot in every aspect first by charting
the characters and knowing exactly what you would do with
them, or did you just piece a lot of it together as you
wrote?
Outlining the plot
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How do you keep up with plot lines?
Pagan holidays
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How do you feel about Halloween?
Parallels with muggle world
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How would you describe the relationship between the wizard
world and the Muggle world?
Pets
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Do you have any pets/animals? If so, did any of your ideas
for monsters come from watching them?
Picturing the characters
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Do you imagine the pictures or images in your head before
you write, or do you have to draw them?
Place of birth
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Where were you born and what was your childhood like?
Place of birth
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Where were you born?
Place to write
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Do you have to sit in a special place to write?
Place to write
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Do you still write in cafes, or do you have to stay out of
public places while you write so people won't bother you?
Place to write
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There's the famous line that you write in cafes. Can you
still write in cafes?
Playing a part in the movie
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Will you have a cameo in the Harry Potter movie?
Promotion tours
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Because reading is such an intimate experience, why do you
think your young fans go to a session like the SkyDome,
where 15,000 kids show up?
Promotion tours
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How do you feel about some of the really expensive ticket
prices at the SkyDome?
Promotion tours
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How do you feel about speaking to large groups?
Promotion tours
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How has your success as an author impacted your lifestyle?
Is there something you always wanted to do that you now are
able to?
Promotion tours
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How many countries have you visited since writing Harry
Potter?
Promotion tours
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I know you have had children throughout the world tell you
how Harry has changed their lives, but is there any one
story a child has told you that really stands out in your
mind?
Promotion tours
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Of the many things you must have heard people say about the
Harry Potter books, what are some of your favorites?
Promotion tours
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There's a legend now that you're a recluse -- the press has
gone to your head and now you're saying, "no more
interviews".
Promotion tours
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What do you think has been your greatest experience because
of Harry Potter's success?
Promotion tours
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What's your opinion on the USA Today contest-winning essays
and the children that wrote them?
Promotion tours
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Why don't you do book signings at the press conference? It's
small, not like the SkyDome.
Promotion tours
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With all the book tours in different countries you've done,
have you met any interesting people or discovered a new
place that might affect future writing, or that left a
special impression on you?
Promotion tours
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You say you won't be able to give promotional tours to every
country that publishes you, and yet here we are on the train
and at every stop there are hundreds of kids and parents...
Quidditch
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How did you create Quidditch?
Quidditch
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Some of the best parts are the ideas like Quidditch, which
is a high-speed ballgame played on broomsticks. Tell me
about the origins of Quidditch.
Quidditch
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Where did the idea for Quidditch come from?
Quidditch
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Where do you come up with those names of the characters,
like Quidditch?
Quidditch
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Why did you choose to make the sport Quidditch so important
to life at Hogwarts?
Reading your own work
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As the author, when reading your books, can you enjoy them
as a reader and sympathize with Harry, or is it too hard to
be "objective"?
Reception of the books
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A lot of American superstitions were just imported whole
from England. Salem gets mentioned in book four. Have you
ever gotten ideas from readers?
Reception of the books
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Did you ever expect the Harry Potter books to be so
successful?
Reception of the books
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Did you expect the Harry books to be this successful?
Reception of the books
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Has the mania reached a peak?
Reception of the books
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Have you felt any pressure, from librarians or critics or
parents, to expurgate these books?
Reception of the books
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How does it feel to know that millions of kids are reading
your books?
Reception of the books
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How important is the feedback of your readers? What do you
do with it?
Reception of the books
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Is there a difference in the American response and the
British response? In America you're a celebrity and
Americans treat their celebrities in perhaps a different way
than you've been treated here.
Reception of the books
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What do you think it is about the Harry Potter books that
connects with so many people?
Reception of the books
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What was it like when you realized the book was a success?
Release of book five
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I'm hooked! My son and I read them every night. Thank you so
much for giving us this time to share something so wonderful
together! He's to be Harry for Halloween. We'd like to know
how soon for the next book (like everyone else), but mostly
just wanted to thank you for sharing Harry with us!
Release of book five
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When does book five come out?
Release of book five
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Do you find the whole secrecy issue, the need for secrecy, a
bit ridiculous?
Release of the movie
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When will the movie of Harry Potter be out?
School life
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Have you ever encountered horrible teachers, like Snape?
School life
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In this era of very involved parenting, do you think that
the notion of boarding school and the autonomy it offers
might hold an almost taboo allure for both kids and parents?
School life
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In your books, Hogwarts School is incredibly fantastic, from
its forbidden forest and Quidditch fields and endless castle
dungeons to its talking portraits and Harry's own snug
four-poster bed. Do you see school as a potential sanctuary
for children?
School life
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Is it true you were Head Girl, like Lily Potter?
School life
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What were you like in school?
Sequence of writing
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Are you writing all the books at the same time, like in
little pieces, while concentrating mostly on the present
one, or do you just have a general idea about them?
Social issues
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Are we too often protecting our kids from issues concerning
race relations and civil rights? In North America, there is
a sense that we ought to protect our kids from these things.
Studying muggle subjects
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How do students at Hogwarts get educated in Muggle subjects?
Do they even need to know other things besides magic?
Subjects she taught
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What grade and subject(s) did you teach?
Suitability for children
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Do you think elementary-age children will be able to read
the other three books in the series?
Sweater patterns
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I like the products. Could there be sweater patterns for us
knitters?
Teachers using the books
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How would you like teachers to use your books with students
(e.g. discussion, worksheets, book reports, etc.)?
Titles of the 7 books
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Do you already have titles for all seven Harry Potters?
Titles of the 7 books
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What is your next book going to be called?
Tolerance
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If there were one thing you could change about the world,
what would it be?
Tolkien
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Hello, I was wondering how much Tolkien inspired and
influenced your writing?
Transition from book to movie
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Do you have enough control over the movie?
Transition from book to movie
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I have read that Warner Brothers bought the film rights to
"Harry Potter." How do you feel about Hollywood re-creating
your characters?
Transition from book to movie
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Some sets on the movies are already being created. Do you
think they represent how you envisioned them in the book?
Have you had any input on the shooting locations?
Transition from book to movie
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The movie goes into production this fall, and the script is
written?
Transition from book to movie
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What are your feelings on Harry Potter, the movie?
Transition from book to movie
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What do you think about the movie? Do you think that it'll
destroy the adventure of the books?
Transition from book to movie
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What do you think about the script?
Transition from book to movie
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What's the young fellow cast as the lead like? Have you met
him?
Transition from book to movie
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Why is it important for the actors to be British?
Translations
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Are the Harry Potter books being translated in other
languages, like Portuguese/Brazil?
Translations
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How many languages is the book published in?
Translations
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The Harry Potter books were first successful in the U.K.,
and then in the United States. Where else has Harry Potter
been released?
Use of Latin language
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Ms. Rowling, for being fictional books, the Harry Potter
books have a great grasp of the Latin language. I have
noticed that many, if not most, of the names and
incantations are of Latin heritage. How much research does
it take to give these books their Latin heritage?
Using apparation for stealing
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How does the wizarding world protect Muggle banks and
vaults, etc. from wizards apparating into them and stealing
the contents?
Video games
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Any plans for a video game soon?
Video games
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What would you think if a person made one of your Harry
Potter books into a computer game?
When she started writing
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Did you always want to be a writer?
When she started writing
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Did you write stories when you were young?
When she started writing
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How long have you been writing?
When she started writing
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How old were you when you started to write, and what was
your first book?
When she started writing
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We're doing a lot of writing at our school. At what age did
you start writing, and did you love to write as a child?
When she started writing
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What did you want to be when you were a kid?
When she started writing
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What got you started writing? And how did you get your
breakthrough to get the first book published?
Witchcraft
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Do you really believe in witchcraft?
Wizard attending muggle school
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Do wizards and witches have to go Muggle school before they
go to Hogwarts?
Wizard schools
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How did you get the idea to send Harry to a wizard school?
Wizards that are muggle-born
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How can two Muggles have a kid with magical powers? Also how
does the Ministry of Magic find out these kids have powers?
Writer's block
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Do you ever get writer's block? What do you do when this
happens?
Writer's block
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You didn't have writer's block while writing Order of the
Phoenix, but it has taken three years since the last one
didn't it? Why has it taken so long?
Writing daily
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Do you write every day, and for how long do you write?
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