J.K. Rowling, the author with the magic touch

Katie Couric

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND— It seems like yesterday, he was a lonely unwanted orphan stuck with his insufferable relatives on Privet Drive.  Harry Potter, the pride of Hogwarts, has come a long way in the last seven years and so has his creator. 

J.K. Rowling is celebrating the publication of her new book, "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" and this past weekend, here at Edinburgh Castle in Scotland, she met with some of her most rabid fans for a special reading. She also talked with us in a rare and exclusive interview about the latest adventures of the boy who lived.

J.K. Rowling:   Harry has, I think, taken the view that they are now at war.  He does become more battled hardened. He’s now ready to go out fighting.  And he’s after revenge.

The literary juggernaut known as Harry Potter continued to cast its spell on wizard wanna-be’s all weekend, as copies of “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” flew off the shelves faster than a golden snitch. 

For devoted fans, it meant the end of two long years of hankering for the new Harry. And for booksellers, it marked the publishing event of the year.

“It is also a moment of great celebration for reading and literacy,” said Barbara Marcus, executive vice president of Scholastic. “But behind all the excitement is the genius of J.K. Rowling.” 

You might say J.K. (a.k.a. Jo) Rowling is the author with the magic touch. That’s certainly what they were thinking at a Potter party Friday night, when she held a private reading, something she often does to launch a new book. 

Only this time, it was followed by a kids-only Q&A.

Rowling:  I love it.  They ask the best questions, you know?  They really know the books back to front.  In fact it’s now reaching the point where I feel I should revise this kind of event.  I’ve now produced six novels and I feel I should go back and read them all meticulously to make sure I know what’s going on.  Because I have been caught out, people have asked me questions and I’ve—“What books are they in again? Who are you talking about?" 

Call it “Hogwarts Heaven” for those chosen few aficionados, most of whom had won contests hunting for Harry’s most bewitched fans.

So needless to say, I felt privileged J.K. Rowling granted her only “Half-Blood Prince” television interview to a muggle like me.

Katie Couric: Not many adult journalists are being given this opportunity so I’m very, very flattered.  And why have you decided to keep the number of grownups at a minimum?

Rowling: Mainly because I’ve just had a baby, to be totally honest with you. It’s pressure of time.  I just couldn’t really fit a whole bunch of interviews into the, you know, the nursing schedule, so I just decided that I was going to try and focus on the kids this time. 

The 39-year-old native of England and her Scottish husband, Neil Murray, have some kids of their own. They just had their second child together, and Jo has one older daughter from a previous marriage. 

Rowling: And we’ve got a mad dog as well that your crew met earlier.

Jo says her growing family has given her new perspective, and made writing more of a labor of love.

Rowling: I took a break, as you may remember, between the end of “Goblet” and “Phoenix.”  And then since I started writing again, I have to say I’ve absolutely love it.  But I am pacing myself a little better.

Couric: How are you doing it differently?

Rowling: I think that emotionally, I’ve probably felt a little bit more balanced when I started writing again.  And, although, life was actually fuller because I got married again and was pregnant for most of the writing of “Phoenix.”  I was almost pregnant for most of the writing —in fact for all of the writing of...

Couric: Maybe pregnancy makes you more creative.

Rowling: Well, I was also pregnant while writing “Philosopher’s Stone” so actually half of my novelistic output has been done while pregnant, so.

Couric: So maybe you shouldn’t stop having babies.

Rowling: No, really Katie, I think we’ll stop here.  That’s not a good enough reason.

Her publisher may disagree.  Not including this newest novel, the wildly popular series about the sensational but shy, young wizard has sold some 270 million books in 62 languages, even Braille, turning a generation of couch potatoes onto the lost art of reading.

Couric: You ever get mobbed by throngs of 11-year-olds?

Rowling: The most embarrassing one was last year.  I was in a café in Edinburgh, and I got up and I went into the ladies room, and I heard a whole lot of people come into the bathroom and a lot of whispering.  Didn’t really think about it.  Came out of the cubicle to find about 11 teenage girls all standing holding bits of paper. And you really don’t want to be ambushed in that situation preferably.  So that one was, I mean, they were they were adorable.  But I would have preferred them to wait while I was out of the ladies room.  Call me prudish. 

Print this Email this Blog this  IM this

MORE FROM DATELINE

Dateline Section Front

Closing the book on comic book murder   10 messiest celebrity meltdowns Death and the Beauty Queen Reality bites for modeling hopefuls It's not easy being green Bed bugs can live in your new mattress Prime suspect: Follow the clues Murder in the family Tricks of the trade Britney's next act Dateline Section Front   Add Dateline headlines to your news reader: