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Author Topic: Why kill the cash cow?
Matt Lust
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More Harry Potter books in the works?


I suppose if the money's right anything is possible.


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dee_boncci
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I thought I remember reading she intended from the start to stop at seven.

I kinda have mixed feelings. On the one hand it would be neat to continue getting a year-by-year account of Harry and crew indefinitely, especially as the books seem to come from an increaingly adult perspective (tracking Harry's age). On the other hand, sometimes it is time to stop.

I guess it will depend on how book seven ends, where she can go with it.

Last I knew she was worth over a billion $US (One of the money mags that tracks the richest 100 people or so in the world). I hope she would keep going because she felt the need to continue the saga, not for the money.


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JeffBarton
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Why keep the cash cow? JKR rivals the Queen for wealth.

The linked article doesn't say she will write more of the Harry Potter series. It does say she's keeping the option open. That's a strong inference that Harry survives.


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Matt Lust
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It also mentions that more than 2 people die.
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lehollis
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In the article, she said, "I can't say I will never write another book about that world...."

That implies she would be writing about the world, but not necessarily the same characters. Harry can still die, and I think he likely will.

My understanding is that her wealth exceeds the Queen of England's wealth. I doubt money is her motivation now. If I had that kind of money, I would be writing for the love of writing, not to get more cash. What would I do with it? Her investments likely make her more money in a day than any of us make in a year. No, I would write for the joy of telling stories.


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Rommel Fenrir Wolf II
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i would love to fight this harry potter cherictor.
i want to see if he can stop 100 .50cal rounds fired at him at point balnk range. and if he dose survive he wont be happy with the nuke i have waiting for him.
well then there will be nothing left to eat. well at least i wont have to hear of him again.
Tzar Rommel Fenrir Wolf II

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Lord Darkstorm
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Isn't it amazing that when a end is approaching, some people don't want it to. While other series have no end in sight. It is one thing to enjoy a series, but let's be honest, every story needs and ending or it ceases to be a story.

She has plenty of money, and she can write other stories in her world, but for this one I am looking forward to it's end. It isn't because I dislike them, but because I want to read the ending. Let her write something new. A new story about someone else. Where can we petition the petitioners to stop whining and enjoy the end of the story?


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darklight
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I've just said elsewhere that maybe it's time to see what else she can write. I'm not a HP fan at all. I've never read a book and I only see the movies because I take my daughter but you have to admire what she'd done.

I say write something else.


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RMatthewWare
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Last I heard she wasn't planning any prequels or sequels. I think she shouldn't do anything with the series for 20 years. Then she can do a Children of Harry Potter or something.

As to speculation on what's going to happen in the last book? It comes out next Saturday. And let's not spoil it here.

And Rommel. If you don't like Harry Potter, don't read it.


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rstegman
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I heard several years ago, that she was not going to write more than nine books.
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ArachneWeave
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I think Rowling will be good to her word.

Harry's life will not have any more books--but the world of wizards? Well, who could say never to that? I think it's a lot of fun. And she spent a lot of time putting it together.

I hope she does something as equally fun, but I wouldn't be surprised if she waited even a few years before publishing something else.

If anything, waiting for the last few movies and the theme park to get their surges of interest before publishing anything new would be keeping the cash cow in clover until it was time to retire it, right?


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HuntGod
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Well Rowling has said in several interviews that she has no interest in Harry Potter books following a young adult Harry and that she intended to wrap the series up with this book.

That said I do not know how well the theme park will do long term without a fresh influx of stories and movies.

It would be interesting to see her do something akin to Lucas and license Hogwarts out with final approval. I would be interested in reading other stories about Hogwarts, maybe a darker YA series following Voldemorts rise.

I don't think she has any interest in writing those but with final approval she could make sure the property was handled well by other competent writers.

2 more movies will extend the life for another 3 years, but I don't think the theme park is supposed to come online until 2009 or early 2010.


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Alethea Kontis
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I'm with HuntGod. She is under absolutely no obligation to write anymore, but for the future well-being of the book industry, it would be nice if she'd license it out.
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Lynda
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She has said she might use all the research and "rules of magic" and history she created to write the series to write an encyclopedia of Harry's world which will be sold for charity. That seems a fairly sure thing, because she's mentioned it several times. As for writing more Harry, who knows? She could write a lot more in his world - she introduced a lot of interesting characters, and she could certainly drop into that world in ANY century, the way she's written it, and have a lot of fun stuff going on. A few years ago, she swore her next book would be for adults. Then a year or two later, she said she already had another children's book written. Then nothing else was ever said about that. If I were in her shoes, I might try to write a non-HP story between books just to see if I COULD - and that may be what she did.

We'll know Harry's fate in a couple of weeks, for better or worse. I hope she didn't kill him. He deserves a good life after the hell he's been through so far, bless him.

Lynda, who's a HUGE fan of dear Harry, and already has her tickets for the movie tomorrow night!


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HuntGod
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I'm seeing it tonight at 12:01 at the local IMAX theatre...should be interesting.

Me, wife, kids, brother and sister in law, their 3 kids and my wifes mother and stepfather...I'm going as Hagrid :-)

I hope she doesn't kill Harry, but I guess we'll see on the 21st.

I'd personally like to read about Dumbledore as a student as well as more about Voldemort's school days.

[This message has been edited by HuntGod (edited July 10, 2007).]


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J
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The more I read of the Harry Potter series, the more seriously I take Rowling as a writer. The structure of the series as a whole is incredible. She foreshadows events of book six (and I assume seven) in the opening novel, seamlessly.

She is also a pretty traditional writer--she sticks to classic story arcs more or less. Based on that and some heavy foreshadowing in books 1 and 2, I say: Harry dies for sure and Ron probably goes, too.


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Lord Darkstorm
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Well, if we were to take the prophecy as stated, then for either one to live the other has to die. Now, if Harry kills Voldemort, and Harry dies in the process...then neither lives. Prophesy is false. If Harry dies and Voldemort lives...then Harry fails and millions of people feel let down. So, at this point, we are expecting Harry to triumph. The unknowns are the cost, and how it will happen.


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Robert Nowall
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I've said 'round here that I plan to pick up the books-I-don't-have (five, six, and seven---the first four were a gift or I wouldn't have them) once all the fuss dies down and read them all straight through. (Come to think of it, that's what I did with the Alvin Maker series---except for the "fuss" part.)

What worries me about Rowling is the "writer" aspect of things. What can she do for an encore? This is an impossible act to follow. (Think "Gone With the Wind" as the historic model here.)


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dee_boncci
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She doesn't need an encore. I bet she's made more money, and probably reached a wider audience, than about anyone in history, with 7 books. 7 fantasy titles for young adults.

She's a billionaire, wealthier than the Queen. She's got nothing to prove to anyone, except maybe herself if that's her desire.

Like her or not. She's kicked a$$ and taken names.

She's not my favorite stylist, but she's one heck of a storyteller, and that's what it's about at the end of the day. If she decides to keep writing popular fiction, she'll do fine.


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AstroStewart
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Honestly, one of the things I've always admired about the Harry Potter books is that all the way from book 1, JK Rowling has always said that there will be exactly 7 books. She already had them all planned out. So yes, the series would go on for a while, but it's not going to be some unending Wheel of Time series etc. While there are other long fantasy series I've read and enjoyed, most of them have no end in sight, probably because the authors themselves don't even know when they're going to end. (I was actually excited when I learned that the Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind is actually coming to an end with the next book, because that means there will finally be some resolution).

So I say, end the series. End it well, and and it strong, and it will make for a better story in the end. How much better will the Harry Potter series be if it is strong all the way until the end, than if she just keeps writing and writing and eventually loses the spark that makes it interesting, and has fans saying "oh yeah the first 8-9 books are great, but the rest are junk, don't even bother" or something to that effect.

Now if she wants to one day go back and write other stories in the HP world, I see nothing wrong with that, but Harry's story must end, sometime, so it might as well end exactly where she's planned for it to end all along.


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Lynda
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She did mention in a recent interview an "epilogue" - so hopefully she'll tell us what happens in the kids' futures. I'd like to know that. THEN she can go on and do some other series if she wants, but I want to know about Harry's future - and that it will be a happy one!!

Lynda, who prefers happy endings, but is braced for the worst if it turns out that way. . .and is going to see the film tonight! YAY!


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Alethea Kontis
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I admire the charity thing...but there's a story that Stephen King once passed on his advance under the condition that his publisher pick up and support 10 new writers.

That's something I'd like to see more of.


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franc li
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I think she's not saying "never" in order to keep speculation about the ending of the book open, which I can respect. I finally went through the first six books over the last month, and they really are a lot better than anyone has been able to lead me to believe. I finally read them because my daughter really wanted me to get 7 on opening day, and I couldn't make that investment without it being something I could enjoy myself. I'm such a bad mother. Anyway. Rowling doesn't kill Harry off, he goes to his death bravely and it will break all our hearts, but we'll know it couldn't happen any other way.
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Robert Nowall
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Wealth doesn't stop a writer from writing. (How many times has Stephen King retired?) I had in mind Rowling writing, or wanting to write, something else other than Harry Potter-related works.

There've been lots of writers stuck-in-neutral because they "couldn't top this." Some of these ended unpleasantly.


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Lord Darkstorm
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I think too many writers, OSC included, have bent to the will of the fans in writing books they didn't really plan to. It shows in the quality, or lack thereof. I'd much rather read a mediocre book about a young dumbledore, or maybe even one about Harry's parents than the end to fail to be the end. I doubt she needs the money, or could even spend the money, so if she writes more books I hope they are something else she has been thinking about that does not include Harry Potter.
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lehollis
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No matter what the end is, I hope she moves on. I'd like to see what else she can do, personally. As long and involved as she has been with this project, if it were me I'd retire for a couple years and just relax. I might write, but not for publication. I might travel and just take notes on interesting things. Then, I'd sit down and see what I felt like writing.
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