Having started the novels when I was nine years old, I am among some of the die-hard Harry Potter fans that have literally grown up with the young wizard. After the last novel in the series was released in 2007, the anticipation of the film adaptations that were left kept my relationship with Harry Potter alive. When the credits rolled on the second half of the 2-part 7th film, my inner witch seemed to die along with the dark Lord Voldemort, leaving a flame burning within to memorialize the series that made me not only fall in love with reading, but also with love itself, which is the real magic.
At the end of last year, J.K. Rowling and Sony launched the Pottermore website, a companion site to the books. While the interactive, online versions of the books that already existed allowed fans to delve into the brain of Rowling and more thoroughly understand its child, fans still ached for a new story. I recall contemplating the books about the older Harry (if he lived), feeling both relieved and somewhat betrayed by the Epilogue of the last book as it threw together a future for the wizard I had come to know as my friend.
Despite the acknowledgment that future publications of hers could never live up to the hype of her first and epic series, J.K. Rowling has announced the deal for her first adult novel. While the Harry Potter books have proved somewhat ageless, there are those who the beloved series never captured due to its target audience of young readers. Allowing her writing to grow with us and penetrate a new readership, J.K. Rowling has decided to go with a new publisher to accommodate her more adult-minded story.
While the title, publication date, plot, and even genre have yet to be announced, it had been deduced that the novel will fall into the crime category as suggested by its editor David Shelley, a notable crime editor. Considering Rowling’s superb story-telling and dabbling in danger and mystery, it seems a suitable endeavor. Further announcements regarding the book deal will be made through Rowling’s website e-mail list.