Denise Roper's Blog, page 31
April 17, 2010
Art After Dark
The Lord of the Hallows book signing for the "Art After Dark" event in Houma this evening will be at Bilello's Cafe downtown. You can visit their website at www.bilelloscafe.com to find out more about this restaurant. Come by and support our local authors and artists! 
April 11, 2010
The Lord of the Hallows is now on MySpace and Facebook!
Please join The Lord of the Hallows on MySpace and Facebook.
At www.myspace.com/thelordofthehallows, you can listen to some of my favorite wizard rock tunes on my playlist. I'm a fan of The Ministry of Magic, Oliver Boyd and the Remembralls, and the Remus Lupins.
You can see the cover of The Lord of the Hallows and some of the interior photographs on my Facebook page.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Lord-of-the-Hallows/110146322349729
The Lord of the Hallows is now on Facebook!
Please join The Lord of the Hallows on Facebook. You can see the book's cover and some of the interior photographs on my FB page.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Lor...
The Lord of the Hallows is now on Facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Lor...
April 10, 2010
Review from A. T. Ross
A. T.’s review
rating:
bookshelves: literary-study
status: Read from April 08 to 10, 2010
This little book proved to be a wonderful introduction to some of the Christian themes and symbols in the Potter novels. There is a danger in being friends with John Granger, and that is in assuming that all the symbolism in the Potter books have already been discovered, and one of my chief criteria for a book examining the Harry Potter series is that it add something new to our collective knowledge of them. This book met and surpassed that criteria. If you’ve read Granger, there will be some overlap, but not a whole lot and there is a lot of great stuff here that hadn’t even occurred to me. I thought I knew most of what there was to know about name origins, but Roper’s explanation of Dumbledore’s name (for instance) was simply fantastic. Her use of Medieval bestiaries and tapestries, not to mention her interpretation of Horcruxes and Rowling’s clear use of Arthurian legend, just made the book that much better.
There were only two flaws to the book. The first flaw was that as you read and come to a brilliant insight, a hundred more examples of what she is talking about spring into your mind. For instance, in the chapter on the belief in God in Harry Potter, she makes a valid point, but I would have wanted mention of other instances, such as all the instances of characters, specifically Harry, praying. And there is a fantastic moment in HBP (p. 271) when young Voldemort is mock praying, only he is worshiping himself.
The only other flaw is that the book is only 109 pages, and that I didn’t want it to end that soon.
My response to A. T. Ross:
Thank you for the positive review. I really loved what you wrote about my book. As for the chapter on belief in God in Harry Potter, an author named Nancy Solon Villaluz has written about every instance of a character “praying” in the series, so I didn’t want to write about what she has already described in her book, “Does Harry Potter Tickle Sleeping Dragons?” And with regards to John Granger, I’m a HUGE fan of his work. When I read his first book on Harry Potter several years ago, I began keeping a journal of my own interpretations of the symbolism in the series, predictions about what would happen in the final three books, and a lot of detailed research notes. I didn’t plan on writing a book though. A week after Deathly Hallows was released I was asked to fill in as a guest lecturer at a local SF/F convention at the last minute. I used my notes to put together a one-hour lecture that was received with cheers, a few tears, and a standing ovation from an audience of about 200 fans. “You should write a book,” was what I heard for the rest of the day, so I started writing one.
I have actually written a lot more on Rowling and C. S. Lewis since The Lord of the Hallows was published. I’ll be presenting my paper on Harry Potter and Narnia at the Infinitus 2010 Harry Potter Symposium in Orlando.
I’m glad that you enjoyed the book. Thank you so much for your kind words.
Denise Roper
Review from A. T. Ross
Here's yet another positive review of The Lord of the Hallows from goodreads.com. A. T. Ross wrote:
A. T.'s reviewrating:
bookshelves: literary-study
status: Read from April 08 to 10, 2010This little book proved to be a wonderful introduction to some of the Christian themes and symbols in the Potter novels. There is a danger in being friends with John Granger, and that is in assuming that all the symbolism in the Potter books have already been discovered, and one of my chief criteria for a b...
April 9, 2010
Another Positive Review from Goodreads
J. W. Braun, author of The Lord of the Films: The Unofficial Guide to Tolkien's Middle Earth on the Big Screen, read and reviewed The Lord of the Hallows at www.goodreads.com. Here's what he had to say:
04/08 J.W. Braun gave 5 stars to: The Lord of the Hallows: Christian Symbolism and Themes in J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter by Denise Roper
status: Read in April, 2010
This is a fun little book that fans of Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings who are looking for a deeper understanding of...
April 2, 2010
My Infinitus 2010 presentation has been accepted! :)
April 3, 2010 by phoenixweasley
It’s official: my Infinitus 2010 lecture will be “Sneaking Past the Watchful Dragons: Christian Themes in Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia.” I’ll be presenting this paper on J. K. Rowling and C. S. Lewis at the Harry Potter symposium in Orlando this coming July. This will be my third HPEF presentation in a row, and I think that it’s a nice follow-up to the papers on Christian symbolism that I presented at Portus 2008 in Dallas and Azkatraz 2009 in San Francisco. Hopefully, I’ll get to meet fellow Christian Harry Potter author Logospilgrim while I’m there. I also plan to visit the “Wizarding World of Harry Potter” at the Universal Studios theme park. This is so exciting!
My Infinitus 2010 Presentation
It's official: my Infinitus 2010 lecture will be "Sneaking Past the Watchful Dragons: Christian Themes in Harry Potter and The Chronicles of Narnia." I'll be presenting this paper on J. K. Rowling and C. S. Lewis at the Harry Potter symposium in Orlando this coming July. This will be my third HPEF presentation in a row, and I think that it's a nice follow-up to the papers on Christian symbolism that I presented at Portus 2008 in Dallas and Azkatraz 2009 in San Francisco. Hopefully, I'll get t...
March 15, 2010
ImagiCon Interview
This is my interview with Melissa Sleeman of ImagiCon, a convention that takes place in Birmingham, AL the weekend of May 22, 2010.
How did you first become interested or introduced to the worlds of The Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter?
I have been a fan of the The Chronicles of Narnia, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings ever since I first read those books in my childhood and adolescent years. Throughout my years of reading, these books have set the standard in...
