Ask J.K. Rowling a Question About The Casual Vacancy Showing 201-250 of 1,725

[Víctor]

Was writing The Casual Vacancy just a distraction from the Harry Potter World?

[Dawn]

After writing 7 amazing books, how could you write such CRAP!!!! It was the worst book I've read since Beaches.

[Anne]

Stuart "Fats" decides that the only way to be true to himself is to dissolve all of his ties to societal norms and familiar pressures (regardless of whether or not they were in his best interests). Would you say that this cleansing of imposed values is helpful or hurtful in the end for him or anyone who may choose to implement this philosophy?

[Eknew]

Being a fan of your creations i have often wondered how the inspiration came about. So for Casual Vacancy, what was the first section/paragraph/scene that you wrote? Or did you write it linear-ly? Where did this idea sprout from? What advice do you have for those of us who are interested in writing?

Thanks for taking the time

Wenke

[Brittany]

Moving from Harry Potter to The Casual Vacancy, what did you feel was the hardest part in your writing and thinking?

[Helen]

We know what was behind the inspiration of the Harry Potter books, what was it that inspired you to write The casual Vacancy?

[Paul]

A lot of your work (including this book) focuses very powerfully upon ‘loss’ which you have an instinctive understanding of, is this deliberate or perhaps formed by your life experiences?

[Lenka]

Which part/scene in The Casual Vacancy was the most difficult to write?

[Giverny]

Dear J.K. Rowling,

Do you find elements of your own personality have come out in The Casual Vacancy?

[Sam]

Was it difficult for you to switch genres? Did you adopt/develop new techniques to write "The Casual Vacancy"?

[Samadrita]

This question has bothered me time and again. Is The Casual Vacancy a commentary on contemporary England?

[Tablet]

What do we do about Krystal Weedon?

[[deleted user]]

How much did the characters of 'The Casual Vacancy' inspire you, or even how many times has a character that you invented inspired you?

[Theresa]

Which, if any, character did you relate to most and why?

[Bruadarach]

Despite the rather negative reviews in Belgium, I really loved The Casual Vacancy. Just like Harry Potter it has become a story I want to reread one day. Congratulations, J.K.!

It seems that Barry is the only one that Krystal is looking up to. However, despite his influence she still believes that having a child is the best way to improve her life. Shouldn't she have learnt from Barry that education is the first step to a better life?
Can you explain Krystal motivations?

[Amber]

How long after completing the Harry Potter series did this idea for a novel come to you? Since, are you feeling more at ease not writing about HP?

[Chelsea]

How much did you borrow from your own life for the book?

[Theresa]

What experience did you have with the British Mental Health facilities and organizations?

[Kathryn]

If you were forced to spend the night with any ONE of the characters from The Casual Vacancy, which character would it be, and why?

[Theresa]

Did you create this world previous to the writing of the novel or as you went?

[Melissa]

After dedicating so much of your life to Harry Potter, was it difficult to let that go and write something that was completely different. Was it difficult to do, going from a well established series like Harry Potter to writing in a completely different genre.

[Theresa]

Were there any events in your life that significantly contributed to any of the subplots of this novel?

[Sara]

As with the Harry Potter books, you have a good many characters that you are focused on, however, you only had one book to do so as opposed to seven. Was it more difficult to create so many complex characters in one nov or easier and what was the process like for that, keepin all of them straight, separated and yet intertwined?

[Malavi]

I know how you have said again and again that you don't dislike fat people and you hate the preoccupation with weight that most people have (after all, there are good plump characters in your books), but you do sometimes associate a certain kind of obesity with indolence, greed, and lack of social responsibility, as evidenced by Howard Mollison (and Dudley Dursley). Isn't this a double standard? If so, why do you have it?

By the way, I think Harry Potter has done great things for feminism in childrens' books.

[shahrzad]

which one was more challenging? writing about real world people and their occupations or harry potter world?

[Katie]

The description of estate life in "The Casual Vacancy" struck me with its similarities to my experience of government housing in the US, and by how well you portrayed the emotions of living daily in that situation. How much did your personal experience of being on benefits- and the current political debates over them- influence your work on this book?

[Sharon]

Since Harry Potter is famous amongst children, there was a general enthusiasm to read Casual Vacancy by both adult and children alike.
It's not a children oriented book- how did you anticipate the detachment when they realised they cannot read it.

[Theresa]

They say that a writer should write in the genre they read; are there novels that you have read that are similar to Casual Vacancy?

[Heni]

Why did you chose Umbrella by Rihanna?

[Amanda]

Was the shift between writing a "children's" book series and the Casual Vacancy--where there is sex, swearing, and substance abuse--a difficult one for you?

[Kathryn]

Why the distinct differences in the relationships between the adults and children. They create a parallel of conflict that engages the readers and distracts them from the the underlining story of the book. Which in my opinion is the "behind closed doors" attitude that each character protrays. It's an old fashioned whodunit but we know the whole time.

[Theresa]

Is this book meant to shock us into reality, and we are finding the even darker side of JK Rowling?

[Cassandra]

How similar or different was it for you to plot, outline and research The Casual Vacancy than the Harry Potter series?

[Carrie]

Are you a pantser (fly by the seat) or a planner when it comes to the writing process? Did that change for this book as opposed to Harry Potter or was the process the same?

[Inbal]

Dear JK Rowling,

I love the Harry Potter series. I know in some interviews when the interviewers asked you about the possibility of a continuation, or a look into the lives of young Lily and James Potter, have you thought about it? Your biggest fans are dying to know! Please please let me know if there's at least a glimmer of hope. Thank you so much for reading my letter JK, and most of all, thank you for making my childhood.

Love, Inbal Leiderman.Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

[Austin]

After your great success of the Harry Potter series, where did you want The Cansual Vacancy to take your career?

[Austin]

What was it like to write something so different from Harry Potter?

[Sorel]

How much of yourself did you put into this book?

[Austin]

What was your inspiration?

[Ashley]

I wish I could get past the first chapter... any suggestions??

[Dee]

Was it challenging to create a world as authentic as Harry Potter's and was there any extra pressure about the genre change and if it would work?

[Cindy]

I'm a huge fan of harry potter series. but i haven't read casual vacancy yet, maybe it's because others said that you didn't put any 'magic' things in casual vacancy. but i believe that CV is amazing too ;) now i wanna ask you, will you write a book with horror genre someday? x

[Sanya]

You spent a long time with the Harry Potter series, first the books then the movies. What motivated you to write Casual Vacancy after such a long journey with Harry Potter?

[Lori]

I love your books - you ability to tell a story with tremendous detail and keep the reader's full attention is astounding. What on Earth were you thinking? Writing for an adult audience should have been on the same skill level. "Casual Vacancy" was a real disappointment.

[Meggan]

Hi

I'm a huge fan of Harry potter and I haven't read casual vacancy as yet.
My question is more about Harry potter, how do you feel About G. Norman Lippert taking over? I have read his books and love it... It grips me like yours did.

Casual vacancy is about politics, how is it different from American politics and are the politics you talking about got to do with government or other E.G: family, societal etc.


Thanks
Your huge fan
Meggan( Mrs. Harry potter) lol

P.S. I really wanted Harry and hermione to end up.

[Matthew]

Were you worried that any book you now write would forever be compared with your hugely successful Harry Potter series?

[Amber]

When did you first come up with the idea or inspiration for 'The Casual Vacency' and how long did it take until you had all the details nailed down?

[Megan]

I haven't read the book yet, just putting that out there but I can't wait to read it. I'm excited to see something different then HP and those books are the reason I'm a reader now. I have dyslexia and hated reading until I picked up HP so thank you for changing my life. Just need to share that. my question is how are you handling fans who know and love you for HP and having a book different from that? and is this going to be a series? If not, would you be writing another series in the future?

[Aurora]

What gave you the inspiration to the book?

[[deleted user]]

I love all your works and am really inspired by you.
When you decided to start writing did you lean towards adult literature or literature for the younger generation? And what made you choose?