Rowling Reveals WhoDunnit in ‘Career of Evil’ Prepublication Excerpts? Maybe!

October 12, 2015 by Leave a Comment

COEYesterday, I posted my first thoughts on the two prepublication excerpts from Career of Evil posted on The Guardian and TIME websites last week.

I woke up this morning with the revelation that, if two premises are true about how the third book works, we have a very, very good idea of who the killer is — ten days before we have the novel. Your hints? It’s about the baby Charlotte claims she was carrying, the stepfather convicted of murdering Leda Strike, Jack the Ripper, and Prisoner of Azkaban.

blackIf you want to share in some wild speculation, all of it grounded in what we know from Cuckoo’s Calling and The Silkworm, head on over to CormoransArmy.com to read all about it. Those of you who have signed up have already received the url in an email.

You won’t want to miss this throwback to predictions made before the last three Harry Potter novels, especially if you were too young or not yet in the fandom at that time. This is Rowling Reading fun of the best kind. I’m beside myself with anticipation to read what you think!

Filed Under: Cormoran Strike

Rowling Releases Two Pre-publication ‘Career of Evil’ Excerpts!

October 11, 2015 by Leave a Comment

LegOn 9 October, the publishers of J. K. Rowling’s Cormoran Strike mysteries took a play from the Harry Potter Mania playbook and posted two excerpts, a prologue and first chapter, from Career of Evil, the third installment in her open-ended seven part series.

Saracens_FC_logo.svgLinks to the excerpts and my first magical seven thoughts on what is revealed, confirmed, and suggested in misleading fashion in these fascinating preview pieces — to include a woman’s dismembered leg and a Rugby Club called the Saracens — can be found at CormoransArmy.com, my new member’s only weblog devoted to discussion of the Doom Bar Detective’s adventures. Membership is on the house, of course, and if you signed up for the free pdf on Strike I offered in July, you’ve already received a notice of the site’s Grand Opening.

I look forward to seeing you all there for cogitation and speculation about Jo Rowling’s latest!

Filed Under: Cormoran Strike

Ravenclaw Reader Launch Special Extras: Deadline Moved to Sunday Night

September 25, 2015 by 1 Comment

RavenclawReader-KindleYou may have heard that there is a new book on J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels, Ravenclaw Reader, an anthology of talks given at a St Andrews University conference on this subject.

I’m excited about the collection, what it means for our understanding of the Hogwarts Saga, and about the offer Unlocking Press is making during the book’s first week of publication. If you buy during the launch period (and follow the steps detailed here), then, in addition to the ‘wow’ book, you get:

  • Four videos of talks from St Andrews, including the two Keynote presentations;
  • Mp3 audio files of three other talks;
  • Q&A webinars with Potter Pundits on Severus Snape, the Fairy Tale structure of each novel, the Forbidden Forest, and the Dursleys; and
  • a chat with me about literary alchemy, symbolism and ring composition.

Ron 2If this is news to you (where have you been all week?), there is a BookLaunch page that is loaded with information about Ravenclaw Reader. It includes a video in which I talk about the collection, introduce a lecture on Severus Snape filmed at St Andrews, and then explain how you can access the free webinars, videos, and audio downloads this week if you buy the book before Sunday at midnight.

We talked about this earlier in the week at HogwartsProfessor.com here and I interviewed the St Andrews PhDs who edited the book on MuggleNet Academia here.

The deadline was tonight at midnight. Friends I have been in touch with yesterday and today, correspondents around the world, have asked me to push back tonight’s deadline to Sunday midnight so the friends they are writing and contacting through socal media have time to sign up. Fair enough! But the doors close Sunday midnight (well, Monday morning when I get up).

 

If that weren’t enough, Amazon has discounted the book 10% during the launch! It’s an interactive conference with the world’s leading Potter Pundits for the cost of a shuttle ride from your hotel to the airport. So…

Buy the book or ebook and send me the confirmation of purchase; I’ll send you an invitation to the members site with all the extras. Talk with you there on Monday!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Four Days Left to Get ‘Ravenclaw Reader’ Book Launch Special Features

September 22, 2015 by 5 Comments

RavenclawReader-KindleStarting next week, we’ll be rolling out the video and audio files of talks from the St Andrews University Harry Potter Conference along with live webinars and Q&A sessions with speakers at that event and those who responded to those talks in the just published anthology and Greatest Hits Collection, Ravenclaw Reader.  (Read all about that here.) Participants have been emailing me all this week in response to the video and free Severus Snape talk posted here, friends and serious readers in Germany, South Africa, Birmingham (UK and Alabama!), Scotland, China, Canada, and many of the United States.

f39163814Want to join us? Here’s what you have to do:

1. Buy the book. It’s available online at Amazon and Barnes and Noble and you can order it from other outlets. Amazon’s discounting the book an extra 10% which makes a good deal even better.


f391177342. Let me know. Forward the letter confirming your purchase to me at John at HogwartsProfesor dot com or cut and paste it into this site’s Contact page and send it in.

3. Wait for the Owl. I will send you an invitation to the Membership Site where you will have to sign in with your name and email address both to get the link to the site and to sign up for announcements of material being posted and webinars being offered. The first owls in response to the international host that have written me to sign up are going out tomorrow.

St Andrews4. Welcome Aboard! You can click on the link to the site and watch my very brief welcoming video. Starting this weekend the Unlocking Press house-elves will be posting the first mp4 ‘vimeos’ for your viewing pleasure.

You have until Friday at midnight, then, to run that four point gauntlet! Get the book, let me know you’ve bought it, and then sign in for three weeks of international and in depth Potter conversation around the wonderful talks and responses in Ravenclaw Reader. It promises to be a blast — and it won’t be what it could have been if you don’t come along.

See you on the other side of the fire wall!

 

Filed Under: Hog Pro Notes

‘Was Severus Snape Harry Potter’s Ogre Father?’ Free Lecture from St Andrews University Harry Potter Conference — with Special Offer for the First Week of ‘Ravenclaw Reader’ Book Launch

September 17, 2015 by 5 Comments

Visit the Ravenclaw Reader: Seeking the Artistry and Meaning of J. K. Rowling’s Hogwarts Saga — Essays from the St Andrews University Harry Potter Conference BookLaunch page for even more about this exciting new title!

Ravenclaw Reader Launch from Mary Granger on Vimeo.

In brief, if you buy the Ravenclaw Reader this week, i.e., before next Thursday, in addition to the book you’ll get access to the Keynote talks from the St Andrews Conference, a live webinar Q&A with Prof Richards and discussion with the editors, and mp3 talks of other lectures and discussion with those speakers. It’s a brave new world of access to the best in Potter scholarship — act now!

Filed Under: Hog Pro Notes