JK Rowling promoted the September release of The Casual Vacancy with German publication Spiegel last month, where she discussed topics ranging from the dubious nature of characters in the adult novel, her joy of writing, and how fame and money have affected her daily life.

The Harry Potter author admitted that for now she had 'exhausted' her quota of writing about wizardry and the Harry Potter world, and said she was still very much writing more stories. While not a great deal about the Harry Potter series itself was mentioned, Rowling did comment on which one character in all of her books - Harry Potter and beyond - she rather enjoyed killing off. The full interview can be read here.

SPIEGEL: Ms. Rowling, there isn't any magic or sorcery in your novel. Did you miss it?
Rowling: I think I've really exhausted the magical. It was a lot of fun, but I've put it behind me for the time being. If there is a connection between Harry Potter and my new novel, it's my interest in characters.

After the last Harry Potter volume, did it ever cross your mind to stop writing?
Rowling: No, I didn't even consider it. I've been writing my entire life, and I'll always write. But at times I have told myself that I don't necessarily have to publish anything else. The success of Harry Potter has given me lots of freedom. I can pay my bills, and I don't have to prove anything to anyone anymore.

But can't all that freedom also lead to writer's block?
Rowling: I like writing too much for that. More of a problem is the fact that Harry Potter comes with so many business-related responsibilities that I'm able to write less often than I'd like. Besides, I have three children, although I'm used to working around my children. Yesterday, for example, I had a wonderful writing day. I got the children ready for school, and once my husband was out of the house with them, I made breakfast for myself in the kitchen. Still in my pajamas, I took my breakfast to bed with me, grabbed my laptop and spent four hours working in bed. Delightful.

Middle-class hypocrisy is an important theme of [The Casual Vacancy]. What do you find interesting about that?
Rowling: An unpleasant tendency in human interaction is that we view each other with less and less empathy. Instead, we judge others whom we really shouldn't be judging, because we know them far too little. The feeling that we can never sink as low as some neighbor or a person to whom we feel superior boosts our self-esteem. I believe that lack of empathy is behind many problems, and I believe that it's disrupting our society. In Great Britain, there is a steady decline in the willingness to be truly generous, and by that I don't mean monetary generosity, but friendship and sympathy for others.

Your novel is filled with observations about the middle class. Given your life today, is it even possible for you to make such observations anymore?
Rowling: Many parts of my life are perfectly ordinary, if that's what you mean. One could even call it boring, but that's what I like about it. I love cooking, and I like being at home with my two younger children, who are seven and nine. No one who knows me personally knows me as J.K. Rowling -- in my private life, I use my husband's last name. But sometimes I transform myself. I put on a glamorous dress, go to a film premier or appear at the opening ceremony of the Olympics, and then I'm J.K. Rowling.

But you've been one of the wealthiest people in Britain for more than a decade.
Rowling: I've also become much more organized. I've established a foundation, and I have trustees. We make joint decisions on how we spend the money, and we make sure that the money reaches the right people. Naturally, all of this changes a person. The pressure I've endured in recent years has also changed me, because after I signed the international contracts for Harry Potter, I had to fulfill the expectations that all of the publishing houses had of me.

Order J.K. Rowling's 512-page book The Casual Vacancy now, via:

Amazon.com - The Casual Vacancy Hardcover | The Casual Vacancy Kindle
Amazon.co.uk - The Casual Vacancy Hardcover | The Casual Vacancy Kindle
Amazon Canada - The Casual Vacancy Hardcover | The Casual Vacancy Audio CD

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