Goodreads exclusive from J.K. Rowling

     In celebration of Rowling's book, The Casual Vacancy, being released in paperback, Goodreads picked a question from one of its members to ask the author of the Harry Potter series. Here is a link to the article featuring the winning question: How She Crafts Gritty, Realistic Characters

     Rowling gives a detailed answer explaining each of the characters in the book, and how they developed over the course of the story, and what she intended with them. Beautifully done, once again by Ms. Rowling. I especially liked what she had to say about rising above what we usually are:

"We need to become absorbed in something bigger than ourselves. That doesn't mean everyone should stand in for parliament (God forbid); it is a more subtle business than that. If we make decisions in small matters in the awareness that our ...actions can have huge impacts on others, we will begin to make a difference. If we choose to understand the other person's point of view, if we make the effort to understand before rushing to judgment, all kinds of different vistas might become apparent to us. This might sound very little, but the effects could be world changing..."

      Be sure to check out the entire article.