Tragedy in Virginia

I express my shock, disgust, and sorrow at the events that unfolded today at Virginia Tech. After fatally shooting 32 people in a senseless, murderous rampage, the lone gunman turned the gun on himself. This, for many, was the sole source of consolation from today's atrocities.

We wish to offer our deepest condolences to the friends and families of the victims. They will most certainly be in our thoughts and prayers.

J.K. Rowling and the Quest for Inspiration in Art

In an introduction written for a new guide to children's books set in Edinburgh, J.K. Rowling describes how she once took to wandering through the some of the great art collections in Scotland seeking inspiration while writing some of the Harry Potter novels. The Scotsman reports tonight that Jo "took to wandering the halls of the National Galleries of Scotland in a 'desperate and random measure' as she sought inspiration. However, it only left her feeling miserable."

The newspaper goes on to cite further quotes from Jo via the Reading Round Edinburgh book:

Memories of Edinburgh "leap out of the pages of Harry Potter for me", Rowling writes, "the places I wrote particular chapters and passages; where I despaired of ever having another idea; where I experienced all the delights and the frustrations of living in a fictional world."

But while the city has many "Potteresque vistas", she cannot point to particular buildings or streets featured in her books.

She slaps down the idea that Hogwarts was based on a "certain public school" in the city.

You can learn more about this book, here and here. It is also available via TLC's Cauldron Shop as well.

Harry Potter Number One in Australia

The Courier Mail is reporting about a new survey where Australian readers were asked to list their top 100 favorite books. The Harry Potter series by author J.K. Rowling was ranked at the number one spot. According to the newspaper, 75,000 people took part in this survey and according to one bookseller the "Top 100 Book List provides the public with a selection of popular quality reads that are tried and true," Angus & Robertson general manager Dave Fenlon said."

Others in the top ten include To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen as well as two books by Dan Brown. To read the entire list, click here.

New OOTP pics

Check out this new photo of Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny Weasley in Dumbledore's office after hearing the news that Mr. Weasley was attacked, and this one of Draco, Crabbe, Neville, and Hermione in Umbridge's office just after the DA members escaped from the Room of Requirement.

We hope to have larger versions of these photos later. Thanks to Mike!

UPDATE 2: Use the links above to view high-res images sent to us by Warner Brothers!

MuggleNet book jumps on bestseller lists again

Harry Potter fans are showing their muscle: MuggleNet.com's What Will Happen in Harry Potter 7 is receiving glowing reviews, and this week it jumped to #3 on the New York Times Children's Bestseller List. On top of that, it jumped to #46 on USA Today's list of the bestselling books in the nation - that includes everything from the Bible to the Da Vinci Code.

If you wish to buy the book, we hope you'll support the site and order it through our partner Alivan's as opposed to other retailers such as Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

Event Update: For those of you planning on attending Saturday's discussion/signing in Bloomingdale, Ill., the event will begin at 2 PM.

Mark your calendars: Our summer book tour schedule is complete! Ben and I will be hitting up bookstores all over California on our West Coast tour from May 25th to June 5th, and from June 7th to June 20th we'll start in Ohio and travel up and down the East Coast. We really hope you'll come out and see us if you live in any of the areas we're scheduled to attend!