J.K. Rowling readies pen for final Potter book
(AFP)
Updated: 2005-12-29 08:29

J.K. Rowling, the British author of the record-selling Harry Potter series, said she plans to start writing the final book about the boy wizard next month and finish it some time in 2006.

Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling, seen here in July 2005, said she plans to start writing the final book about the boy wizard next month and finish it some time in 2006. [AFP]

"For 2006 will be the year when I write the final book in the Harry Potter series," the British author wrote on her official website.

"I contemplate the task with mingled feelings of excitement and dread, because I can't wait to get started."

Joanne Kathleen Rowling, 40, has spent much of the past decade writing about the adventures of Potter and his friends at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

On her website, she said she felt compelled to wrap up the gripping tale that has captured the imagination of millions of children and adults worldwide.

At the same time, Rowling doubted her ability to answer all the questions generated by the seven-part series.

The writer also wondered about her life after Potter.

"It will all be over at last and I can't quite imagine life without Harry," she said.

Turning to the task at hand, Rowling said she had been fine-tuning her ideas for the seventh installment of Potter's life and was ready to start work in January.

"Reading through the plan is like contemplating the map of an unknown country in which I will soon find myself," she said.

At times while writing the previous six books Rowling said she ran into trouble, such as chapter nine of the fourth one: "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire".

In October, Rowling's literary agent said the boy wizard series had sold more than 300 million copies worldwide.

The six books published in the series so far have been translated into 63 languages. The first four have also been made into blockbuster movies