"And ultimately, if the books deserve to survive, they will survive, and if they don't deserve to survive, they won't. That's it. History will judge. That ultimately is what matters, and it really helps you put everything else into perspective."
-- J.K. Rowling (Today2)
Second part of the post-DH interview on the Today Show (NBC)
Source: MSNBC
Interviewer: Meredith Vieira
Context: This was one of the first interviews after the publication of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, so Jo could finally answer some questions she was reluctant to answer before.
Interesting facts and notes
Had you been one of these students who had ended up at Hogwarts and they put the Sorting Hat on you, which one of the Houses would you think you would've ended up in?
Jo: The virtue that I prize among all others, and I think is patently obvious in the books, is courage. Ummm... so I would hope to be in Gryffindor. Whether I would be judged worthy or not, I don't know.
Jo: Definitely, Mum dying had a profound influence on the books, because I had been writing about Harry for 6 months when she died. And on the first draft, his parents were disposed of really quiet and at an almost cavalier fashion. 6 months, and my mother dies, and I really think from that moment on, Death became a central, if not the central theme of the seven books. And, ummm, in many ways, all of my characters are defined by their attitude to death and the possibility of death.
MV: Did your Mom ever know that you were writing this book?
Jo: It's one of my biggest regrets. She never knew. She would have loved this, I mean, just in the sense that any mother wants to know her child is successful. She would've been in every event I did, she would have so much vicarious pleasure in meeting who I met, and would have been fascinated and interested... And it was a massive regret that I did not at least tell her.
JK Rowling One-On-One: Part Two