If you are still curled up in a ball and crying because Harry Potter has officially come to end, and you need a fix ASAP, you’re in luck! J.K. Rowling has announced that she is going to release a new book entitled The Casual Vacancy. Now, it’s not Harry Potter related at all which is devastating for all of us I know , but at least we have some J.K. back in our lives. We have to look on the bright side, Potterheads.

She seems to be going in a different direction with this new novel which seems to written more towards adult readers. For the most part, J.K.’s fan base is twenty-somethings who grew up with the Potter series and now look back with nostalgia and joy at the wonderful world of Harry Potter. For a lot of us, she was our childhood. It seems that this new novel is definitely is not for kids. According to her publisher’s website, The Casual Vacancy tells the story of a man named Barry Fairweather who “dies unexpectedly in his early forties, the little town of Pagford is left in shock.”

I think it’s cool that J.K. is taking a different route with this book and exploring other areas. She couldn’t write about wizards forever (even though we wish she would).

What do you guys think about her new book? Will you read it?

J.K. Rowling is one fierce lady. She’s gorgeous, funny, smart, and is a wicked writer. She graced us with the most magical story ever with the Harry Potter series, which catapulted her to a level of fame that most writers can only dream about. Not only did Harry Potter spark a wildfire of reading for an entire generation, but it also created a place for kids to go in their heads and escape their own worlds. I know Harry Potter did a lot for me as a youngster, and it still does today. Because of her success, J.K. Rowling became one of the richest women in the United Kingdom and landed a spot on the Forbes billionaire list last year. However, now she’s been bumped back down to the millionaire’s list.

Don’t worry though, it’s not because she’s spending her unimaginable fortune. Rowling’s moved down because she’s donated so much of her money to charity. According to Forbes, ”New information about Rowlings’ estimated $160 million in charitable giving combined with Britain’s high tax rates bumped the ‘Harry Potter’ scribe from our list this year.” Rowling has always been a charitable lady. She started the Volant Charitable Trust to prevent social inequality and poverty in 2000 and is the president of One Parent Families, a charity for single-parent families. She also has donated millions to multiple sclerosis research. She also wrote several books for charity including Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, Quidditch Through The Ages, and The Tales of Beetle the Bard.

I can’t get over how amazing this woman is. She said it best herself, “You have a moral responsibility when you’ve been given far more than you need, to do wise things with it and give intelligently.” She truly is an inspiring person, and I hope others can aim to be just as giving as she is. It goes to show that you can be successful without losing your moral compass. And if you think she’s gone because the series is over, don’t fret. We already know she’s working on a new book (!!) and Pottermore is officially kicking off this spring. She’ll be around to inspire us for a while, I believe.

How awesome do you think J.K. Rowling is? Would you knock yourself off the billionaire’s list if you were on it?

Caitlin is a senior at the University of Alabama who has an obsession with cupcakes, coffee, and Harry Potter. She always has random fun facts on reserve and aspires to be a professional blogger,social media bug, and/or James Franco’s assistant. Follow her fabulous life @caitlincorsetti. You’re welcome!

As you probably already know, J.K. Rowling has plans to write a new book for adults. She says, “Although I’ve enjoyed writing it every bit as much, my next book will be very different to the Harry Potter series.” This begs the question, “What will the new book be about?” The Harry Potter series was a huge part of her life for such a long time that it’s hard to imagine Rowling writing about anything but wizardry. While I’m sure many people have their opinions about what the topic of J.K. Rowling’s next book will be, I have a few ideas of my own. I’m (unfortunately) not as creative as her, however, so there’s no way my ideas will be as great as hers. But, here are a few general ideas about what she might write about…

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What do you think J.K. Rowling’s new book will be about? Tell us in the comments!

Ashley is a freshman at George Washington University and she’s majoring in “Overanalyzing Situations” and International Affairs. Follow her on twitter @ashleybrooks25

[Lead image via Featureflash/Shuttertock]

Perhaps the most controversial category of all in our Most Influential Women poll is Most Influential Fiction Author. You might not think so at first; after all, those tween stars can cause quite a stir among their fans. But think about it — vampires, wizards, murderous children, teen drama, steamy love stories… How can any one person possibly figure out which of these hot topics has had the most influence over pop culture!?

JK Rowling: Did you or did you not grow up under the spell of all things Harry Potter? Dressing up to go to the movies, waiting in huge lines to buy the books on the night they were released, pretending your pencil is a wand (wait, am I the only one who did that?)… You can’t tell me JK Rowling’s literary genius never affected your life.

Stephanie Meyer: Whether you’re now obsessed with vampires or resent the day the Twilight books were ever written, Mrs. Meyer single-handedly started the vampire craze.

Jodi Picoult: The go-to gal for heart-wrenching fiction. In every Barnes & Noble, down every Target book aisle and on almost every girl’s bookshelf is a copy of at least one Jodi Picoult novel.

Judy Blume: Ummm…can we just talk about Forever for a minute? I remember passing that book around like contraband among my friends in the fifth grade. I’m pretty sure that’s how we all learned about the sexier side of the birds and bees. All of Judy Blume’s books have been teen staples since…well, basically forever.

Suzanne Collins: For those who sought a departure from the innocence of Harry Potter and the epic love story of Twilight, The Hunger Games was a dream come true. Dark, gritty and still bearing a love story all its own, Suzanne Collins started a cult with her grim book series.

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Let’s be real, seven years at Hogwarts just isn’t enough. I mean those kids need to know a little more than just how to cast a few spells, right? I could totally get down to Rowling penning a few more books on Harry Potter: The College Years. Saved By the Bell did it, Boy Meets World did it, pretty much every other sitcom centered on high school life did it. So why not, Potter kids?

JK, I’ll even help you out a little so you can hit the ground running with this one. According to the sorting hat in my head, here’s where you can expect to see all of our favorite HP characters heading off to earn their degrees.

Click on the gallery button to see where we sent the Hogwarts kids to college!

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J.K. Rowling can’t lose.

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Presenting: the best facial cleanser of all time.

And, obviously, on this particular weekend huge things happened in the world of pop culture and entertainment, which leave me with hundreds of emails and tons of voicemails upon my return. Note: hair extremely greasy.

Um. Dumbledore is gay!?

What? How on earth did I miss that? I mean, really; how the hell did I miss that?

I have read every single Harry Potter book…3 times.

I majored in English in college, meaning I learned the art of reading between the lines in all sorts of texts.

I am a total fag-hag and love (absolutely adore) gay men.

If anyone should have seen that one coming it would have been me.

I am not saying that I am some genius (though, if you would like to think of me as one I am more than happy to agree), but I am saying that I am always on the lookout for interesting sub-plots and the meaning behind everything an author writes. Especially when it involves fabulous and powerful gay men.

So, if JK had indeed intended Dumbledore to be gay from the beginning, I would have seen it. And I did not. There was no pink décor in Dumbledore’s office. There were no saucy memories of late nights in Hogsmeade’s most hoppin’ gay bars floating around the Penseive. There wasn’t even an inkling of interest between Dumbles (as I like to call him) and Cedric Diggory, and how could any gay man not fall for that boy’s eyes, not to mention his skills on the Quiddich pitch?

And, let us not forget just how shady it all would be if Dumbledore really were gay. The man’s protégé was an 11 year old boy, after all! Reminds me of one Mr. Mark Foley, no?

But that is not my biggest issue. My issue is that JK wrote 7 books (7!) without once making mention or reference to Dumbledore’s homosexuality. Sure, now she claims that there was a little sumthin’ sumthin’ going on between Dumbles and Grindelwald, that it was his “great tragedy,” but why is this the first we are hearing about it? Why not delve into this a little more at some point during her thousands of written pages?

If she is truly trying to make a statement and teach a lesson regarding homosexuality by writing such a strong and pivotal character as a gay man, why not really go for it?

Is it, perhaps, that she came up with this twist right there on the spot at Carnegie Hall? That maybe she simply wants to revive the recently waning interest in her precious books? Draw people back to the theaters for the final installments of HP movies? Could it be that this is just some huge publicity ploy?

I can’t help but wonder if there’s actually any point to writing a review for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I mean, it’s the seventh Harry Potter book. If you’ve read the first six Harry Potter books, I think it’s a safe bet that you’re probably going to read the seventh one, no matter what anyone says about it.

And if you have not read the first six books, there is no way you could possibly understand anything that happens in the last one. Not to mention, nobody really wants to know anything about a Harry Potter book ahead of time, anyway.

That didn’t stop The New York Times’ leading book critic Michiko Kakutani from posting a rather revealing review two days before the July 21 release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Photographs of every single page were available on file-sharing websites as early as July 16, and I noticed plenty of mean-spirited, intentional spoilers sprinkled throughout Facebook like landmines, but I would have expected more from the Times.

While Kakutani just barely manages not to actually give away the ending of the book, she does describe the tone of the ending and pretty clearly implies whether it is happy or sad. She drops some other fairly major plot points, including an explanation of what the “deathly hallows” actually are, a revelation that does not come until more than halfway through the novel.

For anyone who has been following the epic Harry Potter series, I’m guessing you’re done with book seven by now, but if not, trust me, it’s good, and you will be satisfied with the ending.

For anyone who hasn’t, I can tell you that it would be worth it to start. Now that all seven books are written and published, you can buy a box set and read it all at once. I’m guessing it would be sort of like watching the first three seasons of Lost on DVD, which is to say, amazing and considerably less frustrating. I am a recently graduated English major and a total literature snob — my favorite authors are James Joyce and D.H. Lawrence — and seriously, J.K. Rowling is a very talented writer who knows how to captivate and please her readers. I swear.

If you haven’t picked up Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by now, do it. I wholeheartedly recommend the series as a whole. Just make sure to set aside a week or so, because you aren’t going to be able to stop until you plow through all seven books.

• Sexual tension. Pretty much everywhere. And Harry finally puts the moves on that chick he’s been eyeing for 2 movies.

• Homoerotic tension. Harry is awfully happy to see Sirius whenever he appears…and the guy does have great hair and a perfectly manicured mustache…

• Ron Weasley. The older he gets, the more he seems to represent the great state of Maine, lumberjack clothing and all. LOVE it!

• 420 Hook-up. Luna Lovegood is on something during this movie, and whatever it is, I want some.

• Childish Happiness. One scene involving indoor fireworks will make you so happy and proud you might just cry. …especially if you’re me.

• Magic. You know you want one of those wands.

• The Red Scare. Who knew J.K Rowling would be able to comment on the ridiculous Communist panic during the 50’s while writing about wizards? Who knew she’d manage to take on Bush’s failing No Child Left Behind act? My post-collegiate mind was intrigued.

• Harry’s Hotness. He’s so close to attractive, one more movie is all we need before Daniel Radcliffe starts invading your fantasies.

• Hogwarts. I want to go there. Plus, there doesn’t seem to be a tuition fee. Wizard logic is fantastic!