1. Where do you get your ideas from?

I wish I knew.  Sometimes they just come (like magic) and other times I have to sit and think for about a week before I manage to work out how something will happen.  Where the idea for Harry Potter actually came from I really couldn't tell you.  I was travelling on a train between Manchester and London and it just popped into my head.  I spent four hours thinking about what Hogwarts would be like - the most interesting train journey I've ever taken.  By the time I got off at King's Cross many of the characters in the books had already been invented.

2. Are any of the characters in the books based on real people?

Tricky question!  The answer is yes, and no.  I have to confess that Hermione Granger is a little bit like I was at her age, though I was neither as clever or as annoying (I hope!).  Ron is a little bit like my oldest friend and Professor Snape is a lot like one of my old teachers, but I'm not saying which one.

3. Where do you get the names from?

I collect unusual names from all sorts of different places.   'Dumbledore' is an Old English word meaning bumble bee, and 'Hedwig' as a medieval saint.  I've even used street names for surnames.  Some words I made up, like 'Malfoy' and Quidditch'.

4. How long have you been writing for?

Nearly all my life.  I had written two novels before I had the idea for Harry, though I'd never tried to get them published (and a good job too, I don't think they were very good).

5. Will there by any more Harry Potter books?

Yes, even back on that train I saw it as a series which would follow Harry to the end of his schooldays at Hogwarts (seven years).  So in the final book, Harry will have come of age in the wizarding world, and ready to leave the Dursleys at last.

6. Did you expect the Harry books to be this successful?

Never.  I just wrote the sort of thing I liked reading when I was younger (and still enjoy now!)  I didn't expect lots of people to like them, in fact, I never really thought much past getting them published.

7. Any clues about the next book?

I don't want to give anything away, but I can tell you that the books are getting darker... Harry's going to have quite a bit to deal with as he gets older.  Sorry if they get too scary!

8. Who are your favourite authors?

My favourite writer of all time is Jane Austen, but when I was younger I liked Paul Gallico's 'Manxmouse', CS Lewis' Narnia books and Noel Streatfield.