JKR Listening ? (was Individual issues and JKR )

[lupinlore]

No: HPFGUIDX 153610

--- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "quigonginger" 
<quigonginger at ...> wrote:
>
Either way, we can sit here and type paragraphs 
> about our pet issues, but if others are unwilling to see our side of 
> things, it makes no difference in the end.  And I don't think JKR is 
> listening ;)  
> 

You know, all specific issues aside, I suspect she pays a lot more 
attention than she likes to let on.  Certainly she  trolls the boards 
and forums quite a bit, and as the same issues show up on pretty much 
all of them, not to mention in emails to her publishers and website, 
she'd have to be pretty dumb (which she isn't) not to know what they 
are.  Her statements during her appearances immediately after the 
publication of HBP showed she was very familiar with the general 
controversy surrounding Sirius and his death, and she certainly has 
known of the shipping controversies, the speculations about Mark 
Evans, and the Vampire!Snape theories. 

Listening?  Depends on what you mean be listening.  I doubt she's 
writing by focus group, opinion poll, tarot card, or alchemical dream 
interpretation.  But I also suspect she's being at least disingenuous 
when she claims that she doesn't care if she only has six readers when 
all is said and done.  I suspect she cares a very great deal. 

In fact, many parts of HBP seem deliberately crafted to address the 
fandom in various ways.  I doubt the confrontation of DD with the 
Dursleys was planned before she absorbed the reaction to OOTP.  
Hagrid's comment about Hogwarts being dangerous was a nod to numerous 
discussions of that topic in various places.  Remus/Tonks was a 
popular ship that she could insert easily with minimal plot disruption 
and almost guaranteed pay off.  Grawp, a new character she inserted in 
OOTP with great flourishes only to be met with a chorus of boos, faded 
almost entirely into the background.  SPEW, a topic similarly of great 
controversy and much disdain in some quarters, vanished without a 
trace to the point that Hermione accepts Harry's dominion over 
Kreacher and Dobby without so much as a whimper.

None of which is surprising.  As I say, she isn't dumb, and an author 
who doesn't keep his or her ear to the ground would be even more 
terminally stupid than Snapey-poo.

What will she do -- nobody knows, maybe not even her (I also rather 
doubt she has things nailed down nearly as securely as she likes to 
let on, see some of the issues above). But is she listening?  Oh yeah, 
I think she's listening very carefully.


Lupinlore