W.O.M.B.A.T.S---fun, diversion, or fun diversion?

[Lyn J. Mangiameli]

--- In the_old_crowd at yahoogroups.com, "rebecca" <dontask2much at ...> wrote:
>  The effort and costs associated with this test are 
> substantial regardless who pays for it, and call me capitalistic, but if 
> you're not going to get a return on your investment in some manner, why 
> would you go to the expense and trouble in the first place?  That "return" I 
> mentioned may be as interesting as Rowling's answers, IMO.
> 

Lyn now:
I guess I always are rather skeptical about anything Rowling transmits to the fans outside 
of the books. For me, more significant than any fiscal cost (as we  know she can afford it), 
is the time and effort cost of creating the text. She's in the middle of writing the second 
most important text of her life (arguably SS/PS was the most important) and she takes the 
time out to do this. Perhaps it has only been a recreational diversion from the more 
serious writing; perhaps it is nothing more than a desire to maintain fan interest in the lull 
between movies and books (but then why offer it to only the most hard core). 

My guess is that it is a tactical diversion, aimed at the very people who are most serious 
about exploring what will happen next. My suspicion is that this has been in the bank for 
some time, to be pulled out when the faithful need to have their attention drawn away 
from something which threatens the next book. Somewhere out there in fandom, 
somebody has written something that is too close to the revelations that will come in the 
last book, and she needs to divert fandom's attention to something more innocuous. If 
successful (and a look around shows it has) it would make it well worth the cost.