This is a part of a series on George Norman Lippert, “America’s JK Rowling”, creator of the spinoff “James Potter” novels set in the Potterverse and often compared to the original “Harry Potter” .

GNL Series:  The Story – The Interview, Part I – The Interview, Part II

Recently, it seems that Warner Brothers Studio has contacted you regarding James Potter – regarding what?

I received a rather lengthy email detailing some new requests for how I should present and promote the James Potter stories.  Specifically, the lawyer requested that I change the James Potter logo, since they feel it is too similar to the Harry Potter film logo (although I did work to make it merely similar, and not a direct copy).  Also, the lawyer requested that I remove references to my own original books from the James Potter-related website.  Finally, they asked for more and larger disclaimers.

Regarding the logo issue, I can’t help wondering why this has suddenly become a problem, since my initial dealings with Warner Bros. legal (during the releases of both books in the series) bore no reference to any issue with the logo.  The logo does, in fact, appear in many places (many of them fully animated and rendered using computer graphics), and will require a very substantial investment of time, but I suspect it is a change I will have to make, nonetheless.  I have already begun work on it.

Regarding the references to my own books, I also feel I have no choice but to comply, although I can’t imagine why the presence of my own stories on the website should constitute any confusion, since my name is clearly visible on the covers of all the books, including the James Potter stories.

What is your response and course of action going to be?

I pride myself in being an honest, above-board kind of person, therefore when someone implies that my actions are sneaky, underhanded or outright illegal, I take the allegation very seriously.  I have said from the beginning that if Ms. Rowling wished me to take down the website and the James Potter stories, I would do so immediately out of respect for her creation.  While I do not understand or agree with some of the requests of the Warner Bros. lawyers, I do mean to keep my interactions with them as amicable as possible, for the sake of my own conscience, if nothing else.  Therefore, over the following weeks, I will work to make the changes they have requested, although it will probably affect the release of the third James Potter story.

My primary reaction to Warner Bros.’ concerns is one of confusion.  Basically, aren’t we both two entities trying to promote the same creative universe?  I’d much rather pool our creative resources than continue to function as combatants, or worse, as a mere legal nuisance.

Since WB only holds the rights to movie productions, how do you imagine this conflicts with the interests of Rowling?

I will surely incite a letter of admonishment from someone for saying so, but as the original creator of the Harry Potter universe, I suspect Ms. Rowling would view my stories exactly as I intended them—not as a legal threat or a “dilution of the brand”, but as a compliment and a creative homage.

I don’t view Warner Bros. as the bad guy in this instance, but I do view them as merely a gigantic business protecting an extremely valuable asset that they have paid a lot of money for.  I don’t expect them even to consider (as I believe Ms. Rowling would) that my stories might be creatively interesting, evocative, or even complimentary to their end goals.  Which is a shame, really, since I think that if they did, we might be able to make something very cool.

What are your plans for the future?  Will the James Potter series continue to the expected seven books?  Do you intend to write outside of the Potterverse in the future, or remain loosely on the edges like “The Girl on the Dock”?

I have an entire seven book series in my head at this point.  I know what the “mega-plot” of the full series is, and book three, which is due out on December first, will set that fully into motion.  However (and that’s a big however) I don’t know if I will write all seven books.  This may be the last one, primarily because it is increasingly tiresome to invest such time and energy into a project that continues to be viewed, by the powers that be, as a threat and an annoyance.  It has only been the consistent encouragement and high hopes of the worldwide cadre of James Potter readers that has led me to write book three.  From here on out, I can’t guarantee anything (even though book 3 will, in effect, end on a monstrous cliff-hanger).

I am writing my own original work, however.  Between JP2 and JP3, I wrote a novel called “The Riverhouse”, which I am dubbing a “grown-up ghost story”.  It is intended for a rather different audience than the James Potter books, although I suspect there will be a large degree of cross-over.  For now, I am seeking literary representation for it, with the hopes of getting it published.

Kyle Brady is a contributing columnist for the Inquisitr, an entrepreneur, and has a future in science fiction.  He can be found at his blog, via email, or on Twitter.

Of Harry Potter, James Potter, and Warner Bros. Studios – The Interview, Part II is a post from: The Inquisitr

This is a part of a series on George Norman Lippert, “America’s JK Rowling”, creator of the spinoff “James Potter” novels set in the Potterverse and often compared to the original “Harry Potter” .

GNL Series:  The Story – The Interview, Part I – The Interview, Part II

Could you give a quick intro on what the James Potter series is (ideas, themes, inspiration, etc.)?  Most people consider it high-quality fan-fiction, but what do you label it as?

When I first discovered fan-fiction (and this was AFTER finishing my first James Potter book) I was bored with how so much of it was just a rehash of the original characters and stories.  Being satisfied with Harry’s tale, I wanted to explore the wider magical world.

For instance, in a world split between Muggle and magical, wouldn’t there be a contingent of people intent on breaking down that separation?  If so, would their intentions be good or bad?   And what about this character that is barely mentioned in the DH [ed.-  JK Rowling’s “Deathly Hollows”] Epilogue, Harry’s firstborn son, James?  What would it be like to grow up as the son of the most famous wizard of all time?  How would that effect this boy’s personal development?  Further, on a greater scale, what about the rest of the wizarding world?  What are magical schools and locations like all over the world?  How do Muggle cultures affect the magical world that operates within them?  These were the themes I wanted to explore.

Thus, the James Potter series is a logical extension of the Harry Potter universe, branching off from the epilogue of J. K. Rowling’s final book.  But while it originates from the tree of the original series, it expands into some new areas, exploring entirely new themes, characters and locations.

As far as how I think of these stories, I hate the term “fan-fiction”.  I call it that, for lack of a better word, but to me, it’s more like when a band does a cover of another band’s hit song.  It sounds familiar, and yet, if done properly, it is still fresh and unique.  “Cover fiction” is possibly a better term for what I try to write, although I doubt the term will catch on.

From what I can tell, both installments of the James Potter series have had an explosive effect on the Harry Potter reader community… is this true?  Good reactions, bad, or mixed?  Do you have any numbers on readers that might be useful in understanding how your works compare in community reach to JK Rowling’s?

When the first James Potter story was released, I was completely unprepared for the worldwide response it generated.  During the first week, there was a wave of fairly rabid hate mail, mainly from those I’ve come to think of as the Canon Police.  These individuals claimed that I was “ruining Harry Potter”, based on the fact that my story, in many ways, broke away from the familiar fan-fiction model.  I was coloring outside the lines of the Potterverse, it seemed.

The second wave of reader response, however, was much larger and almost uniformly positive.  Those who, like me, had been sad to see the end of the magical universe, seemed quite happy with my new perspective on it.  Apparently, they felt that I had kept just enough of the old to make it familiar, but introduced enough new themes and characters to keep it fresh.  This wave of reader response has continued to the present.  I receive emails every day from readers all over the world, encouraging me to write more.

As far as hard reader numbers, this is very difficult to pinpoint, mainly because the story is hosted in so many languages now, from so many websites completely independent of me.  Based on my own website numbers, and those I have gathered from a few other sources, my guess is that the stories have been read by at least a million people (the English versions, added up, have been downloaded over 750,000 times).

The interesting thing to me is that the James Potter stories have reached a large demographic of people that do not read fan fiction.  That’s what flatters and pleases me the most.

You comment in both books that your work is set inside Rowling’s universe and uses similar characters, but are not endorsed by Rowling herself – you even include a character-tribute to Rowling in “Curse of the Gatekeeper”.  What’s the reaction been from her and her legal advisers?  How about from Scholastic?

During the initial media response to my first James Potter story, both Warner Bros. and J. K. Rowling’s agency were asked if they were responsible for the website and the stories.  When that happened, I felt I had an “in” with them, and I contacted them.  I was worried that they would attempt legal action against me, but Ms. Rowling’s agency (The Christopher Little Agency) was very encouraging and cordial.  They agreed to view a preview sample of the story (although, for understandable legal reasons, Ms. Rowling herself did not view it) and declared that they had no legal issue with the free release of stories such as mine, so long as they were not attributed to Ms. Rowling.  Warner Bros, at that time, agreed, merely asking that I not use any of the Harry Potter film score in the promotion of the James Potter stories.  I agreed immediately, of course.

Regarding the character of Juliet Revalvier, in “James Potter and the Curse of the Gatekeeper”, she is, of course, an affectionate homage to Ms. Rowling herself.  Since these tales are all derived, ultimately, from the fertile garden of her imagination, I have always had great respect both for her work and her proprietary ownership of it.  I was, in fact, very vocal about my disdain for Mr. Steve Vander Ark during the whole “Harry Potter Lexicon” legal brouhaha. Regarding Scholastic Books, I have heard no word from them.

Kyle Brady is a contributing columnist for the Inquisitr, an entrepreneur, and has a future in science fiction.  He can be found at his blog, via email, or on Twitter.

Of Harry Potter, James Potter, and Warner Bros. Studios – The Interview, Part I is a post from: The Inquisitr

This is a part of a series on George Norman Lippert, “America’s JK Rowling”, creator of the spinoff “James Potter” novels set in the Potterverse and often compared to the original “Harry Potter” .

GNL Series:  The Story – The Interview, Part I – The Interview, Part II

Harry Potter is one of the most dominant international sensations of all time, existing in printed word, on film, and in countless languages, and has captivated the minds of countless millions of readers.  JK Rowling completed her series and gave the world what was allegedly the final piece in her Potterverse assemblage in mid-2007, to the joy and dismay of fans worldwide – the story was complete and their curiosity had been satisfied, but for many it left a gaping hole in their hearts and minds.

It should come as no surprise, then, that a rabid fan-fiction community developed around the Potterverse, courtesy of the Internet, as a way to cope with those whose lives had become so deeply enmeshed with Harry Potter and his adventures.  Some of the fan fiction was decent, as long as you stayed away from the disturbing subgenres that prefer a more adult and mentally damaging tone.  But none of it stood out as anything more than amateur writers copying the behaviors of someone they idolized with an almost religious fervor.

Enter George Norman Lippert – early August, 2007.

Like many others, he finished “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows” and was emotionally lost, so he began writing.  In his first sitting, he wrote what would become a piece of his first fan-fiction novel (or “cover-fiction”, as he calls it), and showed it to his wife.  After her encouragement, he continued writing, and completed “James Potter and Hall of the Elders’ Crossing” relatively quickly, followed by a release on December 1, 2007.  Since then he’s released a sequel (“James Potter and the Curse of the Gatekeeper”), is preparing to release the next in the series (“James Potter and the Vault of Destinies”), wrote a related standalone book (“The Girl on the Dock”), and produced a slew of other Potterverse related pieces.

And along the way he’s had contact with JK Rowling and Warner Bros., with mixed results.

By GNL’s calculations, over a million people have read his stories – not quite the 400 million that JKR has achieved, but still highly impressive.  Rowling herself has said, via her agent, that she has no qualms about fan-fiction, so long as it’s not the previously mentioned deranged version, and specifically has no problem with the James Potter material.

Warner Bros., the rights-holder to the movie versions of Harry Potter, had the same initial reaction:  the James Potter logo, use of characters, etc. was agreeable to them.  However, they seem to have had a change of heart, and are demanding changes in the representation of the material and GNL’s website.  It’s intriguing that they feel the need to not only contact, but attack, a creator of media in an entirely different form than what they produce, especially when it’s more of a tribute than a detraction.  Even more curious, WB seems to think it will damage their branding of Harry Potter, while evidence shows that it would likely bolster sales.  Why didn’t they go after countless movies and books that have emulated the iconic logo in one fashion or another?  The Golden Compass, The Dark Is Rising, and Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief are just three easy examples of such allowed behavior – perhaps the studio power behind these three movies makes the difference?

It is truly sad that copyright claims are being used in an attempt to stifle such creative and lovingly crafted work that approaches its subject with the feel of JK Rowling and a twist of originality.  The fans have embraced them, the Queen of the Potterverse gave her blessing, and Scholastic (the American print publisher of Harry Potter) seems to have no objections – it’s only the overzealous movie studio that seems to take affront to GNL’s actions.  While they are demanding changes that are largely of presentation and self-promotion, the leap to requiring the removal of the James Potter novels from public view is not a large one, especially given the known behavior of frightened media behemoths.

George, however, understands that this honeymoon period may not last much longer, and admits he may not fully complete the expected seven-book series because of the increasing effort necessary to produce further installments.  Instead, he has his sights set on being an author in his own right, outside of the world of Harry Potter, and is currently “shopping” the manuscript of “The Riverhouse” for publication.

Whether the James Potter series is completely finished or not, it is safe to say that George Norman Lippert has distinctly enriched the lives of countless Harry Potter fans and even the Potterverse itself.  His works have shown that not only can a fan with talent significantly enrich the source material without resulting to pale imitations, but that it’s still possible to rise from obscurity to fame within the literary world – all without an agent, a marketing campaign, or SPAM’ing forums.

To quote a dryad from “James Potter and the Hall of Elders’ Crossing”:

You must beware, James Potter.  Your father’s battle is over.

Yours begins.

GNL can be found on the James Potter series website, on Facebook, and on Twitter; the James Potter novels are available for download [1] [2], his novel can be found on Amazon, and the next chapter in the epic saga will be released December 1, 2009.

Kyle Brady is a contributing columnist for the Inquisitr, an entrepreneur, and has a future in science fiction.  He can be found at his blog, via email, or on Twitter.

Of Harry Potter, James Potter, and Warner Bros. Studios – The Story is a post from: The Inquisitr