But over the past few days my mind has woven together my feelings of horror over the ill-treatment of children and animals, and combined it with a clip I watched on TV of a mother pygmy hippo that had given birth in captivity to a cute baby hippo, and sprinkled on top the location of our latest weekend away. The result is a brand new idea for a (rather uplifting) teen novel.

Here’s more about my insight into my creative process on my Fictional Life Blog…

This week I was thinking about an analogy of a buffet in the dark. I’m worried that I’ve grabbed a spot at a table that is all savouries and when they eventually turn the lights on I’ll find that the waiters are busy clearing away all the chocolate desserts that were waiting for me on the other side of the room. I’ve already shelved one novel that needs a final rewriting (one that I worked on for about 6 years), because I don’t want to continue in that genre. It’s no wonder I’m procrastinating on the trilogy I’m working on now. Hopefully this course will help me figure out how to get myself out of the knots I’ve tied.

Vander Ark and RDR Books claimed Fair Use, but presiding judge Robert Patterson ruled that since the reference book contained no original commentary and simply rearranged copious amounts of Rowling’s material, its publication would constitute an infringement of Rowling’s copyright.

Rowling has stated that she, herself, intended to produce a Harry Potter Universe reference work for charity purposes, and Vander Ark’s book would also have infringed on her right to create such a derivative work.

Do you remember Paddington Bear?