"A Casual Vacancy" is on Sale Now

File under: We've got to read this, right?

British bookshops opened their doors early on Thursday for the U.K. launch of "Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling's long-anticipated first book for adults, "The Casual Vacancy."

There were no huge lines or wizard costumes.  This novel is most definitely for adults causing some controversy for parents who need to say "no" to youngsters who wanted give this non-Harry novel a try.
 
It's highly likely nothing Rowling publishes will ever match the success of the Potter books, which have sold more than 450 million copies around the world.

But booksellers are confident "The Casual Vacancy" will be one of the year's best-sellers, whatever reviewers say.

What do you think?  Do you want to read it?

Source: The Associated Press

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2: Review

I have always been someone who was able to separate the movies from the books. The movies will of course have scenes that are cut out or added in depending on the situation. The only thing I ever ask of book adaptations is that they respect the characters and the spirit of the story. That is the only thing I hope for going into these movies. And for the first time in quite a long time I was blown away at the portrayal of all my favorite characters.

Alan Rickman blew me away at playing the tragic love story that defines the life of Professor Snape. Matt Lewis plays Neville perfectly with a blend of humor and a true badass spirit. Emma Watson portrays Hermione as a strong woman, but also allowed Hermione to be vulnerable at times which is a huge shift in the movie portrayal. Rupert portrays Ron as a fiercely loyal and brave man just trying to protect his friends, family, and of course the love of his life Ms. Hermione Granger. Not to mention other characters that were able to shine in this movie Evanna Lynch (Luna Lovegood), Devon Murray (Seamus Finnegan), Maggie Smith (Prof. McGonagall), Julie Walters (Molly Weasley), David Thewlis (Remus Lupin), and so many others the list truly goes on. The character moments in this film big and small made this movie one that both the movie fans and the books fans can go home feeling happy.

It was a jam packed movie filled with action, heart, and tears from start to finish. The movie was put together with care and I feel it sends the movie franchise out with style, flair, and on a friggin’ bang. Though of course book fans will gripe and complain about the missing elements in this movie. For me the biggest ones are of course Ginny Weasley and also the bromance between Ron and Harry. I would have loved to have seen a hug between the two. I never got the sense of satisfaction toward their friendship at the end. Which saddens me, because they have a wonderful friendship! But over all this movie was fantastic.

Overall this movie I think will blow your mind.

If you wish to hear more about my thoughts and of course my co-host Dani’s thoughts on this movie please tune in tonight at 7PM PST/10PM EST time! We are discussing this movie in depth and would love to hear your thoughts/opinions in the chatroom!

In Potter,

Megan Anderson

A Worldwide Salute to 10+ Years of Harry Potter

Harry Potter has been a fandom that people of all ages can enjoy and grow with. As the release of the final installment, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2, is upon us, let all fans join together for a salute to the writer, J.K. Rowling, the directors, producers, screenwriters, and actors.

Swing over to your facebook pages and change your profile pictures to a picture of your favorite Harry Potter character. RSVP to the following event listed below and invite all your friends to do the same. Let's see if we can make this salute worldwide and give a big thank you to everyone involved for bringing these stories to life and entertaining us for over a decade.

FACEBOOK EVENT INVITE

Also make sure to tune in on Monday, July 11th, for our Harry Potter: Countdown to the End 2 hour special. Trivia, talking about the movies and books, a review of what we hope to see in the movie, and of course, GIVEAWAYS of Deathly Hallows merchandise and more. See you there! 

J.K. Rowling Announcement within the Week

Fans have been up in arms trying to find out what the J.K. Rowling site, Pottermore.com is and what it will entail. Well, today, the fans find out they only have to wait a bit longer. J.K. Rowling's YouTube page has been revamped and now looks like this....

http://www.youtube.com/jkrowlingannounces/?utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=warner_bros&utm_campaign=tease&utm_content=1x1&utm_term=tease-warner_bros-1x1-all

So check it out... and let us know what you think the BIG ANNOUNCEMENT will be!

Harry Potter Countdown to the End: The EPIC Contests

Hey Everyone,

I hope that you all are doing amazing.

We just got done recording the June Edition of our Countdown show. At the end of the show I made an announcement about how to enter a competition to be put on air to battle it out with another Harry Potter fan to see who knows the most Potter trivia. What do you get?

• Two TICKETS to see "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2"
• 1 Giant Movie Poster from "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" (the one shown below)
  
  

Here is how you enter:

Send an e-mail to megan@artistsondemandonline.com explaining why you think you know the most about Harry Potter. Also declare a house! (Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Slytherin, Ravenclaw). Send that e-mail to me by Friday July 1, 2011. Then I will pick two people to come on the show on Monday July 11 7PMPST/10EST time to compete against each other on Potter trivia. The one who wins will get the TWO tickets to see Deathly Hallows Part 2 and the movie poster.

On our last show we will be talking about Lord Voldemort, reflecting on the Potter years, and will host this epic fan trivia contest. Making no promises but there may be more prizes in store for you guys. So definitely tune in.

We will also have a Review Show talking about the movie aka therapy session on Monday July 18 7PM PST/10EST.

SECOND CONTEST:

Is the keyword contest. The winner of the keyword contest will get the Film Wizardry book and Harry Potter and Philosophy as well. If you haven't already give a listen to all the previous countdown shows. Write down the keyword I say at the end of each episode and after I announce the last word on our July 11th show send it to megan@artistsondemandonline.com. The first one to do so will win the prize!

So many things going on in the name of Potter. So definitely enter...these are insane prizes!

In Potter,
Megan Anderson

Harry Potter Countdown: COMPETITION 2 Tickets to See Deathly Hallows Part 2

Hey Everyone,

We are getting closer and closer to the release of the Harry Potter movies. I am here to introduce the first competition to get two tickets to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.

The only thing you need to do is write to megan@artistsondemandonline.com and explain why it is you think you deserve these tickets and you will be entered in a chance to win TWO FREE TICKETS! The deadline to enter this contest will be on Monday, June 13, 2011 at 2PM PST/5PM EST. GOOD LUCK!

Also, be sure to download the Countdown shows and look out for the keyword. The winner that has all keywords sent to me will win an epic Potter prize. You can do this by going to ITUNES looking up ArtistsonDemand. Then download the shows for free.

Our next countdown show will be on Monday June 13, 2011 7PM PST/10 EST.

March Harry Potter: Countdown to the End

Hey Everyone,

We have just ended our March Harry Potter: Countdown to the End show. It was tons of fun.

I have to say thank you to Maggie who came on to talk about her experiences in the Harry Potter world. It was great to hear from a fan about everything. She was wonderful.

We mainly discussed Hogwarts, the Houses, and Hermione Granger. You can download the show pretty soon on ITUNES for free.

In this show we also introduced a new contest to get Hermione Granger's hat replica of the one she wore in the Half-Blood Prince. The new contest is to send in a fan fiction (one shot), fan art, fan video, fan poetry, or fan graphic to megan@artistsondemandonline.com and we will pick the winner. The deadline for this contest is April 11 2PM PST/5PM EST and we will announce the winner on the April 11th Countdown show.

I also announced what you will win for the keyword contest. After each show I say a keyword and at the end of all the countdown shows the first person to e-mail me all the keywords will win a really cool Gryffindor T-Shirt (pictured below) and a copy of "Harry Potter and Philosophy: a guide for Muggles." So definitely listen to the shows and write down these keywords in order for you to to win!

We ran out of time to discuss Ginny Weasley and Nymphadora Tonks, but have no fear we will finish talking about these wonderful and powerful ladies on the April show as well as talking about Government and Media in the books. How it is portrayed the different types and so on.

Get to creating some awesome Potter art!

In Potter,
Megan

Harry Potter: The Countdown to the End Contest

Hey Harry Potter Dorks,

I am here to re-announce one of our Harry Potter contests.

First Contest: Is an ongoing contest that you must listen to the HP countdown shows to be entered into. So take a listen to the shows and write down the keywords in order to win an awesome prize.

Second Contest: I can announce to you. This contest is really simple the only thing you need to do is declare your favorite character and write a little bit about why he/she is so important to you. Please send your contest entry to megan@artistsondemandonline.com before Monday March 14, 2011 at 2PM PST/5PM EST time. We will announce the winner on that night's countdown show.

The winner will get a replica Quibbler including the awesome glasses that saved Harry from a free ride home back to London in the Half-Blood Prince movie.
Totally awesome. Also, you can also get a chance to help host one of the countdown shows in April (if schedule/logistics work out).

So send in your entries you have nothing to lose and a chance to be just as cool and breezy as Luna Lovegood.

Again all entries go to megan@artistsondemandonline.com

Also, if you know of any Harry Potter forums, chat rooms, or sites please pass along this message about the contest and our Harry Potter shows. We really want to reward amazing Harry Potter fans for being such great, dedicated, and amazing people.

Have a wonderful week!

In Potter,
Megan Anderson

Harry Potter: The Countdown to the End Episode 2

We just finished recording our second installment of Artists on Demand 's Harry Potter: The Countdown to the End. Tonight we discussed love in the Harry Potter series. How important it is to the plot of the story, how it was written on love, and of course we talked about the different relationships and friendships in Harry Potter. Including my history with the shipping wars and all the amazing relationships and friendships in the books.

I also announced the winner of our contest from last show. I am proud to say it is a follower of Honestly Ronald! Very excited. The winner is getting an official replica of a Time Turner. I am very excited about this! I got some great responses and really wish I could give them all prizes I have to say.

I also continued a contest I started that you must listen to the program to be a part of to win an epic prize. You can download the show for free via ITUNES podcasts. Just search ArtistsonDemandRadio and it should show up!

I will be able to announce the second contest though. The winner of this contest will receive a replica of the Quibbler including those snazzy awesome glasses that Luna rocks when she finds Harry on the floor of the train after getting stepped on by Malfoy. It is really cool. The contest is quite simple and fun. There is no word limit just send an e-mail explaining who your favorite Harry Potter character is and why they are your favorite. Send it to megan@artistsondemandonline.com . The DEADLINE is 2pmPST/5EST March 14, 2011. I will announce the winner on that evening's show which will air at 7PMPST/10EST you can listen live at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/artistsondemandradio or listen in at (347) 884-9941. Or you can download it free on ITUNES as a podcast. The March show we will discuss Hogwarts/The Houses, Hermione Granger, Ginny Weasley, and Nympadora Tonks.


I look forward to your answers and I am stoked to give amazing Harry Potter fans some great prizes. Have any questions/comments feel free to reply and I will do my best to answer. Also there is no limit to you winning so if you win one contest you can enter all the others if you wish. No guarantee you will win but you are definitely welcome to re-enter.

I also wanted to say thank you to Dani for being an awesome co-host. I know that I come across as quite nerdy when it comes to Harry Potter. I do think that these are intellectual books for Adults to play around with. One of the greatest themes in Harry Potter is the power of love. It saves Harry in the beginning and it destroys Voldemort in the end. A wonderful trio of true friendship and love helps destroy the souls of death. Good will always conquer evil as long as we are pure of heart and we know exactly what we are fighting for. This is what the Harry Potter books show us and this is what I get from them. Love and choices conquer hate and abilities.

Thank you and until next time..make sure those you love know it and don't be afraid to show it. It is Valentine's Day after all.

Harry Potter: The Countdown to the End - Contest/Show Update

I am posting to remind you all about our second Harry Potter: The Countdown to the End that will air on Monday 7PST/10EST you can listen to it LIVE at at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/artistsondemandradio or call in to listen at (347) 884-9941. Or you can just download it for free on ITUNES an hour after the show airs.

On our first show we announced two contests. The first contest is something that you should find by listening to the show if you haven't listened to it yet... Dani and I discussed Feminism in HP, Ron Weasley, and Sirius Black.

The second contest where the winner will win an Official Time Turner replica is to write about how you got into Harry Potter and why you love it so much. Send this to my e-mail address megan@artistsondemandonline.com by Monday February 14, 2011 at 2PM PST/5PMEST and have a chance to win.

The winner will be announced on this coming Monday's Harry Potter show. Plus a new contest will be announced on that show as well. We are talking about the importance of Love to the series plus all the relationships/friendships that exist in the stories. Plus the latest HP Deathly Hallows Part 2 News. You can listen to it live at 7PST/10EST time at the link and phone number above. Or if you can't make it be sure to download it on ITUNES for free an hour after the show ends.

Send in those entries I really want an awesome HP Fan to win!

- Megan

Launch of Harry Potter: Countdown to The End

Hello Artists on Demand fans!

I am happy to announce that we are kicking off our Harry Potter: Countdown to the End shows *dances.* Starting this Monday January 31st and then every second Monday of every month until the release date we will have shows dedicated to Harry Potter. We will discuss everything that you can think of really. Character analysis, book analysis, fandom happenings, and philosophical issues that arise in the Harry Potter series. It will be fantastic. I will also have guest hosts that really know Harry Potter. My goal is to get the fans involved as possible we want your opinions and we want to hear your voices as well. Why? Because Harry Potter fans are brilliantly smart and witty—we seriously rule.


Also there will be plenty of chances to win prizes including tickets to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 at the midnight release or opening day. There might even be some more surprise prizes for you guys to win. Together let us give the Harry Potter movie end a send off that no one will ever forget.

I will also be posting a post-show thought blog to continue the conversations we just had on air. Harry Potter is not just a story it is an epic story with so many layers to it. This is hard to convey in an hour long show. Trust me I have tried.

I hope to see you all in the chat room on Monday January 31st at 10 EST/7PST to enjoy some awesome Potter conversation and …possibly a chance to win….you never know.

In Potter,
Megan Anderson