J.K. Rowling Is Planning for the Long Term

The absolute worst thing about Harry Potter? It had to end. After seven books, J.K. Rowling had to tie a bow on her epic series, but her decision made sense with her storyline of the characters going through Hogwarts. With Rowling's new undertaking, however, written as Robert Galbraith, the author doesn't have that type of restriction — and that's why Rowling says her Cormorant Strike series may go on longer than the Harry Potter books. Say what?

Yup. According to the Guardian, on Friday at the Theakstons Old Peculier crime writing festival, Rowling announced that there's a possibility she'll write more than seven Cormorant Strike novels... because why not? Crime thrillers are open-ended, and the author isn't tied to one time-bound storyline like she was in Potter, which is what gives the books so much possibility. "I really love writing these books, so I don't know that I've got an end point in mind," she said. Rowling added:

One of the things I love about this genre is unlike Harry Potter, where there was a through line, where there was an overarching story, a beginning and end, you are talking about discreet stories. So while a detective lives, you can keep giving him cases.

And according to her sales figures, people aren't going to be upset about the news. In the U.S., the newest Cormorant Strike novel The Silkworm is currently sitting at No. 2 on the New York Times Best Seller List and is also in the top 25 of USA Today's list. (Oh, and for what it's worth, Amazon is just recently re-opened sales of the novel because it's a Hachette title.)

Start your office pool for how many books Rowling is going to be writing — and do you think she'll outstrip George R.R. Martin, who may be going for book No. 8?