In a new interview with The New York Times, mystery writer Robert Galbraith discusses the newest book in his series on detective Cormoran Strike – Lethal White. The fourth of the Coromoran Strike novels, Lethal White, is available starting today in eBook, audiobook and hardcover formats. A few snippets from the interview may be read below:

Some mystery writers are plotters; they outline, they plan, they know exactly where their stories are going. Others are known as “pantsers” (as in writing by the seats of their pants — sitting down every day and just going where the story takes them). Are you a plotter or a pantser?

I’m definitely a planner. “Lethal White” required a spreadsheet that was more complicated than any I’ve created before. It had nine columns, red text for red herrings, blue text for clues, and various colors for different suspects and themes. Before I start each Strike book, I know exactly who did it, why they did it and how they did it.

When I hear pantsers describing the way they work I feel a mixture of admiration and anxiety. I did an event with Stephen King and John Irving a few years back and Stephen described his process as following a thread to see where it leads. When it came to John’s turn, he said he always knew damn well where the thread led before he started following it. I’m somewhere between the two. The initial inspiration may be one simple idea with no start or finish, but I never start writing a book unless I know exactly where I’m heading.

What brought you to writing crime novels?

I always wanted to write classic whodunits in a contemporary setting. What I love about the genre is that the central puzzle can be clothed a million different ways. There’s also something mythic about a lone detective or a duo, righters of wrongs, imposers of order on chaos. I think I’ve incorporated an element of mystery in all my novels. The Potters were variously whodunits, whydunits and howdidits.

At the end of the interview he noted that he has  the plot of the next Cormoran Strike novel planned and teased that his “good friend” J.K. Rowling is writing a brand new children’s book as well as working on the script for the third Fantastic Beasts film.

Hogwarts In The Snow is returning to Warner Bros. Studio Tour London – The Making of Harry Potter this year! It will run from Saturday November 17^th until Sunday January 27^th. Visitors will see sets from the Harry Potter series transformed for festive season, including the Great Hall which will be dressed as it was for the Yule Ball, the Gryffindor common room, the Weasley burrow and the Hogwarts castle model covered in snow.

Also back by popular demand, Dinner in the Great Hall events will be held from 10th-12th December, with the opportunity to enjoy drinks and canapes before sitting down to a two-course Christmas feast on the festively-decorated Great Hall set. Dessert will be served on Platform 9 ¾, before guests are able to explore the Studio Tour exclusively after hours. Tickets are £240 and will go on sale at 10am on September 25^th at wbstudiotour.co.uk/dinner.

Photos from last year’s Hogwarts in the Snow and Dinner in the Great Hall events may be seen in our gallery!

From the press release:

Harry Potter fans are invited to experience Christmas in the Wizarding World and discover how film-makers created fire, ice and snow that never melts as Warner Bros. Studio Tour London undergoes a magical makeover for Hogwarts in the Snow. From Saturday 17th November – Sunday 27th January 2019, visitors will have the opportunity to see the Harry Potter film series’ most iconic sets decorated for festive scenes. The Great Hall will be transformed, the Gryffindor common room will be dressed for the season and a blanket of filmmaking snow will be meticulously applied to the majestic Hogwarts castle model.

This festive season also sees the return of the highly anticipated ‘Dinner in the Great Hall’ events at Warner Bros. Studio Tour London. Each night from 10th-12th December, Harry Potter fans can enjoy drinks and canapes before sitting down to a two-course Christmas feast on the truly magical Great Hall set that will be completely transformed for the festive season. Dessert will be served on Platform 9 ¾ next to the original Hogwarts Express locomotive and guests will be free to explore the Studio Tour exclusively after hours. For more details, please visit: www.wbstudiotour.co.uk/dinner.

The festive transformation will begin in the Great Hall, where the stage will again be decorated as it was for the iconic Yule Ball. As seen in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, the celebration of the Triwizard Tournament saw every detail of the Great Hall covered in shimmering silver, dripping icicles and sparkling snow. Visitors to the Studio Tour will get a taster of this incredible set dress as the top section of the Great Hall will be transformed with snow-covered Christmas trees, icicles and an orchestra of magical instruments that have been painted by the Prop-Making Department to match the silver of the Yule Ball.

In addition to the Yule Ball decoration, The Great Hall will be lined with Christmas trees and the long dining tables will be dressed as they were for seasonal feasts at Hogwarts with prop versions of roast turkeys, hams studded with cherries and even Christmas puddings surrounded by real flames.

As part of the Hogwarts in the Snow feature, many of the iconic sets housed at the Studio Tour will receive a festive makeover. The Gryffindor Common Room and Boys’ Dormitory will be decorated with the original props including handmade Christmas cards, some of which were created by the cast members during production. Fireplaces throughout the Studio Tour (including those in the Leaky Cauldron and Great Hall) will be ‘lit’ with special effects fire, created by John Richardson and the SFX team using a combination of water vapour and lighting effects.

The Hogwarts castle model will be transformed with a layer of filmmaking snow. During filming, a member of the crew climbed aboard an elevated work platform and sprinkled the ‘snow’ mixture of granulated paper and grains of salt onto the model by hand with a sieve – like dusting sugar onto a cake. The same process will be used at the Studio Tour this November. Visitors will even be able to touch samples of the different types of ‘snow’ used during production, each selected for its ability to float like falling snow, crunch under foot or glisten in the light like ice.

Hogwarts in the Snow will run from Saturday 17th November – Sunday 27th January 2019. Tickets must be pre-booked, and all extra features are included in the ticket price. Tickets to Dinner in the Great Hall will go on sale at 10am on 25^th September 2018 and can be purchased from: www.wbstudiotour.co.uk/dinner.

Bloomsbury Children’s Books has announced five theatre events and two festival appearances with artist Chris Riddell to celebrate publication of The Tales of Beedle the Bard Illustrated Edition.

At each of the theatre events former Children’s Laureate Chris Riddell will be talking about his inspiration behind the art for the book and what it was like to illustrate J.K. Rowling’s words. There will be a dramatic reading of one of the stories from the book while Chris Riddell draws live. Only five events will be happening across the UK and are set to be an essential event for fans of Harry Potter, Chris Riddell and magical fairy tales. Chris Riddell will be signing copies of the book after each event.

Chris Riddell will also be appearing at Bath and Cheltenham festivals where he will be in conversation discussing his work on the illustrated edition.

Scheduled events are as follows:

Tuesday 2nd October
Shakespeare’s Globe, London
Live reading: The Tale of the Three Brothers
SOLD OUT

Wednesday 3rd October
City Campus, Nottingham
Live reading: Babbitty Rabbitty and her Cackling Stump
Book tickets

Sunday 7th October
Bath Festival of Children’s Literature
In Conversation event
Book tickets

Monday 8th October
Prestfelde School, Shrewsbury
Live reading: The Warlock’s Hairy Heart
Book tickets

Tuesday 9th October
Bluecoat Arts Centre, Liverpool
Live reading: The Fountain of Fair Fortune
Book tickets

Thursday 11th October
The Albany Theatre, Coventry
Live reading: The Wizard and the Hopping Pot
Book tickets

Sunday 14th October
Cheltenham Literature Festival
In Conversation event
Book tickets

Daniel Radcliffe was a guest on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to promote his play The Lifespan of a Fact. The Lifespan of a Fact begins previews on September 20th, has its official opening on October 18th and runs through January 13, 2019.

A couple clips from the interview may be watched below:

The cast for season 27 of Dancing with the Stars has been announced and Evanna Lynch is in the running for the mirror ball trophy! According to the announcement, and her cast member page, she will be dancing with Keo Motsepe who has been a pro on Dancing with the Stars for 6 seasons.

Season 27 of Dancing with the Stars premieres on September 24th at 8|7c on ABC.

LEGO has announced a new BrickHeadz play set inspired by the Fantastic Beasts series available this October. The LEGO® BrickHeadz™ Newt Scamander™ & Gellert Grindelwald play set is fun to build using colorful LEGO bricks that recreate all the iconic details from the Fantastic Beasts™ series, including Newt’s waistcoat, coat and detachable case, plus Grindelwald’s different colored eyes. Both come with detachable wands and stand on a buildable collector’s baseplate for easy display in your home, office or anywhere you like.

• Buildable Newt Scamander™ & Gellert Grindelwald LEGO® BrickHeadz™ construction characters feature decorated eyes and authentic details from the Fantastic Beasts™ series, including Newt’s waistcoat and jacket, Grindelwald’s different colored eyes and 2 wands.
• Each LEGO® BrickHeadz™ construction character comes with its own buildable collector’s baseplate.
• Have fun growing your LEGO® BrickHeadz™ collection with other characters from your favorite movies, TV series, games and comics.
• Fantastic Beasts™ toys measure over 2” (7cm) tall without baseplate.
• Baseplate measures over 1” (4cm) square.

41631 LEGO® BrickHeadz Newt Scamander™ & Gellert Grindelwald
247 Pieces
$19.99
Available October 1