LONDON (AP) J.K. Rowling, author of the immensely popular
Harry Potter books, said Thursday she was relieved about a court
decision clearing her of plagiarism because the case distracted her
from putting the boy wizard's next adventures on paper.
A U.S. federal judge on Wednesday rejected claims by American
author Nancy Stouffer that Rowling had stolen ideas from her own
children's books, including ''Rah and the Muggles'' and stories
about a boy named Larry Potter.
The judge fined Stouffer $50,000, saying she ''perpetuated a
fraud'' by doctoring documents submitted as evidence.
Rowling said the stress of the U.S. lawsuit had hindered her
progress on the long-awaited fifth installment of the
multimillion-selling Potter series.
''Anyone who's been involved in a court case will know that it's
time consuming, it plays on your mind,'' she said in an interview
with British Broadcasting Corp. television.
''There have been times when I've been writing and that's been
uppermost in my mind, whereas what should have been uppermost in my
mind is what's going on with Harry and Co.
''This is a large weight which has been lifted off me,'' Rowling
said. ''I feel very different today it's great.''
Rowling said much of the fifth book, ''Harry Potter and the
Order of the Phoenix,'' was written, but declined to say when it
would be ready for publication.
''There's a lot of book done. That's all I want to say, because
if I give it a date and then I pass it everyone will be upset,''
she said.
''I will say that I have a beginning, a middle and an end you
could read it all the way through and I know a lot of Harry Potter
fans will say, 'just to give it to us.' But I'm a perfectionist and
I want a bit more of a tweak,'' she said.
Fans had hoped the latest book would be on sale this summer, in
line with publication dates for the previous four installments.
Rowling laughed off any suggestions of writer's block.
''I really am getting there and I have to laugh when I read the
bits about writer's block, because I don't think I've ever been
left blocked in my life,'' she said.
In the U.S. court ruling, District Judge Allen G. Schwartz found
only minimal similarities between the Potter series and books by
Stouffer. Schwartz said there was convincing evidence that Stouffer
had submitted fraudulent documents and given ''untruthful
testimony'' to the court.
Stouffer's primary complaint against Rowling concerned
references to ''Muggles'' in the Harry Potter books. Stouffer
claims her Muggles, who populate ''The Legend of Rah and the
Muggles,'' came first.
In Rowling's books, ''Muggles'' is the word wizards use for
non-magical humans. In Stouffer's world, Muggles are bald, mutated
nuclear holocaust survivors whose dark and polluted land becomes a
happy place after they end up caring for orphaned twin boys.
