Dear J.K. Rowling,

My name is Robin O’Donoghue and your books really inspired me.  I just finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and recently saw the movie.  The part when Harry and Hermione go to Godrick’s Hallow and get attacked by Nagini inside of that old lady gives me shivers.  When I was little, I can remember lying on the couch while my mom and dad read Harry Potter, while I struggled to keep up with the plot.  I remember cringing when the basilisk cornered Harry and was practically in his lap.
My brother and I spent countless hours playing wizards, Hogwarts, and dueling with shish kabob skewers.  When friends came over we would dress up in blankets and capes and hide under a table so the Dark Lord couldn’t get us.  Usually I was Ron or Hermione (my older brother and my friend’s older sister rarely let me be Harry unless it involved getting killed by the death eaters).  I remember when my brother made me be Dobby so I would have to hurt myself.  We still have some “spell books” that my older brother made when he was 8.
Your books have changed my life by making me question the world and by expanding my imagination.  I entered the scary story contest at my school, lost, but everyone who read my story liked it.  I am involved with Fairbanks Shakespeare Theater and read Shakespeare often.  You’re the person who inspired me to pursue my dream job as a fiction author.  Some of my friends say stuff like “Robin, you should be a lawyer or something—you’re never going to be as rich as J. K. Rowling!” and I say stuff like “I’m going to do what I enjoy!”
My love of fiction started when my dad read me the first Harry Potter.  Then I was all over the place with fiction.  Magic Tree House, Percy Jackson, Fable Haven, the Nicholas Flamel series, Pendragon, Series of Unfortunate Events, the Magyk series, Naruto, etc.  I can see how your books also inspired lots of other authors.  After Harry Potter tons of other people wrote about magical worlds, too.
You opened my eyes to things that are hard to swallow, like the thought that I might be a muggle and am oblivious to the wizards.  On my 11th birthday, I confess that in the back of my mind I was secretly hoping that I would receive a letter from Hogwart’s.  For Christmas once my mom got me a want out of the Noble Collection and it is probably one of the most favorite toys I have.  However, I don’t need magic, you showed me (and millions of others) the true power of humans—imagination.

Your fan,

Robin James O’Donoghue

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