I’ve been asked “what’s the point in adding an eighth novel to the existing canonical seven?"

Why do we need an Eighth novel?

There are three answers.

Firstly - Because JK Rowling hasn’t released one, and I want MORE. I don’t think I’m alone in this.

Secondly – Because I wasn’t able to locate a decent, completed, novel-length Fan Fiction, written in slavish adherence to the canon. There is some great Alternate Universe (AU) stuff out there, and there is an outrageous amount of kooky and weird sexualised material out there… but I was really disappointed that nobody had taken a decent, credible, and truly thoughtful swing at an Eighth novel. And amazed, to be honest.

And Thirdly – There is an enormous amount of fertile ground to be found in exploring the wonderful characters of Harry, Ron and Hermione in an adult context. I won’t believe JKR hasn’t dipped her toe in and explored it – I’ve a sneaking suspicion she has a few tales penned out, even just in skeleton form. Maybe she doesn’t have the energy or the will to do it. Maybe she’s holding them back until such a time as she feels the world is ready for them. With seven existing novels of such quality under her belt, I don’t blame her for laying down her quill and declaring ‘job done.’ Having now written such a work myself, and having gotten the tiniest taste of what such an undertaking involves, I can’t honestly say I blame her for drawing a line under the story. It had to end somewhere - and she nailed it.

Anyone truly ensconced in the Potterverse knows that there are huge unanswered questions and quite a few unfinished plot points in the original canon that are ripe for exploring and extrapolating. Additionally, the original novels expertly followed the Trio through as they navigated the varying pitfalls of teenage years, but the stories stopped abruptly when they became adults, with only a fractional, tantalising flash-forward to give any clue of what became of them and what all that formative stuff from their teens actually materialised into.

I always wanted to know what later life had in store for the Trio. I wanted to know how they would adapt to adulthood, to parenting, to ‘grown up’ problems – to being the ‘grown ups’ that they always used to go to for help and feel safe standing behind.

The years between ages 11 and 18 are referred to as “formative” years, but as the stories stopped, we never got to see just what those formative years …formed. And while there’s considerable milage in JKR saying “YOU decide what happened with them all, YOU fill in the gaps”, I wanted all those trials and tribulations that the Trio went through to “pay off” – to see what they were all FOR.

But I had questions I wanted to know the answers to, or AN answer to.

I wanted to know exactly what it was that Lily Potter did to provide such a powerful protection to Harry that formed the basis of the ENTIRE canon. Surely this wasn’t magic widely known among the Wizarding World, or there would have been a veritable army of scarred, evil-warded children in Harry’s generation after Voldemort’s first rise.

I wanted to know what happened to the Resurrection Stone after Harry dropped it in the Forbidden Forest.

I wanted to get to grips with how a spell was actually cast – words and a wand flick don’t do it for me, there’s got to be more to it.

I wanted to know what magic actually was. I wanted to understand and get to grips with the actual nature and mechanics of Time Turners (Cursed Child be damned for this).

I wanted to know what happened to some of the side characters I became attached to such as Luna, Neville and George. I wanted to see Aurors in more detail, and learn about their capabilities and skillsets.

I wanted to know what happened to the remaining Death Eaters after the Battle of Hogwarts, to know what happened to Buckbeak/Witherwings.

I was fascinated to work out why the Trio were so blanched and bland in later life.

I wanted to see what kind of parent Harry becomes – aside from his controversial short-tempered appearances in The Cursed Child, and how he copes with his children when they’re children no more.

In addition to all of these points, and perhaps as a Fourth answer to the original question, I wanted to give all of the above in a neat, thoughtful package to my wife who is a massive, massive Potterhead. I wanted to gift her a return to the Magical World that was credible, and exciting, and enjoyable. It was she who subsequently convinced me to share it with everyone else (that’s YOU). Writing it was a ‘labour-of-love rabbit hole’ which I unwittingly threw myself into, not knowing how difficult and complicated it would be. But it was EMB who convinced me of the value of an Eighth novel.

So there, you asker of questions, that is my answer.

THAT is why Harry Potter and The Winter Solstice Pact exists.