The woman who delivered Harry Potter to the world launched her U. S. book tour in triumph on Monday: more than 1,000 schoolchildren gathered to obtain J. K. Rowling’s autograph and hear her read from Harry Potter’s final adventures, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”

The 42-year-old British author, a hero to so many of her readers, has begun her book tour, organized by Scholastic, the U. S. publisher of her books. Her first stop was at the famed Kodak Theater in Los Angeles.

As many as 1,600 public schoolchildren dutifully lined up to receive Rowling’s autograph and then listened in mesmerized silence as she read a chapter from her seventh and final Harry Potter book, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.”

The author also answered questions from the audience. “This is an amazing treat for me,” she said, as she signed book after book after book, reports Reuters. “I really miss being able to interact directly with the readers. Everyone keeps saying, ‘It must be so onerous. Doesn't it hurt your hand?’ But, honestly, that's the bit I really enjoy,” Rowling told reporters.

“Deathly Hallows” was published in July of this year and kept headlines for weeks on end, as diehard fans eagerly waited to learn the last part of Harry Potter’s adventures and at the same time mourned the ending of a shared journey.

To prove fans’ nearly desperate enthusiasm, nearly 11 million copies were sold in the first 24 hours of the book’s publication, thus breaking sales records as the fastest-selling book ever. The first six books in the series have sold over 325 million copies worldwide and have been translated into 64 languages.

Rowling’s tour includes two other stops in New Orleans on Thursday, October 18 and in New York City on Friday, October 19.

As to whether she has already embarked on a new project after her Harry Potter literary phenomenon, the mother of three said: “I want to fall in love with someone the way I fell in love with Harry. I never think about a particular genre. It is all about the story and the characters, but it has to be something I adore.”

J. K. Rowling wrote the first Harry Potter novel in 1994, at a time when she was a struggling single mother relying on social welfare – “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.” Fast-forward 13 years and Rowling is adored by millions and prosperous beyond imagination, with Forbes naming her the second-richest female entertainer in the world in 2006.

Earlier this year, in May, the author wrote on her website: “I might do an eighth book for charity, a kind of encyclopedia of the world, so that I could use all the extra material that's not in the books.”

This seems to have given hope to many that additional Harry Potter material will be published.