I am a literary giant in Europe

Chapter 679 Record!

On July 10, J.K. Rowling arrived in New York.

However, she did not stay at the hotel arranged for her by the Scholars Group, but instead went directly to 76 Parry Street with her husband, son, and two daughters.

Jessica is thirteen years old and Liu Jin's most loyal reader.

Her son, David Murray, and her daughter, Mackenzie Murray, are the children of Rowling and her anesthesiologist, Neil Murray.

After the family of five moved into Parry Street, 76 Parry Street suddenly became much more lively.

That evening, Rowling cooked the meal herself.

Fortunately, there was no 'looking up at the stars'.

……

Subsequently, Liu Jin and Luo Lin jointly participated in several interview programs.

From Jimmy Kimmel Live! to The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and then to The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Over three days, I traveled from New York to Chicago and back to New York.

Liu Jin was too tired to talk.

He doesn't like to appear in public frequently, but in order to avoid losing too badly, he has no choice but to grit his teeth and persevere.

In response, Rowling advised him, "Amos, you should do more interviews; maybe your sales will be even higher."

"I don't want to, it's too tiring!"

Liu Jin sprawled on the sofa, refusing to participate in the Conan Show that evening.

Jessica stood firmly on Liu Jin's side in this matter.

So Rowling brought it up during her evening interview.

"Sometimes I feel that Amos is an old-fashioned writer."

His age and the attitude he displayed were quite different. He preferred quiet writing to being in the public eye. I advised him to do more interviews, but he left me speechless with a single sentence.

"What did he say?"

Conan O'Brien asked with a smile.

He said, "Lowling, I earn about the same as you."

Rowling made an exaggerated expression, holding her head and saying, "You know what? I didn't even know how to answer back then!"

In 2006, Liu Jin and Rowling tied for first place on the list of highest-earning authors.

Liu Jin has 130 million, and Luo Lin has nearly 140 million.

Conan asked curiously, "But you have to say something. I know you're notoriously stubborn."

“I told him that I write a book every two years.”

"and then?"

"Then he went to his study to write!"

The audience burst into laughter.

Liu Jin is known for his quick draw and his endless stream of inspiration.

He publishes at least four books a year and is known as a creative fanatic.

Rowling, on the other hand, publishes a book every two years, taking her time, yet her income is in no way inferior to Liu Jin's.

"So, you think he won by sheer volume?"

“Of course not!” Rowling laughed. “At least, I couldn’t write a masterpiece like Notre Dame de Paris or Les Misérables.”

He just has too many inspirations!

So much so that he needed to write constantly.

That's probably the difference between us. I'm ten years older than him, and I prefer things to go slower, much slower..."

"Yes, it's like when I book a dentist appointment in Great Britain."

Rowling paused, then suddenly burst into laughter.

"Hey, Mr. Conan, you've left me speechless."

Conan's joke about the slow pace of life in Great Britain is actually a joke about the slow efficiency of British people.

In Great Britain, you need to book a dentist appointment months in advance. Of course, besides the dentist joke, there's also the home renovation joke…

The story is about a British man who, before going on a business trip, booked a renovation company to renovate his roof.

As it turned out, something came up and he didn't return home until three months later, only to find that the roof renovation had just begun.

Yes, the key feature is 'slow'!
In addition, the delays in Great Britain's public transport system were simply dismissed by the Ministry of Transport with the excuse that they were "in line with the national conditions of Great Britain."

"Well, I just want to enjoy life more."

Rowling explained, "But God will never let down those who work hard."

Ten years from now, when Amos reaches my age, you'll find that his achievements will far surpass mine.

The colorful sedan chair was carried by everyone.

Rowling was well aware of this.

Just like before, Liu Jin kept praising her in the interview program.

……

On July 15, the seventh Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, was released as scheduled.

As a result, a miracle was created that very day.

1300 books from English-speaking countries!
Liu Jin was also shocked when he learned of this data.

According to his memory, the book had an initial print run of 1200 million copies, with 1100 million copies sold on the first day.

Now, the scholar group's first print run of 1500 million copies has sold 1300 million copies on the first day, surpassing the record set in the original timeline.

The next day, Rowling was stunned when she received the data!
Moreover, the popularity of the Deathly Hallows boosted sales of the first six books.

On July 15th, the seven books sold a total of 7 million copies, an absolute record in book sales history.

Fortunately, Liu Jin was mentally prepared.

When he appeared on CBS's "60 Minutes" on July 16, he put his arm around an excited Rowling and congratulated her.

"Did you predict this all along?"

"Ha, I predicted it would be an amazing number, but I didn't expect it to be this amazing."

He smiled slyly and said, "However, the sales figures for the first day don't count."

"Ahhh, you're so cunning!"

The host then suddenly asked, "So, Amos, would you like to know the sales figures for your work?"

"To be honest, I don't really want to know."

Laughter filled the recording studio.

How are his sales?

Rowling, however, wouldn't give up and asked curiously.

"Um……"

"Jeff, stop keeping me in suspense and tell me, let me have some fun."

Jeff glanced at Rowling, then at Liu Jin.

"You two have such a good relationship."

"Oh, don't talk nonsense, my husband is here."

The camera immediately focused on Neil Murray, who was sitting in the audience, and his three children. Neil shrugged, making a "I can't help it" expression.

Jessica stood up excitedly and shouted to Liu Jin, "Go Amos, beat Rowling!"

The audience burst into laughter once again.

Jeff said, "Okay, then I won't keep you in suspense any longer."

On July 14th, the sales of *The Hunger Games: Catching Fire* reached 7 million copies.

Liu Jin was taken aback, and a look of surprise appeared on his face.

This number was quite unexpected.

He estimated that sales would be around two million copies, but unexpectedly...

"On July 15th, Spark Spreads 7 million copies sold... Congratulations, Amos."

"Congratulations to me?"

"You broke your personal record, selling 7.8 million copies in 48 hours, surpassing 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame'."

"Oh!"

Liu Jin then showed a look of sudden realization.

"On July 15th, the sales of Halo Relic were... 7 million copies."

Rowling turned to the side and gave Liu Jin a hug.

“Excellent data, especially considering this is your new book.”

"So Amos's actual sales on the first day of this competition were 757 million copies, behind Harry Potter."

What about his previous works?

"I only have data for these two books here."

The difference is quite large!

Rowling turned to comfort Liu Jin, but saw Liu Jin waving his hand with a smile.

"That's already very good... Don't forget, I still have four books that haven't been published yet!"

"what!"

Rowling clutched her head and couldn't help but let out a scream.

……

The following day, Michiko Kakutani, chief book critic, published a review in the culture section of The New York Times.

I'm so excited and moved! This is the kind of competition I want to see.

Amos and Rowling didn't engage in verbal sparring, nor did they hurl insults or belittle each other's work. Instead, they encouraged one another. I know that since 04, they've been publishing articles in newspapers periodically, exchanging creative insights, their understanding, and their thoughts. This is a truly beautiful exchange, and it has shaped the best Rowling and Amos we know today…

Sorry, this may not be the best Amos yet!
Don't forget, he's only thirty-two, which is the prime of his creative years.

He will continue to grow and mature... Of course, I look forward to him creating even better works!
I prefer Les Misérables and am looking forward to its release.

Halo, The Hunger Games, and Harry Potter may not be the best literary works, but they do carry the friendship between the two authors.

I hope Rowling can break through and surpass Harry Potter.

But at the same time, I'm even more looking forward to Amos's new book... Unfortunately, Random House won't be able to publish it until next year.

Toni Morrison

……

Harry Potter sales dropped on the second day, falling below ten million.

Sales: 7.6 million.

Sales of The Hunger Games and Halo also declined, with the two books combined selling 5.1 million copies.

Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood was released on July 17.

It sold 3.7 million copies on the same day.

On the same day, Ubisoft Montreal announced that the game Assassin's Creed, based on the original Assassin's Creed, would be released at the end of the month.

Since acquiring the Assassin's Creed game adaptation rights at the end of last year, Ubisoft Montreal has been working overtime to begin production.

Moreover, the production went very smoothly.

Liu Jin's works contain many illustrations and comics, providing the production team with a very complete set of ideas.

They are a studio that has produced many games before, and perhaps they have a mysterious connection with the original timeline. The studio's technical staff completed the project almost in one go... from the storyline to the mission rendering to the final product of the game, without encountering any obstacles.

Studio CEO Martin then called Liu Jin and said the following.

This game seems to be right there.

When we were making it, it felt like we just took it and didn't encounter any technical obstacles.

This is the first time in all my years of game development that I've encountered something so smooth...

Yes, that game originally belonged to you guys!
……

The success of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time also gave Ubisoft a very strong player base.

The publication of the first Assassin's Creed game, Renaissance, also attracted a large number of readers.

The two complemented each other, and on July 18, Assassin's Creed once again broke the three million sales mark, pushing the total sales of Liu Jin's three books to twelve million copies.

On the 19th, Harry Potter went against the tide.

The seven books have sold a total of fifteen million copies.

This once again ignited public opinion surrounding America.

People then realized that the showdown between Liu Jin and Luo Lin was a very successful marketing campaign.

Harry Potter readers were drawn to Liu Jin's works, while Liu Jin's readers went on to support Rowling's works.

Most importantly, many of Liu Jin's readers are older people.

They weren't interested in fantasy novels, but they liked Liu Jin's works because of "The Old Man and the Sea," "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," "Les Misérables," "The Father Trapped in Time," or "Million Dollar Baby."

And now, they have also become interested in Harry Potter.

"This is not the effect of 1+1=2, but rather it has drawn the attention of people all over the world who love reading."

In an interview, America's renowned literary critic Susan Sontag smiled wryly.

"But it would be difficult to repeat such cooperation in the future."

Harry Potter, spanning ten years and seven books, amassed a huge readership, making this a phenomenal success.

Amos, too, spent seven years creating no fewer than forty works, many of which are excellent literary pieces… Their readers span fantasy, realism, romance, history, and fine literature, resulting in an exceptionally large readership. I guarantee this contest has only just begun; the best is yet to come.”

On July 20, the books "The Shadow of the Wind" and "Angel Game" were finally released.

In 2005, Shadow of the Wind was born.

Over the past two years, French, Spanish, German, Portuguese, Italian, and Greek versions of The Winds of Shadow have been released one after another, but the English version, the version in the world's most widely spoken language, has yet to be released.

The North American book market is a single-language market.

Although there are versions in other languages, sales have been very poor.

Many people know or have heard of this book...

Now, it has finally been released.

And it's two books at once!
"This is so unfair!"

At dinner, Rowling smiled wryly and shook her head as she spoke to Liu Jin.

……

(End of this chapter)