J.K. Rowling’s last words on statue

LONDON, Saturday (AP) - Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling signed a marble bust in the luxury hotel room where she finished the final book about the boy wizard, a hotel spokeswoman said Friday.

J.K. Rowling wrote a message in black marker on an antique-style statue before checking out of Edinburgh's five-star Balmoral Hotel last month.

''J.K. Rowling finished writing Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows in this room on 11 Jan 2007,'' read the message.

The writer announced on Thursday that the seventh and final installment in the series, which tells the story of Harry during his final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, will be published on July 21.

''I can confirm she did write some of the book at the Balmoral last month and did complete the book at that hotel,'' the author's spokeswoman Nicky Stonehill said.

The hotel said it does not encourage guests to write on hotel property, but Rowling is a special case. ''Obviously this is quite a unique case,'' hotel spokeswoman Jessica Trotter said. ''We're honored and flattered she chose the Balmoral as surroundings to do her writing.''

As a single mother on social benefits more than a decade ago, Rowling used to sit in cafes near the Balmoral while writing her first book, ''Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone.''

Since then, Rowling — who lives in Edinburgh with her husband and their three children — has seen her books sell more than 325 million copies in