"Snape is vindictive, he's cruel" said J.K. Rowling Monday as she met with students at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, signing books and answering questions, on the first stop of her "Open Book Tour", which will also include New Orleans and New York City.   This is her first appearance in the US since 2000 and she won't be doing any interviews, despite rumors of her appearing on a morning television show.

She read from Harry Potter and the Dealthy Hallows, signed books, and answered a dozen questions from kids selected from several LA schools.

Rowling said that she has not started writing the much talked about Harry Potter encyclopedia. She wasn't telling what she was going to be doing next, but admitted that Harry Potter would be a tough act to follow.

Rowling was thrilled to be able to interact directly with fans. Many of the questions she was asked today were about her life, what inspired her, her faith. She talked about Dumbledore's arc in the series, how Harry had been his puppet, and his emergence as a Machiavellian figure.  MTV reports that she commented: "When Snape says to Dumbledore [toward the end of 'Hallows'], 'We've been protecting [Harry] so he could die at the right moment'  I don't think in book one you would have ever envisioned a moment where your sympathy would be with Snape rather than Dumbledore."

Rowling's next stop will be in New Orleans on Thursday.

Sources: LA Times and MTV