Harry Potter Author's New Creation

"Harry Potter" author J.K. Rowling has given birth to a baby girl, a Scottish hospital said.

The 39-year-old British author, who shot to fame with the publication of the popular boy-wizard fantasy book series, gave birth to her third child at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary on Sunday, a hospital spokesman said. The baby girl hasn't been named.

Upon finding out she was pregnant, Rowling posted this message on her official Web site: "I have always wanted three children, so I could not be happier."

As for the sixth book she had in the works at the time, she wrote, "Let me reassure you that book six is well on track and, fingers crossed of course, I do not foresee any baby-related interruptions or delays."

Rowling and her husband, Neil Murray, have a 22-month-old son, David. The author also has an 11-year-old daughter, Jessica, from a previous marriage.

In the race between the baby and the book, the book won. Rowling announced in December that she had finished the sixth Harry Potter novel.

The hospital spokesman said the writer and her baby were both doing well and had been discharged from the hospital early Monday.

Rowling's sixth novel in the "Harry Potter" series — "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" — will be released July 16. Her third book, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban," was made into a successful movie last year, the third Potter movie. It was preceded by "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" and followed by "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire." Book one was called "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone."

Rowling says she is finished writing the book and is relieved now that she can talk about it. "It has been a weighty secret to carry around, as you can imagine."

A seventh and final novel is also in the pipeline. She has made no comment about carrying around future children.