Welcome to DAY THREE of five features this week where I talk about just some of the women that I personally feel have helped shaped not only the literary world, but also my tastes as a reader. These are not going to be lengthy essay types – they tend to drivel on. We want our features to be short and sweet!
Today is all about this woman here – J.K. Rowling
It was on a delayed train from Manchester to London in 1990 where Rowling first had the idea for the young wizard Harry Potter. After seven years of writing and battling her own personal issues, she released HARRY POTTER AND THE PHILOSOPHER’S STONE in 1997.
It’s safe to say that her career rocketed from there – winning multiple literary awards, movie adaptations, merchandise and even theme parks! But what was next?
After the phenomenal success of the Harry Potter series – Rowling ventured into adult fiction and released THE CASUAL VACANCY under her own name, but she was always keen in taking on crime fiction.
Keen to write under a pseudonym – Robert Galbraith was born and THE CUCKOO’S CALLING was released in 2013. The press soon outed Rowling for writing this book and it soon became public knowledge that she was behind the new novel.
I don’t mind this at all! I can see why Rowling would want to change her name to release new material that isn’t all about wizards, witches and Dementors. I can imagine it was difficult releasing THE CASUAL VACANCY under her own name as readers would automatically make a judgement based on her earlier work, despite it being marketed for a completely different demographic. But the comparisons were there and they are hard to shift.
I thoroughly enjoyed her Coromon Strike series and hope to read more. Rowling is a great crime fiction writer!
J.K. Rowling will forever continue to surprise me 🙂
-S.
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