J. K. Rowling Works on Two New Books

The 51-year old British novelist, born Joanne Rowling is a screenwriter and film producer. The multiple award-winning, internationally recognized writer and philanthropist have sold more than 400 million copies of her books making them the best-selling book series in history. She has become one of the few authors to make a fortune through writing.

J. K. Rowling revealed to fans on Twitter that she has two books in the pipeline, one under her own name and one as Robert Galbraith

The writer life can be described as 'as interesting as her book'. Pen named J.K. Rowling, with alter ego Robert Galbraith, she has not been found wanting by readers for having more than one pen names. Many have always wondered where the 'K' came from and what it stands for. The 'k' stands for Kathleen, given to her by her paternal grandmother. She had decided to use her initials and not her full name as her publishers advised because they felt the target audience, young boys, would not want to read a book written by a woman.

The Harry Potter author took to her Twitter page to announce, what could be referred to as a Christmas present, that she is currently working on two novels when asked by her followers. Her response: 'I'm working-on-it (literally).'. She did not give any details about the books but had said that one would be in her own name while the other in the Robert Galbraith Detective Series. She had further gone on to say they'll be published one after the other but she doesn't know which would be published first. In her words: 'One of each, but I’m not-sure-which-will come out first. I’ll let-you-know-as-soon-as I do!'.

It would surprise you to know that the award-winning author has not published any novels since October 2015 when she published the third installment of the Cormoran Strike. She has had a busy 2016 working on the popular 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' and the opening of the West End play 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child'.

Harry Potter creator and author J.K. Rowling attended the red carpet event at the Palace Theatre in London’s West End, August 2016

Just in case you have been wondering why she uses two pen names - JK Rowling and Robert Galbraith - she explained that her choosing the name Robert Galbraith was a way to distance herself from her normal. She said 'the decision to choose a male pseudonym was driven by a desire to take my writing persona as far away as possible from me'.

J.K. Rowling and the cast of 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' celebrate the film’s world premiere in New York, November 2016

JK Rowling has definitely had a life outside her writing and filmmaking career. In December 1990, Rowling lost her mother, Anne, to multiple sclerosis which she suffered for over ten years. The loss greatly affected her writing and she felt the need to channel the feeling through pen and paper to the outside world. This she did in her first book, Harry Potter, by writing Harry's feelings of loss in relation to her experience.

The now celebrated author also had a downside to her career. She had at one time seen herself as a failure many years after graduation from school. Her first marriage to a Portuguese journalist, Jorge Arantes, was not successful. They had a child, Jessica Isabel Rowling Arantes. She later got married to Neil Murray in 2001.