Report: Rowling writing detective novel

J.K. Rowling

    British author J K Rowling at the release of her latest Harry Potter book called 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' at the Natural History Museum in London, Friday July 20, 2007.J.K. Rowling has been spotted at cafes in Scotland working on a detective novel, a British newspaper reported Saturday.

    The Sunday Times newspaper quoted Ian Rankin, a fellow author and neighbor of Rowling's, as saying the creator of the "Harry Potter" books is turning to crime fiction.

    "My wife spotted her writing her Edinburgh criminal detective novel," the newspaper quoted Rankin as telling a reporter at an Edinburgh literary festival.

    "It is great that she has not abandoned writing or Edinburgh cafes," said Rankin, who is known for his own police novels set in the historic Scottish city.

    Rowling famously wrote initial drafts of the Potter story in the Scottish city's cafes. Back then, she was a struggling single mother who wrote in cafes to save on the heating bill at home.

    Now she's Britain's richest woman - worth $1 billion, according to Forbes magazine - and her seven Potter books have sold more than 335 million copies worldwide.

    In an interview with The Associated Press last month, Rowling said she believed she was unlikely to repeat the success of the Potter series, but confirmed she had plans to work on new books.

    "I'll do exactly what I did with Harry - I'll write what I really want to write," Rowling said.

    据英国一家报纸上周六消息，有人发现J.K.罗琳又在苏格兰的咖啡馆里写起了侦探小说。

    公开这个“秘密”的人是罗琳的邻居、侦探小说作家伊恩·兰金。《星期日泰晤士报》援引兰金的话说，这位《哈利·波特》的作者开始“转型”写侦探小说了。

    兰金在爱丁堡文学节上接受了一位记者的采访。《星期日泰晤士报》援引他的话说：“我的妻子发现她正在撰写一本爱丁堡犯罪侦探小说。”

    兰金说：“值得高兴的是她没有放弃写作和爱丁堡咖啡馆。”兰金创作的以苏格兰历史古城爱丁堡为背景的警匪小说十分著名。

    罗琳刚开始写《哈利·波特》时，爱丁堡的咖啡馆是她的“创作地”。那时，身为单身妈妈的罗琳生活艰难，她为了节省家里的取暖费，就去咖啡馆写作。

    据《福布斯》杂志统计，如今罗琳的个人资产已达到10亿英镑，成为英国最富有的女性。她的七本《哈利·波特》丛书的全球销量超过3.35亿册。

    上月，罗琳在接受美联社的采访时说，她觉得自己不可能延续《哈利·波特》的成功，但同时证实自己有了创作新书的计划。

    罗琳说：“我要像写《哈利·波特》那样来写新书，写出自己真正想写的东西。”（英语点津姗姗编辑）