Author JK Rowling has revealed that she had offers from two TV firms to bring the crime novel she wrote under a pseudonym to the screen even before she was “outed”.
The Harry Potter creator was exposed last week after publishing a detective tale, The Cuckoo’s Calling, under the name of Robert Galbraith earlier this year.
Her unmasking left her angered, particularly when it emerged that her cover was blown by a senior figure at a legal firm which has represented her in the past.
Rowling has now pointed out that the book was already gathering interest for adaptations and had sold a respectable number of copies. But she said it was becoming “increasingly complicated” to keep the charade going.
The author reiterated that her exposure was not part of a clever marketing campaign to boost sales and she had gone to great lengths to continue under the guise.
Writing on a website set up for Galbraith, she said: “If anyone had seen the labyrinthine plans I laid to conceal my identity (or indeed my expression when I realised that the game was up), they would realise how little I wanted to be discovered.
“I hoped to keep the secret as long as possible. Being Robert Galbraith has been all about the work, which is my favourite part of being a writer.”