A true Wizard

A True Wizard

Harry Potter is a well-loved character for both children and adults alike. Thousands of fans still get enchanted by Harry and his friends in various ways both on and off screen. Ever wondered about the person who brought Harry to life? Let's take a look at the real wizard who created Harry.

Joanne Rowling, or Jo Rowling was born on 31^st July, 1965. Her parents, Pete and Anne Rowling, worked for the British Navy. Jo also had a younger sister called Diane.

After the birth of her children, Anne Rowling decided to stay home to look after them. Pete Rowling decided to leave the military to lead a civilian's life. He worked for an aircraft factory in Bristol, and he was doing really well. Besides housework, Anne Rowling really loved to read. As a result, books were always available in the Rowling house. Jo fell in love with words at a very early age. After writing her first story when she was five or six years old, Jo knew her secret wish was to become a writer someday.

Many years later, in 1990, Jo had to travel to Manchester quite frequently to visit a friend. One day, her train was delayed for a few hours. While waiting, the idea of Harry began to form in her head. She did not have a pen or paper to write it down then. In the same year, Jo lost her mother to a terminal illness called Multiple Sclerosis.

Harry helped the author cope up with personal grief. Besides her mother's death, Jo was also separated from her husband and had to bring up her little daughter on her own. She had to become a teacher in Portugal. Jo would write between classes, or in a cafwhile her daughter Jessica slept in a stroller.

In 1995, five years after the initial idea had struck her, Jo Rowling finally completed Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. She had placed the first three typed chapters of the novel inside a plastic folder, and mailed it to a place called The Christopher Little Literary Agency. At that time, the agency used to support writers of crime fiction. There were no children's authors in its list of clients. Somehow, Byrony Evans, the agency employee in charge of the mail, noticed the plastic folder.

Children's literature happened to be one of Byrony's personal favorites. She was so thrilled by Jo's skillful creativity, that she, along with one of her colleagues, eventually persuaded the owner of the agency to contact the author.

In 1996, after becoming Jo's agent, The Christopher Literary Agency sent her manuscript to a dozen publishers. All of them said a plain "no" to it. At last, the children's division of Bloomsbury said it would pay 2000 pounds for the initial 500 copies of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. (Later, Scholastic got permission to print the books for the USA).

Jo Rowling wasn't born with a silver spoon in her mouth. She had known various struggles as a single mother, including monetary ones. Therefore, even after tons of awards and fame, she did not stop helping struggling single parents. She continues to donate for treatment or research for Multiple Sclerosis. She's trying in her own way to help those in need, because she did not forget her past.

Her creativity taught children to differentiate between good and evil. She still continues to write under different pen names. Harry Potter will always keep her alive in many little hearts, even if she stops writing.

Source of info:

• J.K. Rowling, Author of Harry Potter: By - Karen Leigh Harmin.

• www.jkrowling.com