A new official site for J.K. Rowling’s pseudonym Robert Galbraith is now online at Robert-Galbraith.com. The website features information about the book as well as a FAQ section where Rowling has answered some burning questions about the book and her alias. Some questions are as follows:
Why did you choose to write a crime novel and why under a pseudonym? I’ve always loved reading detective fiction. Most of the Harry Potter stories are whodunits at heart (‘Order of the Phoenix’ is more of a why-did-he), but I’ve wanted to try the real thing for a long time. As for the pseudonym, I was yearning to go back to the beginning of a writing career in this new genre, to work without hype or expectation and to receive totally unvarnished feedback. It was a fantastic experience and I only wish it could have gone on a little longer.
Have you previously signed any copies as Robert Galbraith? How do we know they are genuine? Yes, I was asked by the publisher to sign a few copies of ‘The Cuckoo’s Calling’ as Robert Galbraith that were made available for sale around publication. While we can’t verify whether any particular book currently on eBay etc is genuine, any future books I sign in this way will be authenticated. My Robert Galbraith signature is distinctive and consistent; I spent a whole weekend practicing it to make sure.
Was revealing the true identity of Robert Galbraith not simply an elaborate marketing campaign to help boost sales? 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. I’m grateful for all the feedback from publishers and readers, and for some great reviews. Being Robert Galbraith has been all about the work, which is my favourite part of being a writer. This was not a leak or marketing ploy by me, my publisher or agent, both of whom have been completely supportive of my desire to fly under the radar. If sales were what mattered to me most, I would have written under my own name from the start, and with the greatest fanfare.
At the point I was ‘outed’, Robert had sold 8500 English language copies across all formats (hardback, eBook, library and audiobook) and received two offers from television production companies. The situation was becoming increasingly complicated, largely because Robert was doing rather better than we had expected him to, but we all still hoped to keep the secret a little longer. Yet Robert’s success during his first three months as a published writer (discounting sales made after I was found out) actually compares favourably with J.K. Rowling’s success over the equivalent period of her career!
Why the name Robert Galbraith? Do you have anything to say to all those Robert Galbraiths out there? I can only hope all the real Robert Galbraiths out there will be as forgiving as the real Harry Potters have been. I must say, I don’t think their plight is quite as embarrassing. I chose Robert because it is one of my favourite men’s names, because Robert F Kennedy is my hero and because, mercifully, I hadn’t used it for any of the characters in the Potter series or ‘The Casual Vacancy’.
Galbraith came about for a slightly odd reason. When I was a child, I really wanted to be called ‘Ella Galbraith’, and I’ve no idea why. I don’t even know how I knew that the surname existed, because I can’t remember ever meeting anyone with it. Be that as it may, the name had a fascination for me. I actually considered calling myself L A Galbraith for the Strike series, but for fairly obvious reasons decided that initials were a bad idea.
Odder still, there was a well-known economist called J K Galbraith, something I only remembered by the time it was far too late. I was completely paranoid that people might take this as a clue and land at my real identity, but thankfully nobody was looking that deeply at the author’s name.
What research did you do to write ‘The Cuckoo’s Calling’? I interviewed serving and ex-military people for as long as they would let me bother them. In fact, all my factual information came from military sources. I know a number of soldiers (both serving and veterans) and I’m close to two people in particular who were incredibly generous as I researched my hero’s background (they also helped me construct a CV for Robert). One of these friends is from the SIB. So while Strike himself is entirely fictional, his career and the experiences he’s had are based on factual accounts of real soldiers.
When the novel opens, Strike is seriously down on his luck. One of the reviews I treasured most (before Robert was unmasked) said that my hero faced his situation ‘with resolve, instead of clichéd self-destruction.’ I gave Strike many of the qualities of the military people to whom I am closest: strength of character, black humour, resilience and ingenuity.
I did a vast amount of research on below knee amputations and I also visited a lot of London pubs. The research involved in creating a contemporary novel was a huge part of the pleasure.
