When the first Harry Potter books magically appeared in bookstores, the world of children’s literature changed forever. Every child and adult alike reveled in the highly imaginative, fantastical world of the boy wizard and when Hollywood spun out its cinematic versions of these beloved tales, the Harry Potter phenomenon was elevated to the status of cultural legend. But just who was responsible for dreaming up such a wild world of witches and wizards, ghosts and giants, spells and sorcery? The answer? J.K. Rowling. And although today this name is now synonymous with the world of magic and wizardry, just who is this enigmatic author, and what influences shaped her life enough to create such fantastical fiction? The truth behind the legend reads like a fairy tale itself, for J.K. Rowling started her illustrious career as a struggling, poverty-stricken single mother who penned her manuscript in an Edinburgh coffee shop and rose to the ranks of a celebrity multi-millionaire. “J.K. Rowling