"One of the things I love about this genre is unlike Harry Potter, where there was a through line, where there was an overarching story, a beginning and end, you are talking about discreet stories. So while a detective lives, you can keep giving him cases."
The bestselling author, who has been widely credited with helping to get a new generation of children reading with her blockbuster Harry Potter series, said she decided to use a pseudonym for her latest series to prove herself as a writer.
She said: "I wanted to prove to myself that I could get a book published on the merits of the book.
"A friend of mine said, 'Why did you need validation?', and I think possibly you need to be a writer to understand why.
"I had known for a long time that I had this character in my mind, and that I wanted to write a detective series and part of me hoped that I might be able to keep it long enough, kept the story going long enough to establish a series.
"I just wanted something, I suppose, just for me."
And Rowling revealed she has always been a huge fan of crime novels and drew inspiration from the genre for her Harry Potter series.
She said: "I love crime. I've always loved it. I read a lot of it and I think in many ways, and I think the Harry Potter books in many ways are whodunnits in disguise.
"I enjoy the golden age (crime) book. That's very much what I was trying to do with these books - to take that finite number of suspects - the genuine whodunnit style, but make it very contemporary, make it up to date and make sure this is a credible person and a credible back story."
- Daily Mail
