Friday, April 11, 2014

J is for J.K. Rowling

When I was in elementary school, I was sick one day and staying home for school.  Unfortunately, my mom had to take her car into the shop to get repaired, so we ended up in a small cafe called Fifth Corner on the main street of my home town, looking out and the window and feeling pretty miserable.  I remember actually thinking though about J.K. Rowling and how she began writing the Harry Potter series on napkins in a cafe.  The simplicity of it all inspired me and later that year, I began my own writing project.

After my third grade teacher finished reading The Prisoner of Azkaban to our class, I was devastated.  I didn't know how long I'd have to wait for the fourth book to come out.  Instead of waiting, I decided that I was going to write my own Harry Potter book four.  I don't know if a copy still exists or not, but I assure you it wasn't any good.  I was inspired by the characters and the stories in a way I hadn't really experienced books before.  I ended up sending the Harry Potter book four I wrote to J.K. Rowling.  In return, I got a picture of her and a nice generic fan letter.  I was so excited that I took it in to school and showed it in front of the whole class.


J.K. Rowling will never know the full extent of her influence over me and my family.  Not only did her books secure in me a love for reading, but I was also able to recommend them to my parents and my aunts.  Recently, my aunt expressed shock about that recommendation so many years ago: "I can't believe I ended up enjoying a book so much that was recommended by an eight year old!"  

I have a degree in creative writing, began a book blog, and will work at publishing company someday.  Though I can't say for certain, I am pretty sure I wouldn't be where I am today without J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter series, which is why I dedicated this A to Z challenge to Harry Potter. 

Tomorrow will be K is for Knocturn Alley!

8 comments:

  1. who is this lady, she sounds inspiring... grand group of postings... i have recently re-watched each film and i think nevel is the true hero... :)

    Thank you for being part of the "AtoZ Challenge", please stop on over to my site[s] and say "Hello"!
    Comment/Follow/Etc.

    Jeremy [Retro]
    AtoZ Challenge Co-Host [2014]

    Old is the New Cool...
    [Being-Retro]

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  2. Wow, it is so neat that you wrote your own 4th book at that age! When I was in middle school I began writing my own "Sweet Valley High" books, but with the people I went to school with. Mine were horrible too. I wonder if I still have them somewhere in my basement. Love this post! If you have time, and want to, you could check out my J post.

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    1. It's so great to hear that you had a similar experience growing up! :)

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  3. Fantastic post!
    It's so good to know that writers and great stories inspire others.
    I actually started writing my own version of book seven before it came out, just to see how close I would come. (Not as close... no, not as close at all. But it was fun!)

    Stopping by from the #atozchallenge !
    @JLenniDorner
    Thanks for visiting me yesterday.

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    1. I'm glad I'm not the only one who just couldn't wait for the books to be released! :)

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  4. It's amazing, how much an author can inspire us to become the people and writers we are today. I have similar inspirations, and I don't think I'd be where I am without them. Glad JK could do the same for you :)

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    1. Yes it is incredible how we can be so invested in a world created by another person...ah the magic of books! :)

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