‘Strike’ News and Words on Writing from J.K. Rowling

After a full weekend of magic at Universal Orlando Resort’s A Celebration of Harry Potter, this week brings news from another side of the world of J. K. Rowling. As fans patiently await an update on the fourth book in the Cormoran Strike series, yesterday the author made it pretty clear that we’ll need to sit tight awhile longer before getting our hands on it:

@jk_rowling Hi! Is there any update on Lethal White? I just finished rereading CoE and am once again dying for the next installment! 🙂 #CormoranStrike #lethalwhite

— Kelly Sugrue (@KellySugrue1) January 30, 2018

It progresses. Turns out the fourth in every one of my series has to be the longest. 🙄 https://t.co/cnXl2Qju6Y

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) January 30, 2018

Upon hearing the news, a collective red flag went up from the Harry Potter fandom, but Rowling also appeared to reconfirm that more installments in the series are coming:

Butttttt Order of the Phoenix was the longest Harry Potter book aha

— teagan (@Teagy7) January 30, 2018

I know. I mean, the longest *so far*. The fifth Galbraith definitely won't be as long as Lethal White. (Remind me I said that in a couple of years time, please.) https://t.co/KyPLMZ0sgF

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) January 30, 2018

Rowling, who has penned the series under the pseudonym, Robert Galbraith, also took the moment to share some of her writing techniques with curious followers:

@jk_rowling O.T.: How much of the story have you planned out before you start?

— Dave. #fbpe (@Shouty_Dave) January 30, 2018

I plan a lot. This particular novel's plan comprises a vast, complicated, colour-coded table showing all the suspects, with blue ink for clues and red ink for red herrings. https://t.co/Ab1uMqh20P

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) January 30, 2018

Pen, paper and then Microsoft Word 😏 https://t.co/zD2ImtRjFG

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) January 30, 2018

@jk_rowling Okay next question. What do you do when you're absolutely certain you've made all the wrong choices in your writing career? What, not applicable? 😂! Okay what do you do when you feel discouraged?

— Pam Stucky (@pamstucky) January 30, 2018

The wonderful thing about writing is that there is always a blank page waiting.
The terrifying thing about writing is that there is always a blank page waiting. https://t.co/jQsbNLusek

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) January 30, 2018

Leaky reported the name of the fourth book in the series, Lethal White, last March when Rowling let her Twitter flock guess the title. Late last year the series fansite Strikefans.com posted two imagined covers for the book and the author replied with what may have been a hint at the forthcoming plot:

Two fan-made Lethal White covers by @PotterCave and @kernelscorner. Who's still dying to read it? pic.twitter.com/AsyOTYaBcR

— Cormoran Strike (@CormoranStrike_) December 21, 2017

One of those would be particularly appropriate… https://t.co/jaOOYrylMd

— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) December 21, 2017

In other Strike-related news, the BBC announced earlier this week that the television adaptation of the third novel in the private detective series, Career of Evil, will air sometime in February on BBC One. The first two installments of the series, The Cuckoo’s Calling and The Silkworm, which star Tom Burke as private detective Cormoran Strike and Holliday Grainger as his assistant Robin Ellacott,  received rave reviews from critics and viewers alike when it premiered in the UK last fall. Strikefans.com were right there again when they posted news over the weekend of the exact dates of its return, but they have yet to be confirmed by the BBC.

Strike – Career of Evil airs 25th February on @BBCOne! 🔎 pic.twitter.com/XwXO5YDJo0

— Cormoran Strike (@CormoranStrike_) January 28, 2018

Stateside fans are itching for the premiere of the detective series in the U.S . As covered by Leaky last October, The Cuckoo’s Calling, The Silkworm, and Career of Evil, renamed C.B. Strike, will air for seven weeks beginning in June 2018 on the HBO-owned premium network Cinemax.

Are you a fan of the Cormoran Strike series? How excited are you that book four may be the longest one yet? Let us know if you’ll be watching Career of Evil next month and if you’ll be as giddy as we will be when Lethal White’s release date is out. Watching Strike on the small screen definitely whets our appetite for Cormoran and Robin’s next adventure!