JK ROWLING has revealed her husband played a vital role in her recent book series – by carrying out toilet research.
The Harry Potter author published the first novel in her Cormoran Strike series in 2013, under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith.
For months the author’s true identity was kept under wraps, until Rowling was eventually outed as the writer.
And she has now revealed how she managed to carry out research for the novel without arousing suspicion – with a little help from her husband.
A fan named ‘Ayodele’ took to Twitter to ask the author how she managed to gather the required research without tipping anyone off.
Rowling replied: “Reading glasses, no eye contact & I sent my husband into the men’s bathroom to find out how bad they smelled.”
‘Ayodele’ joked back: “Wanted to ask if you went in disguise…I’m a huge fan of yours.”
Another fan said: “Poor Neil has to smell piss for our enjoyment. Hope he got a free scone out of that.”
It is likely that the bestselling author asked her husband, doctor Neil Murray, to record the sights, sounds and smells of male toilets so that she could include these particulars in her novel.
After being revealed as the author, Rowling said she would have liked to remain anonymous a little while longer, stating: “Being Robert Galbraith has been such a liberating experience.
“It has been wonderful to publish without the hype and expectation and pure pleasure to get feedback under a different name.”
She has since kept on the pseudonym and published a further two books in the series – The Silkworm in 2014 and Career of Evil in 2015.
It is not the first time she has revealed the small ways in which her spouse has helped her during her career.
Last Christmas he bought her an inspirational mug emblazoned with the text ‘It’s whatev, do your thing Row-Row” for the times she needs a bit of motivation.
After meeting at the home of a mutual friend, the pair married in a private ceremony at Killiechassie House in Perthshire in December 2001.
They have one son, David Gordon Rowling Murray, who was born in 2003, alongside Rowling’s two daughters from previous relationships.
