J. K. Rowling

Did you know that JK Rowling used to be an English-language teacher before she became successful as the author of the Harry Potter series? She taught English to students in Portugal. She lived there from 1991 to 1994. During that time, she also worked on her first Harry Potter book.

After she taught in Portugal, she went back to Scotland. By then she was a single mother with a young daughter. She didn't have much money, but she didn't want to return to teaching and until she completed her book. Rowling enjoyed drinking coffee, so she did much of her writing in a café while her daughter took naps. She wrote quickly, and when her daughter was three, Rawlings finished Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

Many publishers were not interested in her book. She doesn't remember how many rejection letters she got, maybe 12. Finally a small publishing Company, Bloomsbury, accepted it. Shortly after its publication, the book began to sell quickly, and Rowling soon became famous. Now there are seven Harry Potter books, and rolling is one of the wealthiest and most successful women in the world.