Why JK Rowling concealed her identity when writing her new book series.

According to JK Rowling, her decision to write and publish her latest series under a pseudonym “wasn’t trying to trick or fool anyone.”

The 52-year-old Harry Potter author published her crime story, The Cuckoo’s Calling, under the pen name Robert Galbraith in 2013 before she was eventually outed by a legal firm.

“The pseudonym was a way of disconnecting myself from all of the baggage that comes with being me,” the best-selling author told Radio Times Magazine.

"Being me has many privileges, so this isn't a complaint in the slightest, but at the same time, as I entered this new genre, one that I'd always wanted to write in, I really wanted to go in without expectation."

The mother-of-three continued, "I wanted to go back to the beginning. I wanted it to just be about the writing. I wasn't trying to trick anyone or fool anyone, but I certainly hoped I'd be able to get three books out of Robert before anyone knew."

The Cuckoo's Calling was the first book in the three-part Cormoran Strike series. The Silkworm was released in 2014, and the final installment, Career of Evil was released in 2015.

Since its release, The Cuckoo's Calling has been adapted into three television episodes for BBC1, with episodes of the second and third novels to follow.

Due to the graphic nature of the plotline, producers have stressed all depictions of violence against women have been "sensitively filmed".

"I feel very strongly about it," said series executive producer Ruth Kenley-Letts.

"There have been shows I have felt unable to watch because of the voyeuristic level of violence against women. So, as a producer, I'm very careful about how that's shown on television."

Rowling, who is an executive producer of the new drama, has hinted at more Strike books, saying they could eventually outnumber her Harry Potter titles.

Listen: Mamamia's Book Club podcast discusses the newest must-read crime novel.