This week’s writing links feature a secret J.K. Rowling book, pictures from the upcoming adaptation of The Maze Runner, a possible Guillermo del Toro/Charlie Kaufman Slaughterhouse-Five team-up on the horizon and the AV Club’s review of The Long War by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter.

Earlier this week it was revealed that Harry Potter scribe J.K. Rowling was the secret author of a crime fiction novel called The Cuckoo’s Calling, which she published under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. The book, which had already been out a few months, had been reviewed well but sold in relatively modest numbers. Until now, that is. Once Rowling was outed as the author, sales of the book supposedly jumped up 150,000%, which is pretty absurd and great if you ask me. I was very tempted to dig through old reviews of the book to see if there were any scathing comments about Robert Galbraith never amounting to anything or selling more than a few copies of his books. That would have been quite entertaining. Either way, the book is selling like steroids at the All-Star game right now and you’ll be lucky to find a copy at book stores. Take that, Fifty Shades of Grey!

In book adaptation news, photos are emerging for the movie version of YA bestseller The Maze Runner. The story, which honestly plays a bit like a Cube/Hunger Games mash-up, will inevitably be lumped together will the slew of YA fantasy/sci-fi movies on the horizon, including Ender’s Game and Catching Fire, but it has the capability to stand on its own feet if it’s done well. It will be interesting to see what the infamous rolling balls of death known as the ‘grievers’ will look like.

Also, there is talk that the Guillermo del Toro/Charlie Kaufman version of Slaughterhouse-Five may once again have legs after initially wasting away in limbo. Many of the projects (or budgets) that del Toro will be allowed to take on may hinge of the success of his recently released Pacific Rim, so the next couple of months will be very telling for him. While his Robots vs Kaiju film has had a sluggish start to its domestic box-office, an international cast and Asia-centric material has the movie performing well internationally. Here’s to hoping that the trend continues overseas and the movie makes some money. Idris Elba cannot cancel the Apocalypse unless you go see the damn movie.

Links:

– Pictures From Upcoming The Maze Runner Movie (io9)

– J.K. Rowling’s New Secret Crime Thriller (cnn)

– Neil Gaiman: The Magic of Fiction (locusmag)

– AV Club Reviews Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter’s Sequel The Long War (avclub)

–  Space Time Loops May Explain Black Holes (yahoo)

– Michael Connelly’s Favorite Bits of Writing Advice (writersdigest)

– Amazon Launches Comic Book Imprint With Adaptations (avclub)

– 50 Places Every Literary Fan Should Visit (flavorwire)

– Guillermo del Toro To Adapt Slaughterhouse-Five With Charlie Kaufman (avclub)

– How I Got My Agent: Lori Roy (writersdigest)

– Which Book Species Are You? (bookpatrol)