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JK Rowling has sparked a mystery worthy of inclusion in any one of her best selling novels by using a picture of Sark as the header image on her official social media account.
The picture appears to have been posted on X (formerly Tiwtter) by the Harry Potter author late last week.
Rumours around why Ms Rowling has featured an image of Sark's La Coupee so prominently on her account have been building over the weekend.
The top suggestions appear to be that she has recently visited the Bailiwick on holiday, is setting a book in Sark, or is buying Brecqhou from the Barclay family.
Pictured: A glimpse of the gothic castle on Brecqhou from Sark.
Estate agents have recently been called in to help sell off more than 100 properties owned by the Barclay family on Sark, ranging from homes to hotels, restaurants and pubs
The Barclay Brothers – Sir Frederick and his late brother Sir David – bought Brecqhou in 1993 and set about having a gothic castle built, using local tradesmen to do most of the work. Despite being notoriously private, some images of the castle are available online.
The island also has a helipad, staff quarters, including a bar, and other amenities for the private use of the Barclay family, their staff, and guests.
It could make the ideal private retreat for a philanthropic, millionaire author, who has attracted negative attention online due to her anit-trans views but continues to produce 'best selling books' – most recently under her pseudonym Robert Galbraith.
Pictured: JK Rowling has sold an estimated 600million books – the majority of which are in her wildly popular Harry Potter series.
The possibility of JK Rowling – or Robert Galbraith – using Sark as a setting for a novel was raised by the X account @sark_stories.
This sparked suggestions of names, with the Seneschal Victoria Stamps coming up with 'Harry Potter and the stag party of doom'.
Perhaps 'Harry Potter and the collapsing Coupee' could be another idea after recent reports of a section on one side of the walkway washing away in bad weather earlier this year.
Sark has a history of being the location for novels, with Mr Pye among the most famous.
Arguably Brecqhou could also be a location for some wizard-themed books in the Harry Potter series, with its gothic castle following in the hallowed footsteps of Hogwarts.
It appears unlikely that Ms Rowling has recently visited the Bailiwick, but she may have hinted that she will do in the future.
Sark's Stocks Hotel spotted her picture of La Coupee and said it was "great to see".
With little visitor accommodation open in Sark during the winter months, it would seem likely that someone of Ms Rowling's means would stay at Stocks.
Therefore, either the hotel management are (rightly) keeping the famous author's stay confidential, or the social media manager was taken by surprise when Ms Rowling chose a picture of La Coupee for her social media account.
A visit to Sark, however private, would involve a stop off in Guernsey via the harbour or airport to clear customs.
No one in the Express Guernsey office has heard rumours of JK Rowling being spotted at either entry point. Have you? Let us know if so!
If Ms Rowling does choose to visit the Bailiwick, the controversial author has indicated she might take tea with the Guernsey branch of the Women's Right Network.
The writer has long been outspoken about women's rights – having shared her own background of living in poverty after leaving an abusive marriage.
Despite describing herself as a feminist, Ms Rowling's views have put her at odds with those supporting equal rights for trans-women alongside cis-women.
This has often resulted in her being branded a 'TERF' – a trans-exclusionary radical feminist' – a term used by intersectional feminists to reject the views of activists like Ms Rowling who are hostile to the inclusion of trans women in the feminist movement.
The Guernsey branch of the Women's Rights Network used X to invite Ms Rowling to meet them for tea, with other users of the social media site also encouraging this.
Ms Rowling responded positively by 'liking' the posts.
Express has contacted JK Rowling's press office to ask why she has used a photo of Sark's La Coupee on her X account.
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