Next Gen Harry Potter? - The Eyes of a King by Catherine Banner

A 19 year old girl is being heralded as “the next J.K. Rowling,” an admirable title for anyone, but the fact that Catherine Banner wrote the book when she was only 14 makes it even more incredible.

The Eyes of a King, the title of the teen author’s fantasy book, was officially released this week, and is now available internationally.

“She has now completed the second part of the trilogy and could soon become as big as Rowling’s successful Harry Potter stories,” the Daily Mail says.

Like the Harry Potter series, it too is aimed at young teens and features mysteries about youth living both in England and in a parallel world, in a city called Malonia. It also comes at a favourable time as many Potter fans mourn the publication of Rowling’s last Potter book. In addition, she has been approached by film makers, so even buffs of the Harry Potter movies could get there fix.

“I started the book when I was 14 and used to write after school and at the weekends,” says Banner.

“It was just a bit of fun. I had an idea for a story so I wrote it down to see how it would turn out.

“I had always dreamed of being a writer but it never crossed my mind that the book would be published.”

She hopes to have the third part finished by next summer, after which she wants to pursue an English degree.