I never really thought much about J. K. Rowling. Sure, she is a woman and a mom. She's a writer and a celebrity, now, too. She's tackled lawsuits--that's how you know when you've really made it, eh? But I never thought about her personally. Until now.

The Harry Potter author is keen to help orphans, a cause close to almost every parent's heart, and she's putting some serious money into it, too. Rowling's newest title, The Tales Of Beedle The Bard, which is a spin-off from the Harry Potter series, is sure to make a ton of money. Rowling is counting on it, as she hopes to earn $30 million in sales from the book to fund a charity close to her heart--The Children's High Level Group, which provides for children orphaned in Europe.

Rowling, who co-founded the charity, made her decision after seeing the squalid conditions orphans in the Czech Republic lived in. Reading about Rowling's efforts makes me want to run out and buy every copy of the new novel to help her get to that $30 million! Someone will have to explain to me a "Beedle Bard" is though....