I just read an interesting article about the wild success of E.L. James’ Fifty Shades of Grey and how Vintage Books (a paperback division of Random House) has acquired the trilogy—Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker, and Fifty Shades. The e-book editions will be available March 12 and the paperbacks are due this April.
The success of James’ book has been largely word-of-mouth since its distribution. The novels tell the story of the romance between a young billionaire, Christian Grey, and Anastasia Steele, a college student. Word is that the novel’s erotic writing is sometime labeled as “mommy porn.” I don't know about you, but I find that label somewhat offensive. I mean, you don't have to be a mommy to enjoy it, right?
As with almost every publishing phenomenon, there is a controversy surrounding it. Some claim that the series is Twilight derivative in terms of the heroine’s character, narrative point of view and themes. This might be the case because James’ trilogy started out as fan fiction. (Fan fiction in an online genre where fans can write and publish their own versions and variations of popular characters). James used Bella and Edward and changed their setting from Forks to Seattle. James’ stories were a success and attracted a large following. In James’ defense, Vintage states that she took her original story and reworked into the Grey trilogy with its own set of characters and conflicts.
Regardless of the debate, James’ trilogy is sure to be hitting the bestselling lists soon. (but can we come up with a better marketing label, please?)
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