A new 50 Shades novel from Christian Grey’s POV
(A Q&A with author E. L. James, who released Grey, the latest novel in her bestselling 50 Shades series last week.) Q. So, a novel about Christian: how long have you been thinking about telling his side of the story? A. During an event in London in 2012, I mentioned that I wanted to explore Christian’s side of the story, but the idea really gained traction when I began to hear from readers. Over the past few years, I’ve written bits and pieces from his POV and found getting inside his head to be both challenging and satisfying, so I kept at it. Q. You indicated that the inspiration for Grey came from your readers. What are some of the things they’ve said to you? A. Writing the first two chapters of Fifty Shades of Grey in Christian’s POV and putting them in the back of Fifty Shades Freed was where this really kicked off. I’ve had many, many emails and tweets and Facebook posts from readers asking me to continue with his side of the story. It was finding the time to do it that was tricky. Once the movie wrapped I found I had more time, and I started to think about it then. Frankly, it was therapy to return to these characters that I adore. Q. Why did you keep this work a secret/surprise? A. I always like to surprise readers, and I don’t believe in long engagements! Q. How excited were you to revisit these characters on the page? What was that like? As a writer, are they always with you? A. The characters and their voices are always with me. I might be out and about and spot something that I think Christian or Ana might like… and then they start bickering and bantering in my head. It’s tricky because I’ve been writing something else too, so it gets pretty crowded in there. Q. As you spent more time with Christian, exploring the story from his point of view, were there things about his character that surprised you? A. I think the biggest surprise for me was Christian’s relationship with his brother, Elliot, which was a lot closer than I had imagined. That was fun to explore. Elliot is the polar opposite of Christian, yet they have an easy fraternal camaraderie, which was a pleasure to write about.
She said the women she encountered lived in fear of their husbands cheating or leaving them. As they had mostly given up their own careers, they had no money or their own and only modest leverage. All of this pushed the women of the Upper East Side to embark on ridiculous diets, join exclusive, high-pressure gyms.
Q. You have readers all around the world who have fallen in love with Fifty Shades. Is there anything you want to tell them about Grey? A. I think Christian might have some surprises in store for them. But deep down I just hope they enjoy it.