Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Now it’s Prissy Shades of Grey
Fears publishers will snub ‘no romps’ novel
FIFTY Shades Of Grey author E.L. James is penning a book with no sex – but can’t get it published.
The British writer, 56, who has made millions from raunchy novels, admits she isn’t optimistic about her less racy fiction. “I have written a book without sex in it but I don’t know if it will ever get published,” she admits.
Despite her fears, James, worth an estimated £116million, is continuing with the project and writes up to 2,000 words a day. She said: “It’s getting into it that is the thing. I needed to get it finished because I’ve been trying to write that f***er since 2009.”
It comes after her new erotic novel, The Mister, which sold 52,000 copies in its first week, is lined up for the big screen – and could inspire a new line of sex toys. The Fifty Shades trilogy took £1billion at the box office, and her latest prose tells the story of a British Lord who has an affair with his Albanian cleaner.
She also revealed how she splits her writing time between London, Cornwall and Los Angeles. She said: “The home in London is full of stuff, we’ve got 32 years of stuff in this house. In Cornwall it’s not like that. It’s very minimalist so I prefer to write there.”
And she reveals she sends notes to herself to stop her getting writers’ block. She said: “Eventually whatever you’re doing you’ll find some sort of inspiration. Once that happens, write that down. I usually send emails to myself on my phone.
“I’m a woman of a certain age so I tend to forget things,” she added.