BDSM MEDIA NEWS!!!!
07 march 2012
Bondage writer whose books have taken America by storm is British mother-of-two
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk - Dailymail.co.uk - UK
UK - The erotic novels about BDSM - bondage, discipline, sadism, masochism - became an instant hit and were credited with rekindling the lives of U.S. women.
But mystery surrounded the real identity of an American publishing sensations who went by the pen name EL James... until now.
It turns out the author is 48-year-old British mother of two Erika Leonard.
The Evening Standard tracked her down to the terrace home in Brentford she shares with scriptwriter husband Niall and two teenage sons.
She said: ‘How did you find me? I didn’t want my real name to come out.’
She declined to comment further, saying she feared her ‘small publisher’ would be swamped with demand as a result of the publicity.
The first of her books, Fifty Shades of Grey, which was published last May, is ranked 28th in the New York Times bestseller list and is top of the Amazon and Barnes & Noble charts.
It was followed by Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed, each of which tells of a dangerous and erotic world of high society bondage and sexual desire.
Ninety per cent of the trilogy’s 100,000 sales have been as e-books. Actual copies are listed on Amazon at up to $999.99 (£630).
The main character is Christian Grey, a 27-year-old billionaire who seduces young graduate Anastasia Steele.
The stories have been likened to the Twilight TV series, though suggestions of plagiarism are denied.
Last week Leonard, using her alias, told the New York Times she felt ‘blown away by the popularity’. She said: ‘I’m gobsmacked by all of this.’
The former TV producer, who has worked on Have I Got News For You and Room 101, added: ‘Fifty Shades is my midlife crisis.’
Leonard began writing BDSM stories in 2009 when she posted ‘fan fiction’ tales online based around the Twilight series.
She was offered a book deal by Australian publishing house The Writers’ Coffee Shop.
The books are aimed at women and Leonard told the Standard’s male reporters: ‘It’s not for you. Buy it for your girlfriend.’
Note Tom Verhoeven (BDSMradio.eu.)
The website from E L James: www.eljamesauthor.com.
