Tag Archives: Fifty

Fifty Shades Helps Random House Win UK’s BIA Publisher of the Year

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According to @fiftyshadesUK, the Bookseller Industry Awards are the equivalent of the publishing Oscars. Thanks, in part, to the record-breaking sales of the Fifty Shades trilogy by E L James, The Random House Group reps didn’t get dressed up for nothing.

The event, held at London’s Park Lane Hilton on May 13th, celebrated Random House’s success by honoring chief executive Dame Gail Rebuck and her team with the top publishing award.

We were honoured with the top publishing gong, after a record breaking year which started with the publishing phenomenon that is Fifty Shades and ended with us being the UK’s number 1 publisher.

In 2012 Random House achieved 28 number ones, won 70 prizes for its titles including the Nobel, Samuel Johnson and TS Eliot, and was hailed for its rapidly growing digital activity, now accounting for 22% of its UK net sales.

The award is a terrific tribute that reflects the Group’s collective creativity, skill and successes.

win_2013

Courtesy of The Bookseller

Congrats to Random House! The power of Fifty continues…

Sources: The Random House Group, The Bookseller

Gabriel’s Redemption Cover Reveal Plus Q and A With Sylvain Reynard

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*puts finger to lips* Shhhhhh. Don’t tell Fifty, but today’s post is about our other book boyfriend – Professor Gabriel O. Emerson.

Fifty Shades of Grey

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am indebted to the following people for their help and support:

…..

To SR, thank you for all the helpful advice from the start and for going first.

For those of you who don’t know, SR is the one and only Sylvain Reynard…friend and confidante of E L James, former Twilight fanfiction writer (The University of Edward Masen [UoEM]), and bestselling author of Gabriel’s Inferno and Gabriel’s Rapture.

Gabriel’s Inferno and Gabriel’s Rapture left old fans and new fans alike wanting to read more about the beloved main characters, Gabriel and his Julianne. SR’s response?

gabriel's redemption official cover

Summary:

“Professor Gabriel Emerson has left his position at the University of Toronto to embark on a new life with his beloved Julianne. Together, he’s confident that they can face any challenge.  And he’s eager to become a father.

But Julianne’s graduate program threatens Gabriel’s plans, as the pressures of being a student become all consuming. When she is given the honor of presenting an academic lecture at Oxford, Gabriel is forced to confront her about the subject of her presentation – research that conflicts with his own. And in Oxford, several individuals from their past appear, including an old nemesis intent on humiliating Julia and exposing one of Gabriel’s darkest secrets.

In an effort to confront his remaining demons, Gabriel begins a quest to discover more about his biological parents, beginning a chain of events that has startling repercussions for himself, Julianne, and his hope of having a family.”

The final installment of what is now known as Gabriel’s Trilogy will make its debut on December 3, 2013. You can pre-order via Amazon (print and ebook) here.

We asked SR to take part in a game we played with Ms. James (here), offering him six ‘Would you rather . . .’ questions. Of course we had to throw in our 50 cents. ;)

1.  Fun night out at a Maple Leafs game or classic rock concert? I’m a Habs fan so it would have to be the concert. The Leafs…. (shakes head). 

*We wonder how many times SR has seen The Police in concert…

2.  Buy a lady jewelry or shoes? Jewelry. Definitely. Although I can admire footwear as much as the next person, provided the next person is not the Professor.

*We’re of the opinion that one can never go wrong with gemstones.

3.  Fancy yourself more like Indiana Jones or Hans Solo? Indiana Jones. He has the better sense of style – specifically, glasses and argyle socks.

*Ah, yes, we see the resemblance! Hmmm…inspiration comes in many forms.

4.  Ballroom dancing or slow dancing at home? Slow dancing at home, clothing optional.

*Oh my!

5.  Tropical island paradise or quiet lake house retreat? Quiet lake house retreat in a remote location untouched by civilization, but with indoor plumbing, air conditioning, and wireless so I can stay in touch with readers. Oh, and a self-catering, fully stocked bar. Let me know when I can pick up the keys. Thank you.

*We can accommodate you here in the US and provide you with fresh-baked cupcakes! Please have your passport ready!

6.  Kid at heart or Wise beyond your years? Depends on the day or my proximity to the Thinkgeek website.

*Just when we were thinking Indiana Jones may have inspired SR when he created The Professor’s choice in bow ties… Now we are left wondering if it was really Doctor Who’s influence.

photo courtesy: http://www.thinkgeek.com/product/ec8a/

To keep track of SR and his argyle socks, click on the links: Website, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads

Thanks to SR and SR’s publicist Enn Bocci (@ennbocci) for letting us be a part of the cover reveal for Gabriel’s Redemption!

If you’re a fan of The Professor, like us, then go check out the six ‘Would you rather…’ questions with The Professor here.

Team Fifty Progress Report

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 Delayed gratification — Resisting a smaller but more immediate reward in order to receive a larger or more enduring reward later.

While progress seems slow to anxious FSoG fans, there is progress nonetheless.

  • Producers Dana Brunetti and Michael DeLuca recently met with FSoG screenwriter Kelly Marcel.

Lunch with a couple of friends @MichaelDe_Luca & @MissMarcelpic.twitter.com/RnZXI5re

Team Fifty Meeting

  • Yesterday, The Hollywood Reporter released a Q&A with Universal Chairman Adam Fogelson, the movie studio bringing the books to the big screen. To read the complete article, which includes a possible summer 2014 release of the first installment of the Fifty Shades trilogy, go here.

Q&A: Universal Chairman Wants ‘Fifty Shades’ for Summer 2014, More ‘Bourne’ and ‘Van Helsing’ Reboot http://shar.es/YMpYI 

 Retweeted by E L James
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  •  With the author herself preparing for a trip to California, Fogelson’s reply to THR’s question about Angelina Jolie being asked to direct FSoG is even more compelling.

No. We’re involved in a different project [the World War II drama Unbroken] with her. But we have had really, really interesting, great conversations with talented, serious filmmakers.

Let’s face it. We’re talking about Fifty here. Would we really want anything less than large and enduring? *raises glass* Here’s to delayed gratification ;)

The 50 Shades Cure for End-of-Summer Blues!

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Have the end-of-summer blahs set in yet? It’s inevitable. After all, summers are usually Greyt, but this summer was even better because Fifty heated things up! Well, summer may be over but with so much Fifty everywhere, we don’t expect the discussion of all things #50Shades to cool off! So there’s no reason to feel blue…only Grey!

RECAPS & UPDATES

  • Limited Edition Hardback Set Available in UK – Order via AmazonUK (here). We’ve been told there are plans for the set to be released in the States soon, so we’ll keep you updated. You can also look forward to a chance to win an autographed set, as tweeted by the author. We’re also excited about her new website coming soon!
    E L James ‏@E_L_James
    @osieperez @50ShadesMontage I will do a competition when I launch my new website… not sure when that will be though – so keep an eye!

  • Fifty Shades of Grey: The Classical Album Released – For more information, go here.

  • E L James’s Husband Niall Leonard’s Promotes New Young Adult Book Crusher – He did interviews with Today show here and CNN here and wrote a “day in the life” style article for the Huffington Post here.

  • FSoG Inspired Fashion Week – A lot of black and leather was seen from designers Lubov and Max Azria! Check it out here.

  • Web Video BOOKD: 50 Shades of Grey Episode (@radical.media) – We were asked to be a part of this episode, but due to logistics and timing, it just didn’t work out. But Crissy from the fansite Laters, Baby! makes an appearance :) Watch it here.
  • FSoG Parody Song Developments! Chris Ward dropped in to let us know his FSoG parody song has been getting radio air time in Ireland! Congratulations, Chris! You can leave him a comment/review on his Amazon page by clicking here.
  • @50ShadesofGrey Parody Becomes Book – This very fun(ny) parody Twitter account has 80,000+ followers and is even retweeted by the author. For more information on the book, go here.
  • FSoG Illustrations – WOW! Beautiful illustrations from The Stir depicting “scenes” from the books here. We highly recommend taking a look at these, especially if you enjoy graphic novels. Let us know if you were ‘pulled’ right into the books by these like we were!

  • Emma Watson Asked About Ana Rumors – While promoting her new film, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, she admitted she still hasn’t read the books but thinks being considered for any role by fans is “flattering.” In a much more informal situation, she was on a plane with her Perks co-star Nina Dobrev (Elena on the Vampire Diaries and girlfriend of Ian Somerhalder), and the two did an on-air interview with Ryan Seacrest. He asked if Emma was going to play Anastasia Steele, as per the rumors of her being paired with Ryan Gosling as Christian Grey. Nina, helming the phone, relayed, “She [Emma] would be FAR more interested if he were playing Christian Grey.” Isn’t it nice to hear when stars are fans of another star? You can hear the full on-air interview here.

  • Ryan Gosling Asked About Christian Rumors – While promoting his new movie The Place Beyond the Pines at TIFF, @IamBenLyons for @extratv asked, “Any chance of Fifty Shades of Grey? Everybody wants to know.” Ryan’s response as he walked away was, “I haven’t… What is this book everyone’s talking about? Seems very popular.” You can watch the video here. That was not a direct answer from someone who is usually very quick-witted. Let’s respond appropriately, shall we?

From: 50 Shades Movie Fansite

Subject: Evasive Red Carpet Tactics

Date: September 16, 2012 5:17 PM EST

To: Ryan Gosling, Actor/Director and potential Mr. Grey

Sir,

Congratulations on your new film, The Place Beyond the Pines, which was picked up by Fifty Shades franchise distributors Focus Features during TIFF. We wish you much success with that project, as well as your upcoming directorial debut with How To Catch A Monster. However, we would be remiss if we didn’t point out that we felt your answer to Mr. Lyons’ question about Fifty Shades of Grey was a bit evasive, coy, and almost like you were hiding something (all ESSENTIAL QUALITIES of Christian Grey.)

Perhaps you’ve had to sign some paperwork on the topic, one of those NDAs? If so, well played, and we do understand about these things. Next time, just give us a wink or “oh-so-secret smile.”

50 Shades Move Fansite xoxo

  • Author to Appear on Katie! Yes, we’ve mentioned it before, but we are just so excited for this! Tune into Katie! on Monday, September 17th! The @katieshow airs M-F at 3pm ET on ABC.
  • Ms. James has begun her second US book tour! Dates and locations are listed at the top of our blog or you can find them here.

Summer might be over and the weather cooling, but #50Shades fans can count on topics related to the books and information about the movie to continue to be a sizzling-hot topic!

Fall Premiere Season: Will Your Favorite TV Show Be Influenced by 50 Shades?

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Fans of SOAPnet will recognize this promo from July and August that boasted ’50 Shades of Summer!’

Did the tease work?

More teases have surfaced over the past few weeks from some of our favorite television stars. Since Fifty Shades of Grey dominated our summer reading, we eagerly expect references to the book to pop up all over this Fall’s television lineup!

Actor Paulo Costanzo teased us about a scene in an upcoming episode of his hit show Royal Pains while talking about his directorial debut on the series.

“When I read that scene, I was really like, ‘Oh boy. We’ve never seen this side of her before.’ It gave me shivers. It was a little bit of 50 Shades of Grey. It’s a little bit dangerous and sensual with underlying sexuality and fear. [Reshma] nailed it.”
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Jill Flint, Paulo Costanzo, Mark Feuerstein, Reshma Shetty

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David Boreanaz (Angel) teased us with a tweet showing us a picture of some various paraphenalia from the set of his show Bones.
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August 31, 2012

Fifty shades of Bones on set today. Pain or pleasure?. #Bones8 http://say.ly/dbR44UJ

David Boreanaz, Emily Deschanel

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Max Greenfield talked to Celebuzz about upcoming episodes for his show New Girl saying, “I haven’t read anything in any of those scripts about Fifty Shades of Grey, but I’m sure that it’s going to come up. If we were going to do it, we’d have to dedicate an entire episode to it and go all out. Slowly but surely, everyone in the apartment will be reading it. It will be like a sexual awakening!”
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Max Greenfield, Jake Johnson, Zooey Deschanel, Lamorne Morris

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We decided to ponder what other TV shows might be influenced by our summer reading.
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  • Grey’s Anatomy: Working in the double meaning of ‘Grey’ is a definite no-brainer for the show! This show has always brought on the hot and steamy, but perhaps favorite couple McDreamy and Meredith will seek to spice up their marriage with the use of a few toys?
  • Hawaii Five-0: Many of you have suggested Alex O’Loughlin as a potential candidate for Christian Grey. Wouldn’t it be Greyt if his character had to go under cover as a Christian Grey-type for a sting operation? Well first, McGarrett and Danno would probably argue over who is the better man for the job.
  • Two Broke Girls: Hmmm…maybe a dream sequence where Max and Caroline each dream that they meet their very own Christian Grey-type but have to sign paperwork saying they will no longer be friends. One signs, and the other refuses. When they wake up, will they share with each other who signed on the dotted line?
  • Glee:  What would Sue say? Inappropriately threaten the Cheerios with a spanking? Give a pep talk in which she assures students and teachers alike that she can handle pain better than any sub Christian Grey has ever had so bring it on? Or sing a song dressed in leather and taunting a riding crop? Whatever reference, we know Jane Lynch will deliver it perfectly as Sue!
  • Go On: This is Matthew Perry’s new show about a guy who is forced to go to group therapy. Not sure if there will be guest stars who attend the group, but if so, there’s bound to be a dark, brooding handsome man who shows up for group admitting he was seduced by his mother’s best friend when he was 15 years old into a life of a BDSM, right?
  • Family Guy and The Simpsons: Both of these shows thrive on pop culture, so we won’t be a bit surprised if references, though slightly twisted, are made! Marge might surprise Homer with a Yellow Room of Donuts!
  • Modern Family: It’s anyone’s guess how #50Shades will be worked in on this show or with which couple! That’s okay. Surprise us!
  • SNL: They had a great Mother’s Day Gift parody skit that even E L James thought was funny! Can they top it? We’re sure they’ll try this season.
And, of course, what we’re really hoping for are nods to the upcoming movie worked into the shows of fan favorites for Christian Grey – Ian Somerhalder (The Vampire Diaries) and Matt Bomer (White Collar).

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But as it stands now, the one television show we can definitely report will be chock full of #50Shades will be Katie Couric’s new talk show named simply, Katie, when Ms. James is her guest on September 17th. It’s not too early to set your DVRs!
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If you want to take part in a 50 Shades poll for the show, go here.
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Where do you hope you’ll be viewing Fifty Shades of Grey’s influence on your TV this Fall?
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Fifty Shades of Grey Fanmade Video–We Aim to Please

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Here we go! Another fanmade video intentionally acted out based on the book by E L James, which the videographer, Nick Acosta, sent to us directly. Nick is kind of a brave guy taking on this project just for the fun of it, don’t you think?

We’ve watched it, and we really liked it. Is it exactly as we had imagined? No, but we think it strives to fairly represent the book in many ways. Well, except for maybe that pocket door to the RRoP. How do you lock a pocket door exactly? ;) But we give a lot of props to all who were involved in making this video (and the mock movie poster) and greatly appreciate how effectively it brings to life the book’s dialogue and highlights some of the beloved details of the story!

In addition, we really like the scenes he chose to recreate as well as the #50ShadesMontage of clips at the end that tie in to the overall story.

Nick provided us with some background info in case you were wondering!

Has he read the books?

“I’m a young, ambitious filmmaker trying to make my mark and build a career in the industry. I read the books and found the story and characters very interesting.”

Why did he choose FSoG?

“I like to challenge myself as a filmmaker and do things I’ve never done before. Like Christian, “ANOTHER FIRST.” I wanted to tackle the story and shoot a scene. Actually, I wanted to shoot the entire film but just didn’t have the budget for it. I wish we could have done more, but this is the best we could do with the budget, time, and resources we had.”

Is he ready for the criticism of such a task? After all, everyone who loves FSoG has their own opinions.

“We knew (given the popularity) some people would love it and others would probably find it offensive, not being able to let go of what THEY believe the story should be. But to that I say, ‘Hey, you can’t please them all.’ And I’m happy with what we accomplished. Is it EXACTLY how the book SHOULD be as a movie? NO, but given what we had, I’m VERY pleased with it. I would do stuff differently, of course, if I had more time and money. But I have to admit this looks pretty good for low budget. Also, to answer those who ask why we did this, well as Christian would say, ‘BECAUSE I CAN.’”

~

We love that Nick is such a fan and invested so much of his heart and time into creating this without any backing from a big studio or popular actors. He really DID aim to please in creating this, and we ask that you be respectful to the filmmaker in your comments!

So tell us what your favorite parts of the video are and if any piece of it made you think a little bit differently about how the actual Fifty Shades of Grey movie might actually look.

Does submersing yourself in a fanmade video like this one make you more excited for the movie?

Before Fifty Shades: Characters We Now See as ‘Fiftyesque’

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Speculation about who will be cast in the main roles of Christian and Ana is ongoing and according to the author herself, it will be awhile.

Perhaps you have already voted in some online polls or narrowed your choices down to your top 3 picks for each character. Or, can you only see one actor in each role?

And just because we are Fifty Shades of Neutral here at FStM, it doesn’t mean that we don’t have opinions on the topic off the record. We’ve surprised each other by bringing up new potential candidates in our discussions over the past few weeks, some of which come from actors/actresses you have pointed out to us. We love getting new names thrown into the mix, names that aren’t already on everyone’s radar. Case in point:

But before we hear who ultimately gets the part of Christian Grey, we thought it would be fun to take a look back at actors who we can now see had Fiftyesque qualities, even if they didn’t necessarily have a playroom to explore their kinky side in… ;)

One of the great things about the Fifty Shades fandom is that there is no age bracket defining who is reading the books, so we went way back in hopes of appealing to a broader range of FSofG fans!

1942: Humphrey Bogart as Rick Blaine in Casablanca

“Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, she trips walks into mine.”

Rick Blaine was the well-dressed, successful business owner who we knew felt like he lost everything the day he watched the woman he loved walk out of his life.

       1974: Robert Redford as Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby

Mr. Gatsby was enigmatic, known for his expensive parties and riches but shielded his secrets.

1986: Tom Cruise as Maverick in Top Gun

He was cocky, handsome, and played to win. He wanted the one woman he wasn’t supposed to have. He didn’t have a playroom, but he did have a Danger Zone, and we wanted to be in it with him.

1986 (great year!): Mickey Rourke as John in Nine 1/2 Weeks 

Rich businessman. Dangerous seducer. Loved the control. Wanted to play games. Blindfolds. Need we say more?

1990: Richard Gere as Edward in Pretty Woman

Prematurely grey. Handsome. Started out as a no-nonsense, cut-throat executive. People always did as he said. But we knew he was tormented by his past, a hurt he tried to work through as he played the piano. Very Fiftyesque.

1992: Antonio Sabato, Jr. as Jagger Cates on GH

Perceived bad boy on a motorcycle, but the quiet, strong, tortured Jagger on General Hospital was a fan favorite. He rescued the girl he loved.

1994: George Clooney as Dr. Ross on ER

Now he was Fiftyesque: Confident, charming, charismatic, handsome, brooding with an insatiable sexual appetite and a penchant for breaking the rules. Despite this, in the end he was the beast that was tamed by the love and forgiveness of Nurse Hathaway.

1995: Brad Pitt as Tristan Ludlow in Legends of the Fall

A son and brother, fiercely protective of his family, tortured when he couldn’t keep them all safe. It took the love and patience of a woman willing to look deep into his soul before “he came into the quiet part of his life.”

2001: Ben Affleck as Capt. Rafe McCawley in Pearl Harbor

Yes, Captain! The old-fashioned love story in the first half of Pearl Harbor completely swept us off our feet and so did the mature, responsible, respectable character!

2003: Ed Burns as Jake Vig in Confidence

Smooth talking, tall, and convincing–perfect combination for everything he tried to get away with in his ‘profession.’

2003-2010: Julian McMahon as Dr. Christian Troy in Nip/Tuck

Sex addict.

He craved constant pleasure. Sexually adventurous to the point it almost always got him into trouble, but his forceful pushing…of the envelope, that is…was half the fun of watching that show!

Note: We wonder if the show’s creator Ryan Murphy (Glee, American Horror Story) ever considered giving Dr. Troy a playroom.

2005-2012: Shemar Moore as Derek Morgan in Criminal Minds

Protective, intelligent, and keeps a cool head. Fit to Fight. A history of losing his father and sexual abuse as a child altered his life but also drove him to succeed. Sexy takin’ down the bad guys!

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We know we left so many others off of this post, but that’s where you come in! Take the opportunity to tell us in the comments what other characters you’ve loved over the years that resonate with our beloved Fifty.

Is there a movie or tv character you truly loved in the past that reading FSoG rekindled your love for? Have you rewatched the movie or show recently with new Fiftyesque eyes?

Remember, it’s not just the actor, but the traits of a character he played!

Note: Current fan favorites, such as Ian Somerhalder, Henry Cavill, Matt Bomer, Alexander Skarsgard, Alex Pettyfer, etc., were omitted for the purpose of this post. We agree that they all have their own Fiftyesque qualities :)

Fifty Shades, In His Own Words

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With the movie development still in the early stages and fans feeling a sense of ‘missing’ the story and characters (yearning for more) once they reach the end of Fifty Shades Freed, author E L James has been asked repeatedly to write the story from Christian’s point of view.

A recent article in the NY Daily News fueled rumors when an unnamed source reported that Ms. James “is considering rewriting the best-selling trilogy” from the perspective of Christian Grey.

We are sure the recent whirlwind of book signings, travel, and movie studio meetings has left the author with little writing time. However, Ms. James has acknowledged that her fans are requesting Christian’s point of view. As previously mentioned here, she even addressed the question during her recent U.S. book tour, leaving the (RRoP) door open by replying, “Never say never.”

While the thought of getting to spend more time with the characters we have all come to know and love is exciting, we think that if she ultimately adds to the series, it is more likely to end up being one book that expresses his story and explores his history rather than chapter-for-chapter companion novels. But to borrow a phrase… Never say never.

Don’t we all want to know what’s going on inside Fifty’s tortured soul? What he’s thinking when Ana joins him in the darkness? What he’s feeling when she brings him into the light?

Would you be interested in reading a book added to the trilogy if it was told in Christian’s voice?

What’s in a Name?

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There will be many upcoming interviews with Ms. James. In addition to GOOD MORNING AMERICA and ABC 20/20, the TODAY show is also advertising an upcoming interview. There is so much to ask the author regarding the books, both about the story and their success, as well as her hopes for the movie. We are looking forward to all of it!

About a year ago, I had the opportunity to ask Ms. James a question about her story, and I wanted to share her answers with you here.

As has already been said (to near exhaustion), the story began as a Twilight fanfiction, so when Ms. James decided to publish the story, she had to assign new names to her characters. The nickname of ‘Fifty’ was already well established, but I was curious about what inspired her choices of ‘Christian’ and ‘Ana.’

Ms. James graced me with this response:

“Christian is the name of the character from the first novel I wrote after I read the Twilight series. I just love the name. I did my dissertation at university on the fall of the Tsar in Russia – and since then have always loved the name Anastasia… “

~

Ms. James’ explanation of ‘Anastasia’ didn’t surprise me in the least. From the first time I heard the name, I had immediately thought of the famous story of the Russian family. Okay, and maybe Disney’s spin on it.

I love how strong the name Christian is for Fifty, and yet I admit that I easily likened Fifty to Dr. Christian Troy from the FX show “Nip/Tuck” because much like Fifty, he was quite confident in his sexual escapades! That show was as addictive as reading “Fifty Shades of Grey” wasn’t it? There was definitely a lot of anticipation of what antics would be tried next. Dr. Troy is probably kicking himself for not having a Red Room of Pain ;)

Do you like the names Christian and Ana?

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