LONDON —
E. L. James doesn't like to talk to reporters and they often wonder about something very personal, like how much money she makes and whether she has a sex dungeon in the basement.
Her aversion to propaganda may be inconvenient and somewhat impractical.
As one of the most famous cities in the world
Ask the author that she must receive occasional inquiries from the public, especially when she has a new book to promote.
But she was not satisfied with it.
"She hates it," her agent Valerie Hawkins told me ominous on the phone a week before I met James.
Normally, this position
A class that is more hostile than celebrity's typical contradictory psychology to gossip reporters --
Will make the interview uncomfortable
But when James greeted me at her bright and airy home in a calm suburb of Ealing in west London, she lived with her husband, writer Neil Leonard and their two clothes, she doesn't seem at all at ease, at least on the surface.
She advised us to sit in her huge, spotless kitchen and talk about her new romantic novel "sir when we moved to her office and suggested it would be better to make pastries with apricot sauce.
She talks about her 22-year-old and 24-year-old son, as well as her obsession with TV shows (
Game of Thrones and strange things).
When I asked her what she did in her spare time and when she did not write or run a complex business as E L James, she lamented her lack of hobbies.
She couldn't figure out what she did for fun.
"I need a hobby," she said . "
"Writing used to be my hobby.
"This hobby has become a billion in the past eight years.
Dollar entertainment and James have gone from an anonymous writer who posted sexy fantasies online to a porn that runs its own little twist Empire
When James first released Fifty Shades of Gray through a small Australian media in 2011, she hoped to sell thousands of copies and prevent online copywriters from stealing her work.
Instead, her porn trilogy sold more than 0. 15 billion copies worldwide and was translated into about 50 languages including Arabic and Mongolian.
The series has been adapted into a feature film series that grossed more than $1 billion worldwide. produced.
It helps popularize niche fetishes involving bondage and anal plugs, bringing them from the edge to the mainstream.
"It's still a bit of a shock to me," James said, personally meeting funny, casual profanity and surprisingly unguarded people.
"I 've been watching, what's going on?
"Supervising a very successful multimedia franchise company left little time for James --
Time hobbies, writing.
In addition, the 56-year-old James faces the impossible expectations set by her blockbuster debut, as greedy fans have been calling for more sequels.
Inevitably, many of her readers will be disappointed with any story that does not involve dominance
The submissive relationship between the abused billionaire Christian Gray and his dem Jing conquered Anasta Steele, who became his willing sexual servant.
So it took her a while to write something new.
"I'm very nervous about it," she said . ".
"There are other stories I want to tell.
I 've been with these two for so long.
Since "Sir" became an international phenomenon, her first original novel, James hopes to usher in a new phase in her career.
Her recent work is boring. by comparison)
The love story, which takes place mainly in contemporary London and Cornwall, is about a wealthy English nobleman who fell in love with his cleaner, and a beautiful and mysterious young woman who fled.
From a Hollywood perspective, it's like a porn movie.
Cinderella and Downton manor.
James went to Afghanistan twice to study the novel and collected a small library about the country, including an ethnic Dictionary, an ethnic social regulation and a guide to law, there is also a book on organized crime by ethnic minorities.
Her husband is a family chef and she has learned to make traditional A-style stew.
This is very different from the research she has done for "Fifty Shades", which includes lurking in some dark corners of the Internet, browsing techniques and accessories dedicated to sexual slavery
For fans looking forward to another story, "Sir" may be disappointing.
The sexual scene is clear and broad, but there is almost no crossing and boundary
Press "Fifty Shades.
But in addition to entertainment, James has other narrative goals.
Under the illusion of the bubble, the "gentleman" dealt with unexpected major topics such as economic inequality, the plight of undocumented workers, and the oppression of women by conservative society, and the ways in which social institutions and governments promote the rich, powerful and vulnerable.
These themes are particularly important in the UK today, as Britain's debate over Britain's exit from the EU exposes ugly differences in race, class and British identity.
James has recently begun to focus on these issues, especially since she has fallen into wealth and has witnessed how society is good for the rich.
"It's important for me to put something in," she said . ".
"As a very rich person, you will leave the money behind.
"James is a passionate afterthought, and she wants the UK to stay in the EU, and although she knows she has the risk of alienating some of her fans, she broadcast the position undisguised on social media.
In her interview with Mr. , the issue was repeated, including the media in France and Norway.
She expects a rebound, in part because we live in such a polarized era, but also because she expects to review everything she does.
"As a successful middle class
"Women who are older and overweight, people are so angry that you are crossing the line," she said . ".
"Sometimes it's really frustrating for me.
Before her name became Super synonymous
James, whose real name is Erika Mitchell, has worked on television for decades as production director for the BBC and other companies.
She grew up in buckin County, where her father worked as a BBC photographer and her mother immigrated from Chile as a sales representative.
She studied history at Kent University and then found a job at the National Film and Television School.
She met Leonard, a screenwriter and novelist, and got married in 1987.
She always evades romance.
To entertain herself on the way to and from work every day, she read everything from the steam historical love story involving the lewd Duke and count to the lesbian-bound novel.
Then she discovers twilight, the pure teen vampire romance story of Stephanie Meyer.
Like many other "Twi-
James began to write her own clear view of the story and published it online in the name of Snow Queen Ice Dragon.
Her work is still a confusing reason for James.
In order to avoid copyright infringement, she changed the name of the character, and in 2011, a small Australian publishing house agreed to publish it.
Less than a year later, James was engulfed by a frenzy that she called "great madness.
Big publishing houses and film studios began to show her good.
A publisher wants to change the cover of the novel to bare. chested man.
Another said it took too long to have sex.
Anne Messi, publisher of vintage and Anchor Books, won James's support, saying the novels should be placed in front of the bookstore rather than buried in the erotic section.
Vintage builds a complex deal that transfers publishing rights from Australian publishers while purchasing potential rights from James.
The company paid 7-
The sum of the figures for the trilogy and ordered 750,000-
Copy the print run first.
Universal bought the film's copyright for $5 million, surpassing several other studios that offer millions of dollars. dollar deals.
The books sold so fast in the UK that James's own iconic black and metal gray cover printer ran out of silver ink.
In the United States, in order to meet the demand, wine is printed more than million copies per week, exceeding the paper supplier.
"We can't get enough paper," said Messitte . ".
"It feels a little surreal.
At the book signing meeting, fans cried, which in turn made James cry (
Her PR staff always carry a box of paper towels when traveling).
Portland, Oregon
A reporter from a local television station chased her car in the street.
James was confused about her success overnight.
She told her agent from the beginning that she didn't want to be famous.
"I said, it's not my fault, you wrote the damn book, it's not me," recalls her agent Hawkins . ".
The series changed the literary landscape and paved the way for more boundaries
Driving porn has changed the way major retailers and entertainment companies cater to women's needs.
Sales of sex toys surged.
Target began selling "50 color" lubricants, vibration rings and eye masks.
James became a taboo.
Break the evangelist for certain sexual fantasies that women are often silent or ashamed.
"It's not just her exploration of something, she commercializes it," said Anne Jamison, an associate professor of English at the University of Utah who studies fan fiction.
James signed a license agreement for everything in "Fifty Shades"
Branded wine and underwear for whip flo, vibrators and handcuffs and to personally supervise the development of many of these items.
Perhaps the most out of coordination is that she even authorized a "fifty-color" teddy bear with mini handcuffs and blindfolds.
"We started to make trademarks just to stop people from doing these things," she told me in her office that the office was decorated with "Fifty Shades" of utensils --poster-
An image of the size of the cover, a toy helicopter imitating Christian Gray, one of the infamous teddy bears.
"You don't want someone to do a bad job.
"James wanted to show me some of the nipple clips she worked with sex to help design --
Lovehoney, a toy manufacturer in 50 colors, UK
Themed Porn accessories
Lovhony first came up with some heavy industry.
James refused. it looked like a clip.
"They look like they can start scientific Stan," James said . ".
She asked the company to "make them beautiful" and her satisfaction with the next iteration.
James called her assistant in the next room and he brought us delicate rosesgold clamps.
"Don't let me demonstrate," she said dryly as she handed them over to James.
About half Noon, a car arrived and drove James to a Kensington hotel to take photos, a feature that you Magazine is about to launch on Sunday.
In the car, James took the initiative to comment on the first film of Fifty Shades, which she felt did not capture the charm of the novel.
Her agent, who has been an unobtrusive Guardian, gently interjected and suggested that she continue to discuss another topic.
On the sidewalk in front of the hotel, Charlotte Bush, the propaganda director of James's UK press arrow, greeted James warmly to show her neatly trimmed nails, which she painted pink, to match the font on the cover of "Sir.
"Here's the talent!
As she led James to a makeshift locker room, Bush shouted, and the hair stylist and makeup artist began to act and began to serve her.
"All this fuss is lovely," James said . ".
"I am the kind of person who seldom makes a fuss.
The makeup artist responded: "That's because you are a writer . "
James picked out the evening dress that the designers brought her.
She thinks one is "very matronly ".
The other one is "very kafan-
Another "too print-y.
James checked another sparkling gown: "It looks a bit too . . . . . . "
A stylist concluded.
Finally, James chose a dress of her own that she brought from home, a long blue dress with a deep V-
She bought it for one of the film's 50 Shades premiere.
As the crazy makeover continues, James's PR guy Bush wants to discuss some potential viral marketing gimmicks to promote "Sir ".
"One of her thoughts was quickly abandoned, and that was the pink light from a lighthouse in Cornwall, a coastal county where some of the novel took place
But Bush says The lighthouse man opposes it because a pink lighthouse could pose a danger to the ship.
James thinks it is not worth the disaster.
"The idea of the lighthouse is very sweet, but it won't if it's life-threatening," James said . ".
The next advice from this PR guy is not that dangerous.
She offered to ask a pianist to play at the center of Sloane Square because the heroine in the novel was a piano genius.
James likes the idea.
"What about the pianist? ” Bush asks.
James replied, "of course . "
"I'm on it," Bush said, watching her phone.
James gently suggested that she be sure to adjust the piano.
After the photo was taken, James drank a Negroni at the hotel's bar, a happy anonymous.
She was rarely recognized by strangers and joked that she wanted to set up a spy agency made up of middlemenaged women.
"You can go anywhere, you can't see," she said . ".
She is worried that the upcoming "Sir" propaganda blitz will expose her too much.
A fan approached her in public a while ago and she thought it was a bad sign.
"It happened the other day, and I think I did too much on TV," she said . "
It's not clear how James's readers will respond to "Sir", or whether their dedication to the author goes beyond their love of Christian Gray, and the infinity of more of the same storyOther mega-best-
Including Stephanie Meyer and J. K.
After finishing their successful fantasy series, Rowling changed the genre and re-shaped her brand, keeping only a small audience.
James seems to have almost exhausted her own interest in "Fifty Shades.
She wrote a supernatural romantic novel.
Ghost stories in the context of contemporary London
She hopes to publish the film and is considering a sequel to Mr.
"There are so many ideas that everyone thinks, oh, back to what you 've been doing for the past 10 years," she said . ".
But the reader has put things in his own hands, whether James wrote them or not, to make sure the story goes on.
On websites like fanfiction
Amateur writers net and Wattpad have published tens of thousands of stories based on "Fifty Shades.
James said she did not read the books, but admitted that it was only appropriate for fans to take over them.
"These characters now feel like they belong to everyone," she said . ".
"This is the world of fans.