Fifty Shades author EL James might write gay romance novel
Author EL James attends the premiere of Fifty Shades Darker at The Theatre at Ace Hotel on February 2, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty)
Fifty Shades author EL James has hinted that she might write a gay romance novel.
The author is best known for the bestselling Fifty Shades erotic novel series, which features the BDSM relationship between Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey.
People beg me to write gay romance, Fifty Shades author says
Speaking to The Times on Thursday (May 2), James reveals that she has been swamped with messages from women and gay men who have asked her to pen a follow-up about a gay relationship.
She teased: “Never say never.”
The novelist agreed that a gay BDSM relationship might be interesting to explore, because it takes away gender-based power imbalances.
Author EL James attends the premiere of Fifty Shades Darker at The Theatre at Ace Hotel on February 2, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty)
James added that she also has an “unwritten” story in her head about a powerful woman and vulnerable man.
She said: “I have a story a bit like that, yes… I’ve got a lot of people in my head, which is a bit disturbing. But whether I’ll ever write that story, I don’t know.”
The author added: “Writing for women, entertaining women — because that’s exactly what I want to do — is probably one of the most feminist things I’ve ever done. And that’s it.”
The Fifty Shades series previously earned a lesbian parody, Fifty Shades of Gay.
The parody sees the character of Christian Gray replaced by ‘Miss Gay,’ a domineering lesbian business executive.
Fifty Shades author has regrets over film adaptation
Elsewhere in the Times interview, James admitted that she was not completely happy with the book’s movie adaptation, which starred Dakota Johnson and Jamie Dornan.
She said: “I would do things a lot differently. That was a challenging experience.
“I had a far more creative process on the second and third movie, working with someone who had vision and dynamism and embraced the material.
“As a woman holding on to your IP [intellectual property], it’s, like, what the f**k?”
She added: “I knew this is born of fandom. I knew it needed to be made for those people. If we get that right, it will be fine. It was just a struggle.
“I’m glad that I had 25 years of working in television too. It helped inform a lot of my decisions.”
