As if Fifty Shades fans didn’t have enough to look forward to with the release of the next two sequels and a newly released DVD...
Now, fans of the highly-popular book and movie series will have a new book. And this time, it is from the perspective of Christian Grey.
Author EL James announced on Monday that she will release Grey, the Fifty Shades story written from Mr. Grey’s vantage point.
The book will be published on June 18, Christian’s birthday.
According to James, the opening page of the novel confirms that story is a response to readers’ requests for Christian’s perspective.
"This book is dedicated to those readers who asked...and asked... and asked... and asked for this," she writes.
The news of the book was released via social media Monday morning. The Instagram image shows the cover of the new book.
Christian is a complex character, and readers have always been fascinated by his desires and motivations, and his troubled past,” James says.
“Also, as anyone who has ever been in a relationship knows, there are two sides to every story. It's been a great pleasure to return to my happy place — writing, being with Christian and Ana in their universe, and working with the fantastic team at Vintage."
Grey will be available in paperback and as an eBook by Vintage Books, which is part of Knoft Doubleday, a division of Penguin Random House.
Vintage Books publisher and James’ editor Anne Messitte states, "Fifty Shades of Grey is a love story that has enthralled readers in a way that few books have, and when Erika mentioned to me that she wanted to explore Christian's viewpoint and re-open the story, I was incredibly excited for her and for her readers.”
She continues, “This book has all the compelling attributes of its predecessors, and I can't wait for Fifty Shades fans to experience the work again from a perspective they have long desired.”
The president of Knopf Doubleday, Tony Chirico, says, "Given the secrecy and immediacy of the publication, we've worked hard to ensure that the book will be well represented in the retail marketplace on June 18.”
More than 125 million copies of Fifty Shades have sold worldwide. The literary series was adapted into a hit movie from Universal Pictures, starring Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson.
During its opening weekend, the Fifty Shades film made $81.7 million. That wasn't enough to break the current record held by The Passion of the Christ. But coming in at $2 million less than Passion of the Christ, we have to wonder if it is the same people watching big-budget porn and religious films.
The Fifty Shades Darker film will be released in 2017.