An Evening in Chicago with E.L. James

Last night’s EL James event in Chicago, hosted by The Book Stall, was no ordinary book signing.

Flickering votive candles, tables covered in white linen, tuxedo clad waiters passing beef wellington and French martinis on silver trays...the ballroom of the Standard Club, looked more like a wedding reception than a literary event. And judging by the excitement in the room, you’d have thought Christian Grey was actually going to make an appearance!

The crowd of 400, mainly women, drank cocktails and enjoyed a light dinner from one of the pasta stations as they awaited the arrival of the author of the "Fifty Shades" trilogy. I was honored to have Roberta Rubin, owner of The Book Stall in Winnetka, Illinois, ask me to take the stage just prior to Ms. James and read from my recent blog post.  According to the crowd’s reaction to the “Five Signs You Might Have it Bad for Christian Grey”, each and every one of them were officially #GREYsessed.

When Ms. James made her entrance at just after five o’clock she was greeted by a standing ovation from her fans, some of whom had driven from as far as Ohio. Her opening line as she reached the podium: “Ho-Ly Shit!” (Reminded me a bit of Ana Steele!) When the crowd finally settled down she explained, “I’ve been completely and utterly overwhelmed by the response to this story. I just don’t get it.” To which one fan yelled back, “We get it and our husbands get it...or are getting it.” Over the chorus of cheers, Ms. James responded with a laugh, “Oh, well, good for them.”

Even though Ms. James described herself as, “Not for public speaking, at all,” she did agree to take a few questions from the floor because, “hell, why not.”

The full list of Q & A is transcribed below, but one of the highlights of the evening came when a curious reader asked, “What’s your obsession with the Audi?” Ms. James laughed and replied, “I have always wanted to drive an R8.” When the crowd cheered she added, “I have a fantastic R8 story actually, I’m not sure if I’ve got time to tell it.” Needless to say, the crowd went wild. Urged on by her fans, Ms. James told the story of how she came to conduct her research - a feasibility study if you will -  for Ana and Christian’s infamous Audi scene.

“I don’t know how many of you have read the third book,” she began. (And judging by the crowd’s reaction that was all the reference she needed.) “I rang Audi West London and said, ‘Hello, I’m writing an erotic, romantic book and I’d like to know if you could actually have sex in an R8?’ And the guy, who I won’t name, because frankly he has no imagination, said, ‘No, no it’s impossible.’” (Wouldn’t you have loved to have seen the look on his face?)

Not willing to take his word for it, Ms. James paid a visit to her local dealership. “I Went to Audi West London, circled the R8 in the front of the showroom and then finally sat in the driver’s seat. I sat there, and sat there, and then said, (lowering her voice for dramatic effect) ‘you could totally have sex in this car!’” (And did they ever!)

All in all it was a perfectly lovely evening. Too bad @ChristianTGrey was tied up in meetings and couldn’t attend (or maybe he had someone else tied up *wink*). Either way he was definitely a hot topic among the #FiftyShades fans!

One final note before I leave you to the rest of the Q &A. Many people have been asking me how I heard about this event and if any others are planned. The answer is simple: I follow @50ShadesSource on twitter. (They are also on Facebook) In March 2012, two #ChristianGrey fanatics from New Jersey, Natalie Shaw and Tracey Wess, decided to share their #GREYsessed visions with the world and Fifty Shades Source was born!  The fan site has become a premier socializing network for all that want to see and be seen discussing anything and everything related to the “Fifty Shades” trilogy!

More Q & A with the Audience:

Q: Do you have a say in who is going to be cast as Christian and Ana?

ELJ: It’s going to be a collaborative effort but it’s far too early to be talking about this. I’m keeping very quiet about that.

Q: Are you going to write another book?

ELJ: Hopefully. I’ve actually got sort of two written that need re-writing and I’ve got ideas for another two. Everyone wants, for some reason, to read the fourth book in the trilogy. Frankly I’m fed up with these two kids. (laughing) I’d really, really, like to do something else and then maybe, maybe, maybe go back and say “hi”.

Q: What about from Christian’s point of view? (Big Cheer)

ELJ: Well, never say never, that’s what I say to that. I mean who knows? Maybe. Probably.

Q: How did you do your background research?

ELJ: Google was my friend and now I’m very worried that social services might seize my computer and my children will be taken away from me. That’s all I’ve got to say about that, but I had a lot of fun.

Q: You’re from the UK, why did you decide to have the setting in Washington?

ELJ: There are two reasons why I decided to set it in Washington. The story, as everybody knows, started as Twilight fan fiction and twilight is set in Washington. I didn’t want to move it when I redid the story. Also, one of my favorite authors, Elizabeth Lowell, writes a lot of romantic fiction and she sets many of her stories in Seattle. I have never been to Seattle. It’s one of my life’s ambitions to go to Seattle. I would love to go.


Next Week On The Blog: "The Casting of Christian Grey". Stay tuned. After all, Christian, Ana, and @50ShadesSource are following my blog, shouldn't you? :) Click "Join this Site" and then sign in with google or twitter.