Author of 'Fifty Shades' Series to Release New Novel

E.L. James, author of the best-selling “Fifty Shades” erotica trilogy, is coming out with a new novel, with a new story and new characters — but still plenty of romance.

The novel, “The Mister,” will be released worldwide April 16, Vintage Books, an imprint of publisher Penguin Random House, announced Thursday.

“The Mister” tells the story of Maxim Trevelyan, a privileged and aristocratic Englishman, and Alessia Demachi, a mysterious young woman with musical gifts and a dangerous past who has recently arrived in London.

“It’s a Cinderella story for the 21st century,” James said in a news release. “Maxim and Alessia have led me on a fascinating journey and I hope that my readers will be swept away by their thrilling and sensual tale, just as I was while writing, and that, like me, they fall in love with them.”

The book is a departure from the storyline begun by “Fifty Shades of Grey.” That series turned James, a former television producer, into a best-selling author with more than 150 million copies sold. The story has its roots in “Twilight” fan fiction she wrote under pen name Snowqueens Icedragon.

“Fifty Shades of Grey” zoomed to popularity in 2012, becoming a guilty pleasure for women across the country, inspiring a popular movie series and even spawning an unlikely line of merchandise, from “Fifty Shades"-branded wine and handcuffs to lubricant and massage oil.

James squeezed nearly all she could out of Christian Grey, Anastasia Steele and their S-and-M romance. She even turned out a 559-page retelling of the story from Christian’s perspective. She promises this new story would also have erotic appeal.

In an interview that aired Thursday on the “Today” show, James described her new novel as “another inspiring love story with two completely new characters doing their thing, shenanigans ensuing, boy meets girl.”

“It’s a passionate, erotic love story,” she said. “It’s not ‘Fifty Shades’ erotic because it’s not ‘Fifty Shades.’ It’s a completely different story.”

In the news release, Anne Messitte, publisher of Vintage and Anchor Books, said that “readers are going to be surprised and delighted with the romance that James has in store for them. She has hit her stride again, with an erotic love story that’s full of suspense, adventure, and menace.”

“The Mister” will be published in North America by Vintage Books and in Britain by Penguin Random House U.K.'s Arrow imprint.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

Author of 'Fifty Shades' Series to Release New Novel

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