EL James’s Fifty Shades trilogy has been this year’s publishing phenomenon, taking the US by storm thanks to spectacular ebook sales. Dubbed “mommy porn”, the trilogy charts the sadomasochistic relationship between student Anastasia Steele and billionaire entrepreneur Christian Grey. James, a former television executive, lives in west London with her husband and children.

Has the trilogy’s success surprised you?
Yes. I think I’m still in shock. I never set out to do this — getting to No 1 on the New York Times bestseller list wasn’t even a pipedream. It’s all happened so fast that I haven’t even met that many readers. I did a sort of launch party in the US and met some there and people were screaming. I felt like Brad Pitt. It was extraordinary.