Fifty Sheds of Grey parody outsells original Fifty Shades of Grey
Fifty Sheds of Grey, a clever parody of this year’s most talked about racy novel, Fifty Shades of Grey, has been out-selling the original in recent weeks.
It is one of dozens of satires published following the success of the Fifty Shades trilogy.
Fifty Sheds of Grey, which was spawned from a popular Twitter account, has sold 41,000 copies in the last two weeks, while E.L. James’s novel sold 29,000.
Written under the pseudonym Colin Trevor Grey, Fifty Sheds of Grey tells the story of a middle-aged man who is “thrust into an illicit world of pleasure and pain” after his wife reads Fifty Shades.
Colin Trevor Grey – who describes himself as a “passionate gardener and amateur shed owner” – has been treating followers to pictures of sexy sheds and Carry On-style erotic puns since June.
Most are horticulture-themed, but many offer hilarious snapshots of his everyday life.
He finds himself caught between his wife’s eagerness to try new things in the bedroom and “the love between a man and his shed”.
After accumulating over 90,000 followers thanks to his daily tweets, Colin Trevor Grey decided to publish a book of his funniest entries.
“A very nice chap from Pan Macmillan came knocking on my shed door after he saw me on Twitter,” he says.
“He said he thought mine was a story the world had to hear and offered me a contract there and then.
“Although, I have to admit I was a little wary – the last contract I signed was one my wife drew up after reading ‘that book’ and it resulted in me spending every Thursday morning being led round Sainsbury’s in handcuffs and a rubber thong.”
Fifty Sheds of Grey, a clever parody of this year’s most talked about racy novel, Fifty Shades of Grey, has been out-selling the original in recent weeks
When his wife picked up Fifty Shades he said he was unwittingly thrust head-first into the mysterious, illicit world of pleasure and pain – and his happy and simple life changed forever.
Looking for a way to express his frustrations, he said he took to Twitter.
“I write my Twitter account alone in my shed. It’s the only place I can get a moment’s peace – at least, it was.”
Following the fastest-selling paperback of all time comes Fifty Sheds of Grey: A Parody: Erotica for the not-too-modern male.
“My wife doesn’t know I’ve written a book yet,” he said.
“I’m hoping she doesn’t find out, to be honest, as it contains intimate details of past indiscretions, including my deflowering at the hands of an older woman –I went into her shed a boy and came out a man.”
EL James’s original Fifty Shades, which follows a love affair between naïve Anastasia Steele and businessman Christian Grey, has sold 4.5million copies in the UK.
OTHER PARODY TRIBUTES
Fifty Shames of Earl Grey: Young, arrogant tycoon Earl Grey seduces Anna Steal with his good looks and staggering amounts of money. But will she be able to get past his fifty shames, including a love of bondage with handcuffs, and shopping at non-luxury supermarkets?
Fifty Shades of Gravy: When Vanessa Biscuits attends a cookery class with the renowned Chef Gray, she finds him beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating. Gray, unable to resist her slavish devotion to him, admits he wants her, but on his own peculiar terms: covered in gravy.
Fifty Shades of Garbage: Marcia and Joe are swept up in the Fifty Shades mania that has seduced the middle-classes. While Marcia devours the novels, Joe scorns them – while secretly listening to the audiobooks on his commute.
Fifty Shades of Mr. Darcy: A bodice-rippingly erotic twist on Jane Austen’s classic, Pride and Prejudice.
Fifty Shades of Bacon: Not a sensual novel, but rather a cookbook that attempts to provide a series of delectable bacon-based recipes.