
“I haven’t slept since January,” says former TV exec EL James of her whirlwind year. Her Fifty Shades series, which centers on the romance between a virginal college student and a kinky billionaire, has netted James more than $100 million and become a social phenomenon (launching countless imitators and satires and providing endless fodder for late-night comedians). Now, any rumor of a possible casting tops online news feeds and causes a frenzy of fan reaction. At least a dozen other “mommy porn” books have scored big advances in James’ wake.