Erika Leonard, birth name Erika Mitchell (born 1963), better known by the pseudonym E. L. James, is a former television executive and the British author of the bestselling erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey. She currently lives in west London with her husband of over 20 years, screenwriter and director Niall Leonard, and their two teenage sons.^{[citation needed]}

Early LifeEdit

James's parents are Chilean and Scottish.^{[citation needed]} Raised in Buckinghamshire and privately educated, Leonard read history at the University of Kent before becoming a studio manager’s assistant at the National Film and Television School in Beaconsfield.^{[citation needed]}

CareerEdit

James initially wrote fanfiction under the pen name "Snowqueens Icedragon," her most notable work being the Twilight fanfiction entitled "Master of the Universe" that eventually developed into Fifty Shades of Grey.^{[citation needed]}

James has spoken of her shock at the success of the book. "The explosion of interest has taken me completely by surprise," she said.^{[citation needed]} James has described the Fifty Shades trilogy as: "This is my midlife crisis, writ large. All my fantasies in there, and that's it."^{[citation needed]} She did not start to write until January 2009, saying while still active on Fanfiction.net as Snowqueens Icedragon, "I started writing in January 2009 after I finished the Twilight saga, and I haven't stopped since. I discovered Fan Fiction in August 2009. Since then I have written my two fics and plan on doing at least one more. After that... who knows?"^{[citation needed]}

In 2012, Time Magazine included her in its annual list of "The 100 Most Influential People in the World."^[1]

ReferencesEdit