The Thing That Wouldn't Leave

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to The Magical Mystery Blog.

Today’s entry is a bit of anger induced speculation as to why the topic in question is even happening.

The “Fifty Shades of Grey” franchise is getting a sequel series entitled “Grey” and it will be from Christian Grey’s point of view.  It will be released as a paperback and ebook on June 18^th, 2015 – Christian Grey’s birthday.

Some of you may be rejoicing, others may be cringing and asking yourselves: why of all things, why. To be frank, I honestly do not know why, but it’s evident EL James isn’t done writing.

I honestly wonder if she will use this new venture in an attempt to justify for Grey’s abuse and how he treated Anna. It was already revealed in the first book that he did those things to her because he had a horrible encounter with a rapist. Instead of seeking professional help, he decided to become an obsessed BDSM sex addict. This does not atone for everything he did to Anna.

I also wonder if this new series will show any hopeful sign that James’ writing has improved. While I doubt it, a grammar girl like me can only hope that supposedly one of the best sellers of our generation can actually write well. As a writer myself, I understand that writers’ styles can change with experience and/or experimentation. But given what James has presented to the world so far, I doubt her writing style will change. I say this because if readers enjoyed her writing style, then she'll make certain to repeat it again just to please them.

James also failed to inform people how many books the “Grey” series will be. However, she did say that her idea behind this continuing series is that for every relationship there are always two sides to the story.

It’s not just for a relationship though, that concept applies to almost every single event that happens in life. A cashier and a customer get into a fight?  There’s two sides to that story. A crime scene? There’s two sides (if not more) to that story. There are tons of situations in life that have that ‘two sides to every story’ concept. Why should “Grey” or relationships in general be any different? If she chose not to pursue “Grey”, the Fifty Shades books could easily stand on their own.

James is also trying to utilize this new “Grey” series to lure in more of a male audience because apparently only 20% of men read “Fifty Shades of Grey”.  I’m not sure what the result will be of that venture, but we can only wait and see.

Regardless, it wouldn’t surprise me if there were more merchandise and movies to follow this series. So expect to once more see Christian Grey and “Fifty Shades of Grey” merchandise on store shelves in the future.

Thank you for reading today’s entry. If you enjoyed it, feel free to comment, share, and critique.

So tell me, what are your thoughts on this new “Grey” series?