London - An erotic book based around a garden shed does not sound like an instant bestseller.
But when it is a clever parody of this year’s most talked about racy novel, it is a recipe for success.
Fifty Sheds of Grey, a spoof of 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, dubbed “mommy porn”.
Fifty Sheds 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, it 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.
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”.
The book spawned from a Twitter account (@50ShedsofGrey) which used gardening-related euphemisms to mimic the plotline of the erotic trilogy.
Grey, who is keeping his identity a secret for now, describes himself as a Yorkshire-based author in his forties.
His tweets include observations such as: “Bondage is so much easier now we’re older. I used to have to blindfold her, now I just hide her glasses.”
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. - Daily Mail
50 SHEDS OF GREY TWEETS
* She squeezed the stem and it came after one tug. 'Is this some kind of joke?' she frowned. 'Sorry,' I said, 'That's cheap crackers for you.'
* She said she wanted us to try teabagging but I just couldn't do it. I only keep Nescafe in the shed.
* 'So, what can I give you for Christmas?' she asked, moving her hand up my leg. 'Surprise me,' I replied. 'OK,' she said, 'I'm really a man.'
* 'I lay back, gazing happily out of the shed window. Despite fears about my inexperience my rhubarb had come up a treat' - IOL