E. L. James company Stampin’ Up! UK and the cards were auctioned on eBay during May 2014. E. L. James Erika Leonard (née Mitchell; born 7 March 1963), known by her pen name E. L. James, is an English author. She wrote the bestselling erotic romance trilogy "Fifty Shades of Grey", "Fifty Shades Darker", and "Fifty Shades Freed", along with the companion novels "" and ""; and under the name Snowqueen's Icedragon the Twilight fan fiction "Master of the Universe" that was the basis for the Fifty Shades trilogy. The combined novels have sold over 125 million copies worldwide, over 35 million copies
Andrew Shaffer one of the most prominent examples of the 'Great Depression chic' trend in 2009. Shaffer wrote "Fifty Shames of Earl Grey" under the pen name "Fanny Merkin." "Fifty Shames of Earl Grey" is a parody of E. L. James' popular trilogy, "Fifty Shades of Grey". Publishers Weekly suggested "The parody brings to life all of the arguments for and against 50 Shades, including the feminist concerns, portrayal of BDSM, roots in Twilight fan-fiction, and EL James's writing style." "Fifty Shames of Earl Grey" was a Goodreads choice 2012 semi-finalist. In 2015, Shaffer's tie-in book to the Syfy channel's Sharknado series