“Fifty Shades” E.L. James Brings The Heat To The Omni

There were lawyers, and teachers, doctors and business executives, but what they did for a living was secondary to why they were crowded into the Omni Hotel ballroom in New Haven Wednesday.

They were women, women who have fallen salaciously  in “like”  with ”Fifty Shades of Grey,”  and its steamy characters including Christian Grey. And they couldn’t wait to meet the captivating  author responsible for turning up the heat in their households, E.L.James.

James, a former English tv producer who wrote the “Fifty Shades” bestselling trilogy stopped in Connecticut as part of her United States book tour as the featured speaker at the RJ Julia Booksellers ”Ladies Night.”  And she didn’t disappoint.

“What people do in their bedrooms is nobody’s business,” she insisted , in response to a  question from an audeince member about the submissive/dominant relationship between Grey and Anastasia Steele,  the college student he seduces. “I wrote a fantasy, a fairy tale. Christian Grey was my fantasy.”

More than 1,000 women, many with storyline-related masks, handcuffs and silver ties, as well-worn copies of the book,  attended the sold-out event that included a book signing and a 45-minute question- and-answer program featuring James  and RJ Julia Booksellers owner, Roxanne Coady.

“This is fuc**** phenomenal,” said the  good-natured James as the  boa draped, revved up crowd gave her a standing ovation. “I don’t know what to say,” she said, wiping away tears. (Boas were passed out to all the women who attended.)

Those at the event however, had plenty to say when it came to their feelings about the book that is being pegged as  “mommy porn.”

“I am a professional who manages  a department in a p.r. firm in Manhattan that employs mostly men,” said Stamford resident Rhonda Burns.”I know who I am and how strong I am but those books, and Christian Grey…it reminds me that love  is about balance, and  sometimes, it could be very  advantageous to abdicate control to someone else. ”

Audience members were happiest when the mics were turned over to them to pose their own to James.

“Why did you make Anastasia  a 21-year-old innocent,” asked one audience member. “Because virgins are so much more interesting,”quipped James as the crowd roared.

James refused to say who is being cast in the lusty lead role in the movie being made based on her books, despite repeated efforts by the audience to  make her tell.

“I can’t, I’d get in trouble,” she said.

Asked how she  became an author, James explained she had a job she hated and began writing books to deal with the pressure from work.

“Writing was my escape,” she said.

For pictures from Wednesday night go to: http://cour.at/Iu5Cwb