5 Questions with E.L. James, author of The Mister

• Congratulations on THE MISTER! I’m so thrilled to talk to you and learn a little bit more about the book. How did this story spark?

  The idea sparked a long time ago. I love stories that cross the class divide, because that immediately gives the protagonists an obstacle to overcome and adds drama. The archetype for this particular tale is Cinderella. I was daydreaming about a guy who might fall for the help, and out of those daydreams The Mister was born. The idea really crystallized in my mind when I was flying to Washington DC a few years ago. Every time I fly I buy a magazine called Country Life, a British publication that caters for the UK’s hunting, shooting and fishing set. Right at the front of every edition they run countless advertisements for real estate –– huge country mansions set among rolling acres, massive, elegant townhouses, etc. What I call property porn! Flicking through these pages I happened upon an advert for the sale of a stately home in Buckinghamshire (the county where I grew up.) And I remember thinking: what does it take to maintain a property like this now? This mansion had been built in the 1800s at the height of the power of the aristocracy in the UK, when land ownership was a key to wealth – but today, how do those ancient families keep these properties going? My mind began to wander and a large part of the jigsaw for The Mister fell into place.

  After falling in love with the indelible Christian Grey, the big question going into THE MISTER was: Who is Maxim Trevelyan? What can you tell us about him?

  Maxim and Christian are two very different men. Christian is driven and has worked hard for his fortune. Maxim not so much; his wealth is an accident of birth. He’s privileged. He’s been able to indulge his passions, which in his case are music and photography, and he likes to party hard. He doesn’t have to get up the next day and go to work. But having said all that, Maxim is a decent bloke; he’s kind, compassionate, caring… and he knows what to do… if you get my drift.

  There’s a thread of suspense woven through Maxim and Alessia’s story. For those who’ve not yet read the book, what can you share?

  I want to say as little as I can about Alessia. She’s a mysterious and talented young woman. What I will reveal is that she has a dark past which catches up with her while she is in London, and there are thrills and spills as a result. I’m excited to share this book with everyone.

  Will THE MISTER be a first book in a series or a standalone? Or do we not yet know?

  I don’t think we know yet. We shall see.

  Okay, a final bit of fun. What three words would you use to describe THE MISTER?

  Romantic. Thrilling. Hot.

• 

• About The Mister

  London, 2019. Life has been easy for Maxim Trevelyan. With his good looks, aristocratic connections, and money, he’s never had to work and he’s rarely slept alone. But all that changes when tragedy strikes and Maxim inherits his family’s noble title, wealth, and estates, and all the responsibility that entails. It’s a role he’s not prepared for and one that he struggles to face.

  But his biggest challenge is fighting his desire for an unexpected, enigmatic young woman who’s recently arrived in England, possessing little more than a dangerous and troublesome past.  Reticent, beautiful, and musically gifted, she’s an alluring mystery, and Maxim’s longing for her deepens into a passion that he’s never experienced and dares not name. Just who is Alessia Demachi? Can Maxim protect her from the malevolence that threatens her? And what will she do when she learns that he’s been hiding secrets of his own?

  From the heart of London through wild, rural Cornwall to the bleak, forbidding beauty of the Balkans, The Mister is a roller-coaster ride of danger and desire that leaves the reader breathless to the very last page.