Real "50 Shades of Grey” Irish woman goes public with best selling book

Katie Collins’ experiences in the Irish “sexual underground” inspire new memoir

Collins does admit with a bit of a chuckle that she hasn’t read ‘50 Shades of Grey’ - after all, she is a writer now with ‘50 Shades’ being not only her biggest comparison, but also her biggest competition.

‘Can You Keep a Secret?’ is making its mark on the Irish book markets. On August 12, the book’s co-writer Robert Carry (@Carrier11) tweeted: “‏Madness. My book has been on iBooks less than 24 hours and it's already #1 in biography and #5 overall.”

The following day, it inched closer to the top on iBook as only the ‘50 Shades’ trilogy was beating it. Similarly, it’s been making waves across the pond as it cracked the top fifty books on Amazon last month, but has since slipped back down to 61st most popular biography.

The book itself spares no details, which makes sense as Collins insists that she is generally open to speak about her experiences. When asked if her family and friends knew, she said that most did, but to varying degrees.

Collins’ mother knew about her sexual lifestyle in the Irish underground pretty much from the beginning. However, Collins remembers with a bit of a laugh telling her sister about her book being published - all the while forgetting that her sister didn’t know about her sexual background.

“It was like dropping two bombs at once,” Collins said. She did add that she and her sister have become closer now after Collins came clean.

As for her friends, Collins says a lot of them knew about her lifestyle anyway, but don’t necessarily know it’s her that’s behind the book.

Either way, Collins seems to be pleased with the response that society is providing in the wake of both her book and ‘50 Shades of Grey.’

“Women can be comfortable with reading this kind of thing, comfortable with their bodies,” said Collins. “Now is the time,” she adds, saying that women are talking more about how they feel and what they do.

“Why should a woman feel almost oppressed by what she wants to do?”

When asked if she plans on writing a second book, Collins said there is always a possibility, but no plans yet. She realizes that it would be easier to sell a second book after her first book has gained so much popularity. Carry recommended that Collins keep a diary, which she is now doing.

‘Can You Keep a Secret?’ is published by Irish publisher Y Books and is now for sale via Amazon.com and the iBookstore, priced at €3.99. To learn more about the book, check out therealfiftyshades.com, or you can follow Katie Collins on Twitter @thereal50shades and Robert Carry @carrier11.

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Nster.com