The release of Lisa Renee Jones's first book in her INSIDE OUT TRILOGY -- IF I WERE YOU -- as an indie book August 24th was followed by a negotiated sale to Simon and Schuster only three days later, and inked on September 12th. In the short window of time the story was released it climbed to Barnes and Nobles top 100 and broke the top 50 at Amazon, while garnering more than 1000 reviews at Goodreads. Inspired by a journal her fiancee found when buying and selling storage units (yes like the show but before the show) Lisa calls this her SHADES OF GREY meets BASIC INSTINCT.
Why Shades of Grey? The dark, damaged characters and passion. Why Basic Instinct? Because the main character Sara finds an erotic journal and begins to read. Sara becomes as obsessed with the writer of the journal as the writer is with the two men in the journal, and they with her. She seeks out the woman to be sure she is safe and becomes absorbed in her life, where she meets two powerful men -- one of which draws her into an intensely passionate affair. Simon and Schuster has re-released IF I WERE YOU in e-book and is coordinating the print release of the entire trilogy for early 2013. Sales to at least six foreign markets, several with pre-empts and in negations.
Below is the Publishers Marketplace announcement:
Indie books phenom Lisa Renee Jones's INSIDE OUT trilogy, pitched as 50 Shades of Grey meets Basic Instinct, to Micki Nuding at Gallery, in a major deal, in a three-book deal, with Gallery re-issuing the first book in the series as an ebook on September 13, 2012, by Louise Fury at L. Perkins Agency (world).
Film rights: Shari Smiley(recently sold Gone Girl which has Reese Witherspoon attached)