When four women first banded together to form The Writer’s Coffee Shop publishing house, little did they know they would publish one of the most successful book series in history: Fifty Shades of Grey, Fifty Shades Darker, and Fifty Shades Freed. Although they never formalized a written partnership agreement, the four operated The Writer’s Coffee Shop as a partnership, but that lack of a written agreement was a portent of things to come. After selling publishing rights to the Fifty Shades trilogy to Random House, one of them claimed no partnership ever existed and made off with more than $40,000,000 in royalties from the sale.
It was against this backdrop that Jennifer Pedroza retained attorney Mike Farris to file a lawsuit in Fort Worth, Texas, to establish that The Writers Coffee Shop had been, and still was, a partnership; that she was a still-existing partner in that partnership; and that she was entitled to her share of partnership profits.
Fifty Shades of Black and White provides an insider’s look at the sordid story of the rise and fall of The Writer’s Coffee Shop, as well as a study of the litigation it spawned. Mike Farris explains how the case developed and proceeded in the courtroom while Jennifer Pedroza tells her personal story of how she was victimized by someone she thought was a friend. In the end, this is a cautionary tale of what happens when money comes between comrades and of the importance of “getting it in writing.” It is an illustration of why greed is one of the seven deadly sins.
