EL James' Twitter Q&A goes badly wrong for Fifty Shades Of Grey author

Fifty Shades Of Grey author EL James was met with awkward questions on consent and abuse as a Twitter Q&A went badly wrong.

James had enthusiastically advertised the live Q&A ahead of time, however critics responded with even more zeal.

Some of the tweets simply accused James of being a bad author.

But by far the greatest number of tweets focused on the "abuse" some readers argue is glamourised in the series of erotic novels.

One reader even asked if she would be writing a book based on one of the most hated Game Of Thrones characters, whose explicit and abusive story lines have led to complaints.

Others made reference to how the books began - as fan fiction developed after Stephanie Meyer's hit with the Twilight series.

After all the flak, even Ricky Gervais was concerned for James' publicity team.

James responded with good humour despite the barbs - though did not reply directly to any of her critics.