{{short description|American author}} {{BLP sources|date=February 2015}} '''Andrew Shaffer''' (born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, United States.{{citation needed|date=March 2013}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Andrew Shaffer (Author of Hope Never Dies) |url=https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4111356.Andrew_Shaffer }}</ref>) is an American author. Under the pen name "Fanny Merkin," he authored the ''Fifty Shades of Grey'' parody ''Fifty Shames of Earl Grey.'' His other books include ''Great Philosophers Who Failed at Love'', and ''Literary Rogues: A Scandalous History of Wayward Authors''. He also wrote a string of political fiction novels involving United States Presidents, including ''Hope Never Dies'', ''Hope Rides Again'', and ''Day of the Donald''. He is the founder and creative director of Order of St. Nick, a greeting card company. He resides in Louisville, Kentucky with his wife, novelist Tiffany Reisz.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Sinners and Sharks: An Interview with Married Lit Couple Tiffany Reisz and Andrew Shaffer|url=https://litreactor.com/interviews/sharks-and-sinners-an-interview-with-lit-couple-tiffany-reisz-and-andrew-shaffer|access-date=2020-11-21|website=LitReactor|language=en}}</ref>
==Background and career== Shaffer attended the Iowa Writers' Workshop for a summer semester and studied comedy writing at Chicago's The Second City. He reviews books for RT Book Reviews, a magazine devoted largely to romance and erotic literature. He is also a columnist for the Huffington Post where he covers news within the publishing industry and reviews new book releases.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.huffpost.com/author/andrew-shaffer/ |title=Andrew Shaffer |publisher=Huffingtonpost.com |date= |accessdate=2023-12-05}}</ref>
==Order of St. Nick== {{BLP unsourced section|date=April 2016}}
Shaffer started the greeting card company Order of St. Nick after trying to find seasonal cards that expressed secular beliefs to send to atheists during the holidays. CBS's The Early Show featured Order of St. Nick's Depressing Times cards as one of the most prominent examples of the 'Great Depression chic' trend in 2009.
==''Fifty Shames of Earl Grey''== Shaffer wrote ''Fifty Shames of Earl Grey'' under the pen name "Fanny Merkin." ''Fifty Shames of Earl Grey'' is a parody of E. L. James' popular trilogy, ''Fifty Shades of Grey''. Publishers Weekly suggested "The parody brings to life all of the arguments for and against 50 Shades, including the feminist concerns, portrayal of BDSM, roots in Twilight fan-fiction, and EL James's writing style."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.rtbookreviews.com/rt-daily-blog/andrew-shaffer-write-fifty-shades-grey-parody-fifty-shames-earl-grey |title=Andrew Shaffer To Write Fifty Shades Of Grey Parody, Fifty Shames Of Earl Grey |publisher=RT Book Reviews |date=2012-07-01 |accessdate=2013-08-20}}</ref> ''Fifty Shames of Earl Grey'' was a Goodreads choice 2012 semi-finalist.<ref>[http://www.goodreads.com/award/show/4382-goodreads-choice-award?page=3] {{dead link|date=February 2015}}</ref>
==''How to Survive a Sharknado and Other Unnatural Disasters''== In 2015, Shaffer's tie-in book to the Syfy channel's ''Sharknado'' series of films debuted on the New York Times Bestseller List.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.andrewshaffer.com/how-to-survive-a-sharknado|title=How to Survive a Sharknado|website=New York Times Bestselling Author Andrew Shaffer|accessdate=Dec 28, 2020}}</ref>
==''Ghosts from Our Past: Both Literally and Figuratively: The Study of the Paranormal''== Released on June 28, 2016, this ''Ghosts from Our Past'' is a tie-in book to ''Ghostbusters'' (2016).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/534566/ghosts-from-our-past-by-erin-gilbert-and-abby-l-yates-with-andrew-shaffer/9781101906002|title=Ghosts from Our Past by Erin Gilbert, Abby L. Yates, Andrew Shaffer: 9781101906002 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books|website=PenguinRandomhouse.com|accessdate=Dec 28, 2020}}</ref> Shaffer is listed as a co-author; the other two listed authors, Erin Gilbert and Abby L. Yates, are fictional characters in the Ghostbusters film.
==Bibliography== *''Great Philosophers who failed at love'', Harper Perennial, New York, 2011. *''Fifty Shames of Earl Grey: A Parody'', Da Capo Press, Massachusetts, 2012. *''Literary Rogues: A Scandalous History of Wayward Authors'', Harper Perennial, New York, 2013. *''How to Survive a Sharknado and Other Unnatural Disasters'', Three Rivers Press, New York, 2015. *''Ghosts from Our Past: Both Literally and Figuratively: The Study of the Paranormal'', Three Rivers Press, New York, 2016. *''The Day of the Donald'', Crooked Lane Books, New York, 2016. *''Hope Never Dies: An Obama Biden Mystery (Obama Biden Mysteries)'', Thorndike Press Large Print, 2018 / Quirk Books, 2018, {{isbn|978-1-68369-039-9}} *''Hope Rides Again: An Obama Biden Mystery (Obama Biden Mysteries)'', Quirk Books, 2019, {{isbn|978-1-68369-122-8}} *”Secret Santa<ref>{{Cite web |title=SECRET SANTA: A HORROR FOR THE HOLDIAYS NOVEL |url=https://www.andrewshaffer.com/secret-santa }}</ref>”, Quirk Books, 2020, {{isbn|1683692055}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [https://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/03/fashion/andrew-shaffer-on-his-fifty-shades-of-grey-parody.html%20 New York Times Interview] * [http://www.rtbookreviews.com/rt-daily-blog/andrew-shaffer-write-fifty-shades-grey-parody-fifty-shames-earl-grey|RT Book Reviews Interview] * [http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/greeting-card-company-order-of-st-nick-finds-niche-with-atheist-christmas-cards-925480.htm%20 Order of St. Nick Finds Niche With Atheist Christmas Cards] * [http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/great-philosophers-who-failed-at-love-explores-romantic-mishaps-of-famous-thinkers-1385216.htm "Great Philosophers Who Failed at Love" Explores Romantic Mishaps of Famous Thinkers] {{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaffer, Andrew}} Category:Living people Category:Writers from Lexington, Kentucky Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Writers from Portland, Oregon Category:Writers from Cedar Rapids, Iowa Category:American male novelists Category:Novelists from Kentucky Category:Novelists from Oregon Category:Novelists from Iowa Category:21st-century American novelists Category:21st-century American male writers Category:HuffPost writers and columnists Category:Iowa Writers' Workshop alumni Category:American mystery writers