Donating copies of Tempest by Victoria Aveyard to free little libraries in Kent!

Dear Diary,

It happened again. You’d think the second time around i’d be less surprised, yet once again I am in awe. A publisher (Gollancz) offered to donate ten copies of Tempest by Victoria Aveyard for one of my free little library projects. That means I get to donate ten copies of this book to little libraries across my local community for new readers to find for free! Getting to do one of these projects a second time around with one of the biggest fantasy authors of my generation seems unfathomable, yet here I am, once again beyond grateful for the generosity, and so excited for the readers that will find these books.

Since Tempest is a pirate fantasy, I of course wanted to go full on theme, in a pirate bound outfit and I even created a treasure map (five hours by hand). As i’m not the most artistic person, I was so unbelievably proud of myself drawing the entirety by hand, I wanted it to feel special.. to invest my time into the project even if the map would only be seen for a moment.

So then this morning I visited all ten locations, ten different free little libraries across Kent to drop them all off! Even on a normal day visiting them makes my heart happy, seeing all the stories shared between strangers, but i’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel extra magic today. Magic that was created by being able to donate a hardback copy of one of the biggest fantasy releases of the year on its release week!

This cause is so special to me personally, because there was once a time I couldn’t afford new release books, I would rely on the donations of others to find new stories to discover. When the money was short, and the times were tough… before the course of my life changed. I remember at the time I always said if things were different I would always do what I could to make a change, to help get more books into the hands of those that cannot visit a bookshop and simply buy a new book. Never in my wildest dreams, did I think UK publishers would be the ones to donate them, to help me connect books with readers in a way that warms my heart so much.

I know how much my life has changed over the years, and how tomorrow is never guaranteed, so right now in this moment I am simply grateful, grateful for the platform you have all given me, grateful for the opportunities I am given, and grateful that for today, I was able to to make a couple of readers days brighter when they found these books.

All my heart can hope for is that there will be a third, and a fourth…

Yours truly,