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,
