Ever hear of The Book Fairy? You know, like The Tooth Fairy but with books instead of missing teeth. What’s not to love about finding a free book somewhere? Amiright?
My favorite book fairy is actress/UN ambassador, Emma Watson who's been leaving little book surprises all around the London Underground. I think Hermione Granger is onto something for us Muggle readers!
I decided to take a piece of the book fairy action, but with no current plans to travel to London, I flitted around my own back yard, Richmond, Virginia. Earlier this week, armed with a basket of books to give away—or would that make me the Book Bunny?—I headed to three of RVA’s most notable cultural hot spots to plant my surprises.
Each of the three books was wrapped with a “Take Me!” note and a request to post a photo of the recipient and book on Facebook or Twitter, using the hashtag #LethalLadiesWrite.
Book Drop #1
When the total solar eclipse graced North America last month, this Richmond staple hosted a viewing party on its grounds. So the destination for the eclipse-themed mystery anthology, DAY OF THE DARK, which includes my short story, To the Moon and Back, was an easy pick: The Science Museum of Virginia, of course!
Book Drop #2
The location for my second mystery anthology, VIRGINIA IS FOR MYSTERIES: VOLUME II was a little trickier. My story, A Colonial Grave is set in Williamsburg rather than RVA. But one of the settings for a mystery in the first volume was set in the Church Hill Graveyard, so I ultimately chose Historic St. John’s Church of Patrick Henry’s impassioned “Give me liberty or give me death!” fame.
I must add a wee little caveat, however. Since St. John’s is an active church, rather than leave the book on grounds, I opted for a more appropriate spot across the street in Patrick Henry Park, but it still has a nice view of the church.
Book Drop #3
My final book drop had less to do with the wine-themed mysteries of 50 SHADES OF CABERNET or my jewelry heist story, Wine and Prejudice, and more to do with the fact that Edgar Allan Poe is a personal favorite of mine. The good folks at The Poe Museum were kind enough to allow me to leave my book against the garden courtyard bust of Mr. Poe himself.
A #PoeGirl selfie may or may not have happened while performing my self-imposed Book Fairy duties.
And there you have it. Three books dropped, and hopefully three happy readers. So far, no one has posted using the hashtag #LethalLadiesWrite, but I’ll be sure to add a link in the comments of the blog post if/when they do.
Happy reading, y’all!