“It was a bit of fun to liven up the signings”

An offer made by an author when signing her books has finally been claimed some three years after the novel was published.

Sara Sheridan garnered great acclaim for The Fair Botanists, which was Waterstones Scottish Book of the Year after it was released in 2021 but her story of intrigue, which was described as “completely enchanting” by The Scotsman, has taken on a new journey of its own after her secret message to a reader was found in a bookshop.

While signing copies of the book, Sara decided to make one copy a special edition by writing alongside her signature, a promise to the new owner of the book for something exciting in the future.

Sara wrote on the title page: “Choosing this copy? Email me on [Sheridan’s email address] & I’ll send you a free copy of my next book”

Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, Sara revealed to her followers that she has now received an email from the lucky reader who purchased that copy of The Fair Botanists.

Posting a photo of the page that she had signed with the message, Sara wrote on the post: “Ages ago I wrote this in a copy and hid it in a bookshop …. today the prize has been claimed!”

There was quite a reaction to post with many hailing it as a brilliant idea, to which Sara told the commenters that it was a “bit of fun to liven up the signings….”

This led to another person commenting that the idea was like a “message in a bottle”, to which Sara replied: “Just exactly this …. the lady who got it received the book as a present from her son…. perfection!”

The joy of books is always something that brings happiness but a book with the promise of another, for free, is something which will be cherished forever.