Ask and you shall receive. The saying may not always hold true, but when it does, it can pay off big, as a book club from Scotland's Orkney Library can attest. The Saturday Slaughters book group was graced by the presence of none other than Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling on Saturday, March 5, all thanks to a Twitter invitation, according to The BBC.
Senior library assistant Stewart Bain welcomed Rowling to join a discussion of The Cuckoo's Calling, a novel written by the famed author under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. He didn't expect her to actually show up, but he was ready just in case; he made a quip in a tweet about having "shopbought" lemon cake on standby on the off chance Rowling appeared.
It's a good thing Bain was prepared. Not only did the Scottish author show up, she reportedly spent two hours at the library, taking the time to answer the group's question about the book, tour the library, and even eat that lemon cake. Naturally, everyone was "gobsmacked" by her appearance, according to Bain. It's not every day your book club gets a visit from one of the world's most popular authors.
In addition to receiving Rowling's insight, the members got to commemorate the visit for posterity (and the Twitter-verse) with a group photo. That will come in handy for all those times when they want to reminisce about the best book club meeting ever.
"I think it's fantastic that she came all the way here to see us and shows the level of support and passion that she has for her readers," said Bain of Rowling.
The author seemed all to happy to do it. After her visit, she had nothing but good things to say about the meeting and even the cake. "I had the best time! Thanks for wonderful chat, cake and, of course, letting me touch The Book," she tweeted.
As for "The Book" to which Rowling referred, it was Organic Gardening with Love, a book written by soap opera star Thelma Barlow. She evidently got her own thrill when she saw and posed for a picture with it. (Hello, free publicity!)
The visit appears to have been a win for everyone, and it proved that Twitter is more than just a place to befriend Chamillionaire.
