My mother-in-law, whom we all lovingly call Nanny, turned 70 this year. As a family, we had a lot going on and could not do anything elaborate as a celebration, so I wanted to make sure that the gift we gave would be something she would be excited about. Unfortunately, I was totally void of ideas. When asked she claimed she didn’t want or need anything. Ugh. What do we do? In a fantastic turn of events, I happened to be talking to my oldest, who is a wonderful grandchild and call her Nanny every week, mentioned that she recalled that Nan had once had a series of books that she truly loved that were lost through lending (serious reader infraction!!!). So, I went searching.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you click on them and make a purchase, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

The book series I was looking for, Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly, was not difficult to find, however, no place I looked had a new hardcover copy of the first book!

Then I found it — a first edition signed copy directly from Jennifer Donnelly’s author website! Score!! It was a bit more expensive than a regular hardcover, but you’d expect that. So after talking it through with my husband, we decided to order it and then pick up the rest of the trilogy and the novellas from another retailer (one where we get a discount, cause we aren’t made of money).

The Trilogy:

• The Tea Rose  •  Amazon  •  Books-a-Million 
• The Winter Rose  •  Amazon  •  Books-a-Million
• The Wild Rose  •  Amazon  •  Books-a-Million

Novellas:

• Where Roses Fall  •  Amazon  •  Books-a-Million
• Molly’s Letter  •  Amazon  •  Books-a-Million

I placed the order and crossed my fingers that the gift would arrive before her birthday so I could wrap it nicely. I quickly received an order confirmation followed by another email asking about the inscription. I told the person that the book was a gift for my mother-in-law’s 70th birthday and that I’d like it to be inscribed to her. They followed up in short order, the book was signed that very day, and shipped out.

It did arrive before the big day. Not only that, but it arrived beautifully wrapped and with a note from the author wishing my MIL a happy birthday! I was so pleased, but a little in suspense about what the inscription inside the book !?!

I texted a picture to my daughter who called to gush with me over what a cool gift this was and how much we thought Nan would love it!

The other books having arrived I carefully wrapped the books and a little ceramic teapot (because the title of the first book is Tea Rose) in a big gift box with pretty tissue paper and wired ribbon attaching a small bouquet of silk roses to make it extra pretty.

The day came and we went to dinner, strolled through a bookstore together, and had a lovely dessert then returned to the house where she was presented with her gift.

She gushed a bit over the presentation of the gift – I had spent quite some time wrapping it. When she opened the box to find the initial note, written to her by Jennifer Donnelly, she seemed a bit confused. I wondered if she was having trouble reading the handwriting. Later she explained that she thought it was something that I had written and she was confused as to why I would have pretended to be the author (?!?! – I wouldn’t). When it dawned on her that she actually got a note from the author of her favorite book she got wide-eyed. Continuing on, she unwrapped the book itself Tea Rose and started looking at the pages. Missing the signature page entirely, my husband leaned over and helped her to get to the correct spot. She beamed! Simply lit up.

She went on to open the rest of the series, including novellas, in hardcover. Ooohing and ahhing over each one. My oldest was on FaceTime to watch the proceedings, but I had her facing me rather than Nanny. She was jumping up and down making the most crazy excited faces. I think she and I enjoyed the giving of this special gift almost as much as my mother in law enjoyed receiving it.

We went on talking about the books and how excited she was about it, along with recounting how her original set had gotten lost for quite some time.

The next day, I received this text:

“Thank you again, Lacey! I don’t think I’ve ever received a more thoughtful, personal, heartfelt gift! I was so touched! I’m still over the moon excited with all the books, especially my signed, First Edition copy of *The Tea Rose*! Feeling loved and blessed! 🥰”

With a shelfie featuring the setup of her new treasures.

Have you ever given or received an amazing bookish gift?

Have you ever had a remarkable interaction with an author?

Share your stories in the comments!

* I am not affiliated in any way with Jennifer Donnelly. I am so entirely pleased with my experience that I wanted to share the story with the book community in hopes that you, too, can have these kinds of interactions with authors and their representatives.

May your life be as full as your bookshelf and as long as your TBR list.

Happy Reading!