Joseph Fasano sits next to stranger on plane to Scotland reading his latest novel Swallows of Lunetto

An author flying to Scotland was left “pleasantly surprised” after noticing his neighbour on a flight from the US to Scotland was reading his new book.

Joseph Fasano, 40, from New York, noticed an older lady sitting next to him was reading his new novel The Swallows Of Lunetto.

Left chuffed and slightly curious as to the next course of action, he snuck a quick picture for his Twitter asking followers: “Should I say anything?”

“I had intended to wait until well into the flight,” the award-winning poet told STV News.

“But, my curiosity got the best of me and I started a conversation about 15 minutes later.

The person next to me on this airplane is reading my novel. Should I say anything? pic.twitter.com/RgaaO8ZswT
— Joseph Fasano (@Joseph_Fasano_) February 22, 2023

“I asked her if she was enjoying the book, and after she told me she was, she asked if I’d read it.

“I replied, ‘about 100 times’, and she looked at me like I was crazy. I said ‘well, I was just making sure everything was right’.

“Then she paused, and quite quickly realized I must have been involved in the production of the book.

“Then I took my glasses off and she recognized me from the dustjacket photo. We had a funny laugh at that moment and it was great.”

Mr Fasano’s neighbour introduced herself as Jan, and told him that a friend had suggested the book as a good love story.

She now plans to attend one of his book readings in Scotland, which is his reason for travelling here – a promotional book tour.

The author signed her copy of the book, writing: “To Jan, Thanks for taking me on your journey – your seatmate.”

Joseph Fasano’s The Swallows Of Lunetto is a novel about a young couple escaping from Italian fascism at the end of the Second World War.

“Alexandra is an artist and Leonardo is a former soldier who fought with the Italian fascists in the Second World War,” the writer told STV News.

“Leonardo is full of guilt and confusion when the war ends, and the novel asks questions about how people get caught up in the dangerous ideas of political extremes.

“The romance at the heart of this book is a story about how love and forgiveness can attempt to heal the deepest wounds—of a person, a country, or a world.”