ROVING READS
By Chris Wadsworth
People usually head to a coffee shop for coffee, a winery for wine and a farmers’ market for fresh food. Finding a miniature mobile bookstore at these locales would be a surprise – or at least it would have been before the arrival of The Blushing Page.
“I think there is something really special about stumbling across a bookstore where you least expect it,” said owner Nicole Connelly.
By day, Connelly is a nurse practitioner, living in Ashburn Farm with her husband, Tim, daughter, Paige, and son, Landon. But on a spring break vacation to Florida earlier this year, Connelly spotted a mobile bookstore – literally books for sale on the back of a cute truck – and she had an epiphany.
“I immediately thought, ‘Wow, I would love to have one of those in Northern Virginia,’” she said.
With the support of her family, Connelly pursued her dream. She bought a small 1999 Subaru Sambar and had a local contractor help her retrofit it with shelves and storage on the back. She worked with a book distributor to curate a selection of romance and romance fantasy titles and by the end of May, she was ready to launch The Blushing Page.
“Romance and ‘romantasy’ are my favorite genres,” said the lifelong reader. “They’re the books I naturally reach for, so it made sense to build the bookstore around something I am genuinely passionate about.”
Connelly is also proud to stock some books from independently published authors – making her offerings more unique.
“I love being able to support indie authors while also offering readers a mix of bestselling titles and books they may not discover anywhere else,” she said.
Connelly and her family aren’t alone in thinking a mobile bookstore sounded like a great idea. Here in Northern Virginia, she is joined by The Wandering Shelf, a mobile bookstore out of Arlington, The Littlest Bookshop based in Leesburg, and the new Owl & Ink from Prince William County.
According to statistics from Circana BookScan, more than 762 million print books were sold in 2025. Sales in the romance category increased by 3.9% over the previous year with 44 million sold. A big driver of that was the success of the “romantasy” bestseller “Onyx Storm” by Rebecca Yarros – surely music to Connelly’s ears.
Since first rolling out The Blushing Page, Connelly has taken her mobile bookstore to places like the Blend Coffee Bar in Ashburn and Baked Bagels and Stone Tower Winery in Leesburg. The goal is to go to wineries, breweries, coffee shops, farmers’ markets and more, and she continues to look for more venues to add to her rounds.
While the book truck may be Nicole Connelly’s dream, she’s not doing it alone. Husband Tim is a steadfast supporter. Nicole calls him “her muscle.”
“If I’m not at work or getting my kids to one of their sporting events, I’m going to be here to support my wife,” said Tim Connelly, who admits romance books are not his usual reads. “I drive the truck, help lug inventory around and chat with the husbands that show up.”
On a recent summer Saturday, Meredyth Davis of Ashburn Village stopped at Blend for a jolt of java and a chance to check out Connelly’s truck.
“Ashburn doesn’t really have any independent bookstores. We have Barnes & Noble and there’s really nothing else,” said Davis who follows The Blushing Page on Instagram. “Most people order their books from Amazon, and I just feel like independent bookstores support other people – like artists who do stickers and bookmarks. It’s more of a community so I love it.”
And so far, the community has been supportive.
“One of my favorite parts has been watching people’s reactions when they first spot the truck,” Connelly said. “They’ll do a double take … and then make a beeline over to see what’s inside. It’s so much fun seeing that excitement.”
EXTRA: LESSON LEARNED
Starting her mobile book truck hasn’t been completely smooth sailing for Nicole Connelly. She originally launched the business with a different name. However, she soon discovered that a bookstore in another state was using the same moniker. This convinced Connelly it was best to quickly rebrand.
“It was a stressful situation, but it ultimately led me to The Blushing Page, which feels like a much better fit for the business and the community I’m building,” she said.
EXTRA: MORE INFO
To learn more about The Blushing Page, visit the-blushing-page.com.