Leigh Bardugo Signing Event, Meeting the Book Bestie, and Currently Reading!

Hi everyone!!!! The blog post title is so long right? But it all weaves in together. On Monday September 26, Leigh Bardugo the author of The Grisha Trilogy and Six of Crows Duology, started her Troublemakers tour for her new release Crooked Kingdom (Six of Crows #2). If you haven’t read Six of Crows, then please stop what you’re doing and buy it now! Lol no no no it’s okay, continue reading the post.

A few months back Leigh Bardugo mentioned her tour dates and when Lilly from Lair of Books and I found out that she was coming home (NYC), we immediately bought our tickets. Plus, Bardugo was coming to one of our favorite bookstores, Strand!!!

Lilly and I both left early that day from our full time jobs to meet up and get on the line early in order to get good seats (btw, yes we got great seats). I am not going to lie, I was pretty nervous meeting Lilly because it was our first time meeting up and I’m a anxious driven perfectionist so I was crossing fingers that it all went well. Let me tell you, it went perfect!!! After all these months of texting one another, chatting via ghat whilst working, following one another on social media, and hearing her husband snore via voice notes; it was like meeting with an old friend. She understood my sarcasm and wits from the beginning. We had such a blast!

Everyone meet my book bestie and I:

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So while we were on the line waiting to go upstairs to our seats, someone brought up a Kaz poster and I couldn’t resist the selfie. I had everyone on that whole block laughing. No shame at all. Heeeeyyyyyyy dirty hannnddddssss, how you doing *Wendy Williams voice*

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Also while standing on the line, Leigh Bardugo and Jesse The Reader (he’s a booktuber) came out of their cars and SHE WALKED RIGHT BY US!!!!! I was a total fangirl and Lilly was super starstruck. I told Lilly that I want to be like her when I hit her age lol. I was obsessing over her dress!!!

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Once we arrived up the stairs, the first thing that was handed to us were the books. I wanted to cry of happiness but I didn’t lol. While everyone was situating themselves, I got to take photos of the Inej and Jesper:

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Jesse The Reader asked Leigh Bardugo tons of questions, like what would the characters order from Starbucks, what would their youtube channels be about, what would their Hamilton songs be, etc. She also spoke about her writing process with each book and I learned so much from her as a writer myself. Bardugo is hilarious. She was also answering questions from the crowd. I would definitely go to another event from hers. She spoke about possibly writing more for the Grisha world and brushed up on the Wonder Woman book coming next year (which I cannot wait for). Us in the crowd wanted to know more about any future books but her publishers in the back were shaking their head no lol. Leigh Bardugo also talked about GEMS which is a charity for girls who have been victims of sexual slavery/exploitation. 10% of each book sale is going to the foundation. Now if you haven’t read Six of Crows and you’re wondering why this particular charity is the choice, it’s because of one of the characters in the book.

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After the Q&A and all the laughter, the event coordinator was calling us by numbers and Lilly and I were amongst the first 20 people. While waiting, we received a cookie and a bottle of water. We got into a line to meet Leigh Bardugo personally, have the book signed, and take a picture. I was clearly ecstatic when it was my turn cause:

She also mentioned how much she loved my lipstick. (Bow and Arrow liquid lipstick by Kat Von D). We also got a Crooked Kingdom pin and a card. The card I got was:

After we left the event, Lilly and I stood around the area and got a bit to eat at Chipotle since we skipped lunch. We spoke about how fun the event was and what was going on. I got to meet her snoring husband lol. It was a blast and I cannot wait to see Lilly again at ComicCon/BookCon next week!!

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After this whole post, guess what I’m reading?!?! I mean, isn’t it obvious? Crooked Kingdom!!!!

“No mourners, no funerals”

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