Ruin and Rising Launch Party Recap

Hi, everyone! Today is the release day for Ruin & Rising by Leigh Barugo, the third book in the Grisha series. I was lucky enough to attend the launch party last night held at The Last Bookstore in downtown LA. Leigh knows how to throw a good party and I was excited to celebrate her new book with her and all of the Grisha fans.

The event did not start until 7:30pm. I met up with Nicole, Michelle and Crystal earlier in the evening and had dinner at one of my favorite Italian places. By the time we made it back to the store, there was a pretty substantial line happening. Eventually someone came around to check our names off a list and gave us color coded wristbands so that they could tell if we were allowed booze or not. Below you can see I have my Ruin & Rising manicure and wristband ready to party!

The store was jam packed and we did not manage to grab seats in time. Instead, we wandered around the store checking out the party decorations and snacks. 

There was a lot of fun stuff going on, including a photo booth and a manicure station. I was pretty excited about the manicure station. I didn't do it because I already had my nails done but I am interested in seeing what manicures everyone else got.

After some mingling and snacking it was time for the main event. Leigh got up on stage and thanked everyone for being there. She said that she has started off all of her other launch parties by reading something embarrassing from her childhood. This time around, she had found a journal from when she was 10, which she read aloud parts of to us. I can't really paraphrase what was in the journal but trust me, she had us all in stitches. 

Leigh then talked a little bit about the film Labyrinth, which was one of her favorite movies as a teen.   I can't really summarize this part very well but she showed us some great footage of the ballroom scene and how it relates to her writing. She also touched on the subject of reading YA and pointed out that there is a lot of amazing writing going on in YA and that's why people read it. 

Leigh then read the first page from Ruin and Rising. She didn't want to be spoiler-y so she had a limited selection to choose from. Next up were some questions.

Who were Nikolai and the Apparat inspired by? 

Nikolai is a bit Han Solo and a bit Lando Calrissian. She also mentioned a character from a book series but I am blanking on the name. Sorry about that. If you remember, leave a comment telling me below.

Who was Mal inspired by?

Leigh had a friend when she was younger and they had a really close friendship. Mal is sort of inspired by that relationship of deep friendship though he is no inspired by any one person, since Leigh has never met anyone like Mal.

Then it was finally time for book signing! Luckily we had been standing pretty close to the stage and managed to get in the signing line near the front. The line was still going strong when we left so I am glad that we got in it early.

Leigh was sweet and gracious as always. I showed her my R&R nails like a fangirl. We even managed to finally snag some brownies after looking for them all night. Overall I'd say the night was a huge success! 

Much thanks to Leigh and everyone who organized the party and also to my blogging buddies for the great company. If you missed Leigh this time around, she will be at the Fierce Reads tour in B&N The Grove on July 23. I will be in San Diego for Comic Con already by that date but it should be a great event. 

Tammara Webber & Abbi Glines Recap + Giveaway

Hi, everyone! I hope the week is going fantastic. It's actually really flying by which is nice. Is it just me or do you start counting down the days until the weekend on Monday? Maybe it's just me but I do love the weekend. This week was broken up by a really fun author event. Barnes & Noble at the Americana hosted Abbi Glines and Tammara Webber on May 6, 2014. Even though I left work a little early, it still took me over an hour to get there (grrr LA traffic). First things first though, I went and got dinner with Alethea at Din Tai Fung. DTF is a really great Chinese dumpling restaurant. I hadn't been to this location before and I was starving, so we ordered all the things.

shrimp rice cakes

pork and seafood dumplings

We were cutting it close by having dinner beforehand but, like I said, starving. We arrived a few minutes after 7pm and grabbed seats (thanks, Aly!).  There was a really good crowd there and it was standing room only. There was no talk beforehand and the ladies launched right into a Q&A session. I'll give you a few tidbits about what I learned during the Q&A.

Tammara has never been recongnized as far as she knows. Abbi says that she isn't usually recognized either but loves going on tour to meet fans. The first time she ever flew was in 2012 when she went to NYC.

Abbi has turned down movie options for her books because she doesn't want the rights to be tied up with a film. She thinks that there is too much story in her series for a movie and is waiting for a TV deal.

my nails match and i didn't even plan it!

When asked about what it was like going from being a self-published author to signing with a major publisher Abbi said that she had to give up some control over things like covers and pricing on her books. However, she said that giving up that control is worth it to have things like an editor and seeing her books on the shelves of major retailers.

Abbi did not outline her first book, which she said was a bad idea. Now she outlines every book. Tammara does not outline her books.

When asked if they write in chronological order, Tammara said that it depends on the story. She wrote Easy chronologically but not all of her books have been written that way. Abbi says that she writes chronologically because that's how her brain works. When she tries to write out of order, it gets confusing.

Abbi wants to do another Vincent Boys books but, with her current publishing schedule, isn't sure when that will happen. It will be a prequel story to the series.

Tammara is thinking of writing a book from the point of view from some a secondary character in her books.

Tammara hadn't planned on writing Lucas's book. It wasn't until a year after Easy was published that she started to see and hear Lucas's POV in her mind and decided to write the book.

Abbi said that Rock and Trish will get a novella.

Tammara says that she wanted her son to read the audiobook for Easy. She knew that he could do it but had to convince her publisher to let him audition. 

After a few more questions, it was time for the signing. It was all very orderly though there were a lot of people so we had plenty of time to chat while we waited. (Apologies for the less than stellar pics below. It was really busy and I just tried to take a few quick pics while I was in line.)

Here is Tammara signing about 4 copies of Breakable. She was a little quiet but super sweet and friendly.

Here is Abbi signing a poster for me. She's super funny and I love her Southern accent. After the signing we retreated upstairs to Starbucks for a much needed caffeine break. Thanks for B&N for a lovely event. It was very organized and the turnout was great. Both Abbi and Tammara were super nice and charming. I can't wait to read my new books! If you want to see a few more pics, check out my Flickr set for the event. 

And because you, dear readers, are always on my mind, I got a few presents for you at the screening, too. I am giving away a signed copy of Breakable by Tammara Webber as well as an Abbi Glines T-Shirt (Large) and a poster signed by Abbi. Giveaway is US only at this time. Please check out my giveaway rules and enter the Rafflecopter below. Giveaway ends 5/24/14. Good luck!

Giveaway Rules:

1. Open to US residents only. 
2. We are not responsible for lost, stolen, or damaged items. 
3. One set of entries per household please. 
4. If you are under 13, please get a parent or guardian's permission to enter, as you will be sharing personal info such as an email address. 
5. Winner will be chosen randomly via Rafflecopter widget a day or two after the contest ends. 
6. Winner will have 48 hours to respond to to the email, otherwise we will pick a new winner. 
7. If you have any questions, feel free to email us. You can review our full contest policy here. 
8. PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE ANY PERSONAL INFO IN THE COMMENTS. Sorry for the caps but we always get people leaving their email in the comments. Rafflecopter will collect all that without having personal info in the comments for all the world (and spambots) to find. Thanks!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

---

Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand & Jodi Meadows at MGRB Recap

Hello! I've been meaning to write this recap for a couple of weeks now and have only just found the time to sit down and do it. Sorry for the tardiness but I hope you still find this a fun read. A couple of weeks ago on March 29, 2014, Brodi Ashton, Cynthia Hand and Jodi Meadows were scheduled for a signing at Mysterious Galaxy Redondo Beach. I really wasn't sure if I was going to go because the store really isn't that close to me but, in the end, I rallied to go and am glad that I did. (Note that this recap may be a little disjointed as my notes are hard to read.)

I showed up about 40 minutes ahead of time and actually ran into the authors at the cafe. I played it pretty cool though and didn't fangirl. Luckily my friend Nicole at The Reader's Antidote was there so I had a hangout buddy. The panel started on time with the authors going through brief intros first. Brodi prompted Jodi into telling a crazy story about where she gets her ideas. I don't remember the whole thing but it involved a unicorn, fighting ninjas and time travel.

I like this picture because it gives a good idea about the tone of the panel. It's clear that these ladies are all friends and know each other well. When talking about their books Brodi admitted that she sees dog faces in clouds. She proceeded to point out some of the dog faces on her book covers, including a border collie, which I was able to see, too.

 

Cynthia Hand said that she originally thought that Unearthly was going to be 4 books while Brodi Ashton said that she though Everneath was going to be a standalone. Brodi also admitted that she hates world building but that she learned to do it in order to write her books. It's still not her favorite part of writing but she can do it. Jodi Meadows on the other hand, loves world building and her next novel is a YA fantasy.

When asked what some of their favorite YA books were, the authors answered:

CH: Out of the Easy, Cruel Beauty, Reboot, Infinite

JM: Defiance, Girl of Fire and Thorns series

BA: Anna and the French Kiss

 

After a few more questions it was time to sign books. I spoke to Jodi a bit about her knitting and spinning (yay another knitter!) and she told me that she was currently working on a YA fantasy novel. I chatted a bit with Brodi and Cynthia as well, who were both very sweet.

Sorry that wasn't the most extensive recap but I was really just enjoying myself and these authors. Thanks to MGRB for a great event and to the authors for coming out. Have you met any of these lovely authors? I'd love to know. :)

---

Book Ball 2014 Recap + Giveaway (US)

Hi, everyone! Happy hump day. I hope you're almost over the hump (I know that sounds totally dirty). Which is how I am going to segue way into my recap of Book Ball 2014, hosted by the lovely authors Christina Lauren at the Barnes & Noble in Huntington Beach. The event boasted an awesome lineup of authors that included Alice Clayton, Sylvia Day, Katy Evans, Ruthie Knox, Christina Lauren, Cara McKenna, Monica Murphy, Kristen Proby, Tiffany Reisz, and Andrew Shaffer. I had heard about the event a while ago and knew that I wanted to go because I love, love Tiffany Reisz. However, due to life happening, we did not decide to go until the day of, but I am really glad that we rallied and went for it.

My partner in crime was Kimberly from The Windy Pages. Like I said, we actually didn't decide to go to the signing until about an hour before it started. And we live about an hour away from the venue, and that's with good traffic. With the crazy rains in LA over the weekend, I wasn't sure if we were going to run into any traffic but I was confident that we would make it for most of the event. We managed to make pretty good time even with the weather and got to B&N at about 2:15pm for the 2pm signing. I thought there was going to be a Q&A or presentation but it was just a straight signing. There had been a get together the night before with the authors and I think they did most of their talking then. Also, with such a large number of authors, I think a full presentation would have been difficult.

We quickly purchased our books (after a lot of deliberation on which ones to buy) and headed back upstairs for the signing. The line was quite long but the B&N was really organized and the staff was very friendly. We ended up skipping part of the line because the authors we were seeing had shorter lines than some of the others.

First up was Tiffany Reisz! Peeps, if you read this blog you know how much I adore Tiffany Reisz. Her books are fantastic and totally racy and I love her to bits. She was super sweet and funny and was not fazed as Kimberly and I fangirled her. We talked bout the next book in the Original Sinner series that comes out later this year about a young, crazy Nora Sutherlin. I can't wait. I had her sign my copies of The Siren and The Prince, and she and I bonded over the fact that The Prince was our favorite book of the series. 

Next up was Christina Lauren, the writing duo behind the Beautiful Bastard series. Like an idiot, I had left my Christina Lauren books at home but I bought one for a giveaway and had them sign it. They are always so fun to talk to and it's easy to see that they are good friends. We talked a bit about their new book Sublime that is coming out in a few months. I just received and eARC of that one and they told me to tweet them while I was reading it (unless I hated it). :)

This is my favorite picture of the event. I don't even know what was happening here, but I love it.

The last author we saw was Alice Clayton. I have heard so many good things about Alice and finally picked up Wallbanger to try. Alice was super sweet and was lovely to talk to. I am really excited to finally read one of her books.

After the signing we went for a cheesecake break and ended up coming back to B&N to buy more books from their signed stock. I picked up a book by Kristen Proby and Katy Evans, who were both extremely popular at the signing. All in all it was a really fun signing and we met some great people in line as well. B&N did a fantastic job at the event and everything seemed to run really smoothly. I would definitely go back for another signing. Shout out to A Reading Nurse who we chatted with at the event.

Alright, now it's time for a giveaway. I have a signed copy of Beautiful Beginning by Christina Lauren to give away along with a couple of bookmarks. This is open only to US residents. Good luck!

Giveaway Rules:

1. Open to US residents only. 
2. We are not responsible for lost, stolen, or damaged items. 
3. One set of entries per household please. 
4. If you are under 13, please get a parent or guardian's permission to enter, as you will be sharing personal info such as an email address. 
5. Winner will be chosen randomly via Rafflecopter widget a day or two after the contest ends. 
6. Winner will have 48 hours to respond to to the email, otherwise we will pick a new winner. 
7. If you have any questions, feel free to email us. You can review our full contest policy here. 
8. PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE ANY PERSONAL INFO IN THE COMMENTS. Sorry for the caps but we always get people leaving their email in the comments. Rafflecopter will collect all that without having personal info in the comments for all the world (and spambots) to find. Thanks!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

---

Recap: S.J. Harper at Mysterious Galaxy Redondo Beach

Hi, everyone. As you may remember, a few weeks ago I mentioned that I went to Mysterious Galaxy Redondo Beach and happened upon a book signing for S.J. Harper's new book, Cursed. S.J. Harper is the pen name for Jeanne C. Stein (Anna Strong) and Samantha Sommersby (Forbidden). Both are established names in urban fantasy and I decided to sit in on the signing to learn more about their new book. (Side note that I already read the book and really enjoyed it. I am excited for book 2!)

The signing got off to a bit of a late start due to a misunderstanding about the start time, but it was all good and I got to catch up with some fun people that I had met previously at the Nalini Singh signing. Sam came out first and read a little bit from the book.

sam reading from cursed

Jeanne was nearing the end of her Anna Strong series and her publisher asked her to come up with some ideas for a new series. Sam had an idea for an urban fantasy series that she thought would work well with Jeanne's knack for writing police procedurals and her knack for romance. They pitched the idea to Jeanne's publisher and they quickly picked it up.

sam and jeanne

The two mapped out each scene of the book in detail. They would write at the same time, each taking a different scene. When they were done, they swapped scenes and critiqued each other. They said that the method worked well and the process was a lot faster with two people writing. 

They have already turned in book 2 of the series and, at the time of the signing, the cover to the book was being discussed.  Hopefully this means that it will be coming out soon and not a year from now. The two discussed how happy they were with the cover model for Cursed and how she ended up getting in touch with Sam. 

that's suzanne lazear's adorable daughter in the background

They said that the S.J. in their pen name stood for their real names (Sam and Jeanne) but that the H was made up because they found out that the letter H was usually at about eye level at the bookstore. Harris and Hamilton were already taken so they decided on Harper.

Both of these ladies were lovely in person. It's clear that they are good friends and it was fun listening to them both. Like I said above, I already read the book and liked it a lot. I would definitely recommend this series for urban fantasy fans. 

If you stuck through this whole post, gold star for you! Let me know if you end up picking this one up and what you think of it. Thanks for stopping by. :)

Meet FBI Agents Emma Monroe and Zack Armstrong.She's cursed. He's damned. Together, they make one hell of a team.

Emma Monroe is a Siren, cursed by the gods and bound to earth to atone for an ancient failure. She’s had many names and many lives, but only one mission: redemption. Now that she works missing persons cases for the FBI, it could be just a rescue away. Unless her new partner leads her astray.

Special Agent Zack Armstrong just transferred into the San Diego Field Office. He’s a werewolf, doing his best to beat back the demons from his dark and dangerous past. As a former Black Ops sniper, he’s taken enough lives. Now he’s doing penance by saving them.

Emma and Zack’s very first case draws them deep into the realm of the paranormal, and forces them to use their own supernatural abilities. But that leaves each of them vulnerable, and there are lines partners should not cross. As secrets are revealed and more women go missing, one thing becomes clear: as they race to save the victims, Emma and Zack risk losing themselves.

---

Upcoming Events: LAPL Teen Book Fest

Hi, everyone! Just a quick note that the LAPL Teen Book Fest is happening this weekend on Saturday, Oct 12. At noon we (yes, we! Thuy and Alethea) will be on a panel, Read This, I Dare You, in Meeting Room A. You can also see Alyson from Kid Lit Frenzy, Maggie from YA Anonymous, and Lee from I'm Here. I'm Queer. What the Hell Do I Read? I have never been on any kind of a panel before and I hate speaking in public, so it should be interesting. :) 

You can read an interview of the panelists here!

Benjamin Alire Saenz won't be able to attend due to illness; however, Amy Spalding,Elizabeth Ross, and Elana K. Arnold will be there instead.

[ Schedule ]

Also appearing:

Josephine Angelini

Francesca Lia Block

Barbara Brauner

Cecil Castelucci

Cornelia Funke

Maurene Goo

James Iver Mattson

Kristen Kittscher

Bill Konigsberg

Lindsey Leavitt

Tom Leveen

Patricia McCormick

Gretchen McNeil

Mary Pearson

Marlene Perez

Jenn Reese

Andrew Smith

Sherri L. Smith

Ned Vizzini

When:

Teen Book Fest is on Saturday, Oct. 12 from 11am-5pm.

Where: 

Central Library is located at 630 W. 5th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90071. Teen Book Fest panels will take place in Meeting Room A (first floor) and Teen'Scape (second floor). Book sales and signings will be in Meeting Room B (first floor). We'll also have a green room for panelists and their guests on the first floor.

Directions: http://www.lapl.org/branches/central-library/directions

Map of Central Library: http://www.lapl.org/sites/default/files/media/pdf/central/central_map.pdf

When You Arrive:

The Central Library opens at 10. We will have an information table set up on the first floor by the library's 5th Street entrance. If you arrive before 11am, you can check in with Teen Book Fest volunteers here. If you arrive after 11am, please check in in Teen'Scape on the second floor.

Schedule:

I've attached a schedule of all the panels and signing sessions here, and we'll have extra copies for you when you arrive. You can also get a more detailed preview of the panels and get to know some of the other participants at our Teen Book Fest blog.

Parking:

Central Library offers parking validation for the garage at 524 S. Flower Street. If you have a Los Angeles Public Library card, you can get your own parking validation at the Information Desk on the first floor of the library. If you don't have a library card, please let library staff or Teen Book Fest volunteers know, and we will loan you one. With validation, parking for the entire day will cost $1. Without validation, it's $8.

Food:

There will also be a pizza party that's open to the public at 4pm in Meeting Room A.

Hope to see you there!

---

Elizabeth Wein at Once Upon a Time Recap

Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending a signing by Elizabeth Wein for her new book Rose Under Fire. The signing was at Once Upon a Time in Montrose, CA which is a great little store. I met up early with @frootjoos, @thewindypages and @alybee930 to dinner beforehand and then settled into our front row seats.

Elizabeth came out in a rockin' vintage style polka dot dress with great red shoes. I didn't get a shot of the shoes but Aly did and you can see them in her recap.

Nalini Singh at Mysterious Galaxy Redondo Beach

Hi, everyone. This is a ridiculously late recap post. I don't know what happened. I planned on writing this the same week it happened but time just got away from me and now it's months later. Hope you guys don't mind this trip down memory lane. :)

If you don't know, Nalini Singh is one of my most favorite authors. I'll pretty much read anything by her. When I heard that she was touring for the newest book in her Psy-Changeling series, I was ecstatic. The SoCal tour stop was set for Mysterious Galaxy Redondo Beach, which isn't that close to me. I knew it would take me at least an hour to get there - in good traffic. So I decided to take the afternoon off and leave really early and just hang out. I bought my copy of Heart of Obsidian, got a cold coffee beverage, and sat down to read while I waited for the signing.

There were actually quite a few people there who showed up early, too, and I ended up chatting with some of them. It's really fun hanging out with people who love the same books as you do because it's like you already speak the same language. About half and hour before showtime, the staff let us back into the store to get seats. There was a good crowd there by that time though more would show up later. And finally it was time for Nalini to come out! She looked cute as always, in a gorgeous print dress. I kind of love the picture below because of the MG employee doing some sneaky legwork. 

The event started right off with questions from the audience. Someone asked if Amara would ever got her own story. Nalini said that, though she would definitely be back, Amara would not get her own HEA story. She's too unstable and "crazy." Nalini did confirm that there will be more stories on the Arrows. This elicited much cheering from the audience.

Someone asked if Nalini would ever go back to Dark River (we haven't had a Dark River story in a long time). Nalini said that she she always intended for Dark River to be a small, unique pack. They don't have many members and she knew that there would be fewer stories from them. However, she said that she would definitely go back to Dark River one day (yay!).

When asked if she writes for herself or tries to please her audience, Nalini said that she writes to please herself. She knows that she can't please everyone and that she goes with her gut when writing.

One of the hot topics was what kind of pup-cubs would Riley and Mercy have. Nalini didn't give anything away but she did confirm that the kids would be all wolf or all cat, not a mix.

When asked who some of her favorite authors were, Nalini mentioned JD Robb, Ilona Andrews, Meljean Brook and Julie James. 

Then it was time for signing! Unfortunately the staff at MG decided to line people up by letting everyone standing go first and everyone sitting go last. So, even though most of us sitting had been there for hours, we had to go last. It was worth it to see Nalini but I still wish I could have gotten closer to the front of the line. 

Nalini was sweet and gracious and signed the big stack of books I had. We had a nice chat about her travels and touring before I said goodbye and let the next person go. By then there were less than 10 people left in the line and I was pooped. Luckily traffic wasn't terrible and I made it home in less than an hour.

I had a great time at the signing. I don't usually go to a lot of signings by myself but I made some friends there and had fun. I really hope Nalini comes back again soon. If you're interested in seeing a few more pics from the event, you can check out my Facebook album.  And if you've never read a Nalini Singh book, do it! I am totally enabling you to do it right now.

Thanks for hanging out and reading this overdue recap. I think I have one more recap event I need to post about to catch up. Have you been to any great signings recently?

---

Ilona Andrews at Mysterious Galaxy Recap

Hi, guys! As you may recall, a couple of weeks ago a friend and I decided on a somewhat last minute trip to San Diego for the Ilona Andrews signing. We were both a bit on the fence because, even though we love Ilona Andrews, San Diego is a good 2-3 hour drive and we were both there only a couple of weeks before for Comic-Con. However, I made an executive decision that we should go and we planned to meet up early the next day to make our way down there.

Luckily the signing was on a Saturday so no work was missed. The event was at 2pm, but you never know what's going to happen with LA traffic and I wanted to be double sure we made it in time. We ended up leaving a little before 9am and getting there around 1130am. I am so glad we left early, too, since we heard later that there were some closures on the 5. 

After a quick lunch at Chipotle (guacamole!) we wandered over to Mysterious Galaxy. This was my first time at the store since they moved to this location. I think they moved a while ago but I haven't had a chance to go since then. The store isn't large but it's well stocked and organized and there was plenty of parking.

This awesome display greeted us when we got there. We were about an hour early but there were people already seated and waiting for the signing. We hung out and bought books while chatting with everyone. About a half hour before 2 we spotted Ilona and Gordon who were whisked away to a back room to wait until showtime. By the time the signing started, the store was packed. 

Apologies in advance for the bad pics. They were backlit the whole time and it was really hard to get a decent picture. I also have awkward photo taking powers so these may not be the most flattering pics. Ilona and Gordon are both lovely and attractive in person.

The event started right off with Q&A from the audience. I wasn't sure what to expect from the duo, having never seen them before. They were animated and forthright (sometimes too much so) and had a great rapport with all of their fans. It sort of felt like we were all in the same club together and liked all of the same things. They understood us and we understood them.

Summer of YA

Hi, LA natives. My friends at Bridge to Books are helping with a really fun event this weekend at B&N Americana in Glendale. A great roster of YA authors will be on hand for a speed dating type of event where you will get a chance to talk with all of these awesome authors. If you can make it, we'd love to have you. You should RSVP for tickets but they are FREE. See you there!

Saturday, July 27, 2013 at 2:00 pm

Barnes & Noble at The Americana

210 Americana Way 

Glendale, CA 91210

From Paranormal Romance to Action-Adventure join us for a "speed dating" styled event where you can sit down and meet 11 up-and-coming YA authors. 

Jessica Brody (Unremembered)

Stacey Jay (Of Beast and Beauty)

Kathy McCullough (Who Needs Magic?)

Gretchen McNeil (Ten)

Lissa Price (Starters)

Elizabeth Ross (Belle Epoque)

Sarah Skilton (Bruised)

Andrew Smith (Winger)

Ann Stampler (Where It Began)

Carol Tanzman (Circle of Silence) 

Allen Zadoff (Boy Nobody)

Don't miss this chance to chat with these talented individuals and have them sign your books! All of the authors' books will be available for purchase at Barnes & Noble, Glendale. The event is ticketed but tickets are free! Click here to sign up.  Purchases from the weekend of the event benefit Book by Book; event attendees can recommend which school or library will receive a Barnes & Noble gift card from the fundraiser -- the beneficiary will be chosen randomly from all the school/library names submitted! The winning attendee will also win a gift card. You can also enter to win a gift card right now -- just for helping us promote the event locally! The only catch is you have to be able to come to the Glendale, CA store in person to pick up the prize.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

---