-Thank you so much for coming back.
-Thank you. -What a fun -- What --
It's been a year and a half?
-It's a year and a half. And I blacked out last time.
-Okay. -Like, when I watched it,
I was like, "Did that --" I was just -- It was the curtain.
And then we talked, but I don't remember it.
And then saw my sister at the end.
So this time I'm like, "Okay. Look, process.
Make a memory. Like, be here."
-Yeah, make a memory. You are here.
You are here. This is awesome. -Yeah.
-'Cause the last time you were here, you were the winner
of our first -- We decided to do a summer book club
where you guys at home voted on what book you want.
And your book, "Children of Blood and Bone," was the winner.
-Yes, yes. -Hands down.
[ Cheers and applause ]
And I loved it.
But it's been on "The New York Times"
best-seller list for -- Is it 90 weeks now?
-90 weeks.
-I mean -- -90 weeks.
[ Cheers and applause ] -That's crazy.
I mean, it's still on -- -It's still --
It's crazy, too, 'cause my dad, too,
he'll text every Wednesday.
And, like, when it was about four weeks,
I was like, "Dad, you need to stop looking at this
'cause one day you're gonna be disappointed."
And he's like, "No, it'll never come off."
And I was like, "Dad."
And he was like, "See? See? See? See?"
-Every week, you get an e-mail from Dad.
-Yeah, and now we're here. Yeah.
-And now the second book is coming out,
and the other one is still on the list.
-Yes! -That's exciting.
-It's crazy!
-I love it. I'm so happy for you.
[ Cheers and applause ] Did you get a lot of good
feedback from the last time you were on our show?
-Oh, yeah. Well, it's so -- It's really cute, because, like,
I'll go -- I do events,
and there's a lot of young kids there.
And, like, they'll kind of lean in, and they'll be like,
"Is Jimmy as nice as he seems on TV?"
And then I'm like, "He's nicer."
-[ Laughs ] Aww. -It was such a cool opportunity,
and so many people talked to me about it.
So when you were like, "Will you come back?"
I was like, "Are you kidding? Like, will you have me back?
I would love to come back." -We're the biggest fans.
I just love that it's just gotten so huge and fun.
-Yeah. -We're not your only fans.
Obviously. There's a lot of fans of yours out there.
But one person is Beyoncé. I don't know if you saw.
She posted this in honor of Black History Month.
This is a collage
honoring 45 black men and women who have done and are doing
amazing work in the black community,
and there you are right down there.
You see?
[ Cheers and applause ]
Wow! I mean, what?!
Beyoncé! -Beyoncé!
-[ Laughs ] -No, that was not --
I remem-- Well, I can't say what I said
because I swore a lot when someone texted like,
"You're on Beyoncé's website."
You know, so I'm not going to say what I said.
-Yeah. -But when I saw it, it was --
Like, she's a part of my journey.
Like, even this. I woke up at like 3:00 a.m. this morning,
and I was like "Okay, ladies, now let's get..."
Like, I'm on the treadmill. -Yeah.
-But I saw her the first time when I was about 22.
And it was her "Formation" world tour.
And I was, like, far from the stage.
But you still -- you feel -- you feel her everywhere.
And I was like, "Okay, next time she has a tour,
I want to be a rich woman so I can sit as close to you --"
She's literally a part of my journey.
When I saw that, I was like, "Oh, you not only see me,
but you see me with --
You put me next to Maya Angelou, next to Malcolm X,
Martin Luther King, Lena Waithe."
But it was -- it was the --
I swore. I swore a lot. I'm in my 20s.
-Yeah, yeah, yeah, I understand. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
You have to go see her now. Now you got to see her up close.
-I will see her for the rest of my life.
That's why I do this. Just to get Beyoncé tickets.
-That's why any of us do anything.
-It's why we do anything. -Yeah, hello.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Now, "Children of Blood and Bone."
I remember when we talked about it you said
someone was talking about maybe making this it into a movie.
-Yeah. -Is that still happening?
-It's still happening.
It's Disney, Fox, and Lucasfilm.
-What?! -Yeah, yeah.
-What?! -I know!
-[ Laughs ] That's unbelievable.
-I know! -That's the three biggest --
I mean, come on.
-It's literally -- I was like "Oh, okay.
It's going to be like if 'Star Wars' and 'Harry Potter'
and 'Black Panther' had a baby."
Is that ethical to unleash... -Wow!
-...that merchandising power, like, into the world?
Like, it's gonna be crazy. -Holy mackerel.
That's the way to do it. -Yeah, I know. We're doing it.
-I'm so psyched for you. All right.
Now tell me about number two.
-So, number two, it picks up
about like three weeks where book one ends.
-Yeah. -And it's just -- it's all-out.
It's all-out war.
It's all-out passion. It's all-out magic.
I just -- I wanted my readers to, like, read it in one go
and be dehydrated and angry and, like, kind of --
I like when my readers are upset at the end
'cause that means I really, really took them for a ride.
-Yeah. -I tried.
I put everything I had in it. And it's just crazy.
-You were writing this when this one was out.
-Yeah. No. It was back-to-back.
I took like one week off between book one and book two.
So it's weird to see it.
It's weird to see it in your hands.
-I am so excited that I'm holding it.
-Yeah, I know. You're, like, holding my book.
-No. Come on. 'Cause you were -- I just love how much work
goes into all this stuff that a lot of people don't even realize
it when you see a book.
But this is over a year and a half.
-Yeah, these are like the last three years of my life.
And so it's just -- it's crazy.
But it's also cool to be on this side.
Be like, "Oh, you did it."
And now you get to celebrate, like, with your readers.
I was like, "I have readers. I have people that are waiting."
-You actually have readers.
-"I have readers. That's crazy." It's like, "Yeah."
-Now, I hate to even bring this up,
but are you working on the third book?
-No! Well, okay, I am. I am. But I'm taking --
I was like, "Okay, you can put it out.
You can start that in 2020."
-Good. -So, yeah.
-Please tell me -- Enjoy the success.
-I want to enjoy it this time. I want to remember it, yes.
-It is hard work and well-earned.
And we love you. Congratulations on the book.
-Thank you. -Please come back...
-I will.
-...whenever for the third book or the movie.
Tomi Adeyemi!
"Children of Virtue and Vengeance" is available now.