Demigods of the Week

Congratulations to Carissa and Athena (yes, really Athena) of Keller, Texas, who won T-shirts during my visit to their school. The girls are twins, and attended different sessions for the author visit, one in the morning, one in the afternoon. Out of several hundred students, both happened to answer the same question (#7 about Hades) during the Greek mythology quiz, and both girls' numbers were chosen at random by other students to receive T-shirts. What are the odds? Surely, the Fates were on their side, and so they are named demigods of the week!

The Malta Connection

A couple of months ago my friends Rachel and Chris from Merlin Library in Malta contacted me with this crazy idea: Since I could not come to Malta in person for a Titan's Curse release party, I could visit via teleconference. Talk about a leap of faith: They reserved the auditorium at St. James Cavalier, a beautiful arts center in Valletta, invited a ton of kids, and set up a big screen and all this other high tech equipment. They helped me to download the Skype program for making internet video calls and we did a test run, but we didn't actually get to try it in the theater until the day of the party. We just had to hope it would work. I joked that we'd better make the proper sacrifices to Hermes, god of telecommunications, or we were toast.

Yesterday was the big event. They had a packed house in the afternoon (early morning, my time) and Rachel did a reading from Titan's Curse while Chris and I kept in touch via instant messages. Then the moment arrived, and I made the call . . .

It worked flawlessly. We could see each other and the sound delay wasn't bad at all. The kids got to ask questions and broke into applause when I told them the latest news about the movie. We had a great conversation across several thousand miles and seven time zones. It made me miss Malta, and remember how amazing my visit was last year.

But the incredible part . . . after the event, Rachel discovered something about St. James Cavalier. They have no Internet access. So how did we connect? It's still a mystery. She's not sure if her laptop somehow managed to get a wireless signal or what. We shouldn't have been able to do the conference. It's obvious Hermes was looking after us, at any rate! Good thing I burned some pizza in the brazier for him and saved some rats for his snakes, George and Martha.

Thanks to everyone in Malta who came out for the launch party! May the Olympians look out for you until we meet again.

What a Week!

It's hard to imagine how I could've crammed more activities and news into a single week.

I started on Monday with a trip to North Carolina. I visited Apex Middle School, where almost every kid in the school had read the Lightning Thief in their English classes. Wow, it makes such a huge difference when the kids are prepared like that. They had great questions, and they were so excited. I met with the Newbery club after school and we had an informal discussion about books, writing, and what I might do after the Percy series. I met quite a few aspiring writers.

That evening I had my first visit to Quail Ridge Bookstore. If you're ever in the Raleigh area, you need to go. It's a fabulous store. We had an enormous crowd of teachers, parents and kids, all ages from 8 to 18. Most embarrassing moment, a young lady came up to get her book signed and I asked her how school was going this year. I thought she was maybe fourteen. It turned out she was a college professor. Oops!

Tuesday, I visited Ravenscroft School and spoke with grades 6, 7 and 8. It was an interesting day because it was mostly writers' workshops, so I got to spend a lot more one-on-one time with kids than I usually do in big presentations. I felt like I was teaching again! There are some talented writers at that school. Most memorable moment: walking by a classroom and seeing a teacher reading from my book. I know that doesn't sound like much, but it was really cool. I know the book is used in classrooms all the time, but seeing it happen in person really made me feel honored -- that a teacher would take something I wrote and use valuable class time to read it to his kids. Anway, after lunch we did a distance learning activity with schools all across North Carolina. The technology gods smiled upon us and we didn't have any hitches. Lots and lots of questions came in over the Internet. You can check out the whole thing on the link listed in my previous post.

Then I flew home, figuring the rest of the week would be quiet. Wrong! My editor emailed on Wednesday and said, "Wow, congratulations on Chris Columbus." I'm like: "What are you talking about?" I figured Columbus was old news, having discovered the New World quite a while ago. She writes, "No, the director. It was in Variety today." Now remember, I am "just the author," as they say in Hollywood, so I am absolutely the last one to know anything. But I look up Variety, and sure enough, there's the article. Chris Columbus, who directed Home Alone, Mrs. Doubtfire, and the first two Harry Potter films, has signed on to direct and produce The Lightning Thief. My film agent and Riley Ellis from Fox both email me to confirm the deal.

I usually try to downplay movie news. With Hollywood, I take a "I'll believe it when I see it" approach. But I have to admit this is pretty exciting. What I love about Chris Columbus is that he has a reputation for being faithful to his subject matter. He tries to make the movie like the book. The author yells a large, "Hooray!" So what does this mean for the progress on the movie? Don't ask me. I understand they are working on getting a writer to draft a second script (they weren't satisfied with the first one). I still have no word on casting, and as I always say, I won't be involved in that part at all. But my guess is things will start moving at a faster pace now. If I do find out anything more, I'll post it.

That would've been enough for the week. But then my editor and publicist call me on Thursday to let me know the Sea of Monsters will debut on the New York Times paperback bestseller list next week, following in the footsteps of the Lightning Thief. Woohoo! Two for two.

And on Friday, he rested. Well, not really. I finished reading Percy 4 to Haley and Patrick. They gave it thumbs up, though I caught several things that need fixing as I was reading it aloud, so now it's back to revising. I'll probably be sending it off to my editor in a few weeks, though as I've said before, the editing/publication process is very long. It won't be ready for release until next spring.

In the meantime, the countdown has begun on my website. TEN DAYS until Titan's Curse. Next week, one last string of school visits, this time in Keller ISD near Fort Worth, before I set out on the official book tour. Today, I think I'll take it easy!

Video Interviews with Rick

In case you missed it: A couple of interviews I've done with school groups are now available on-line, for anyone who's interested.

Video interview with Rick in North Carolina, from a distance-learning session at Ravenscroft School. We linked up with schools all over North Carolina. Kids sent in questions via the web. This presentation is about an hour long. It starts with the kids doing a reader's theater from the Titan's Curse.

Video interview with Rick in Cincinnati. I am interviewed by local school kids at the Cincinnati television studios. This runs about ten minutes.

News on the Movie

Hot off the presses: this article ran in today's Variety. I still can't believe it.

Gearing up for the Tour!

Only two weeks before I head off on the Titan's Curse U.S. tour. I can't wait! I'll be doing many events from California to Texas to the East Coast. If you're interested in attending an event near you, check out the on-line calendar available on my website. Click on any event, and you'll get full information about it. I'll be bringing quite a few Camp Half-Blood and Hunters of Artemis T-shirts with me, so come by and win one!

If you don't live near one of my signings but would still like a personalized copy of Titan's Curse, don't despair. Any of the bookstores where I am appearing will be happy to take email or phone orders in advance. Contact them before my scheduled appearance. They will have your book ready for me to autograph, and then they'll ship it to you!

Camp Half-Blood video on TeacherTube

Becky found this fun promotional video for the Percy Jackson books on TeacherTube. Check it out, and thanks to J.R. Briggs Elementary in Ashburnham, MA and Forbush Library in Westminster, MA. I'm impressed and honored!

Percy Four Update

A beautiful spring day in Texas! Gorgeous weather for the Texas Library Association meeting, which I'll be attending tomorrow. In the meantime, I've spent the last few days at home finishing the third draft (which means "almost readable") of Percy Jackson 4. I just printed the manuscript for the first time. Title? Not solidified yet, though I have some ideas. All I can tell you so far: It weighs in at 365 pages, making it the longest Percy adventure since Lightning Thief, which was 375, and it involves the most dangerous place in all of Greek mythology: the Labyrinth. Ah, but don't get any preconceptions about what I mean by the Labyrinth. Wait until you see what it's become in the 21st Century. Next step: I'll be reading it to Haley and Patrick this weekend. It has to pass the "real kid test" before it goes any further. Doubtless, there will be many revisions based on their impressions. More updates to come . . .

The Gods Are Among Us

Here are some photos from the Titan's Curse stunt event in the UK. Greek gods visited major shopping centers in Birmingham, Manchester, and Milton Keynes to let shoppers know about the Percy Jackson series. Pictured: Zeus in Manchester, and yours truly hanging out with Ares and Aphrodite on Ares's Harley in Milton Keynes.

Demigod of the Week

On my recent trip to Warwick, I met Fahrid, a young man who was chosen to interview me for First News, the British newspaper written entirely for and by young readers. Fahrid did a great job with the interview, which appears below. Thanks to Fahrid, demigod of the week!

First News

Rick Riordan Visits Myton School
By Fahrid C., Myton School, Warwick


Following the culminating ceremony for the Warwickshire Secondary Schools Book Award 2007, winning author Rick Riordan, claimed his prize after ‘Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief’ was voted the children of Warwickshire’s favourite book. Luckily, Rick, from Texas, happened to be paying a visit to the U.K on a book tour and agreed to come and officially receive his award at Myton School, where children from eight participating schools across the county had gathered, eagerly awaiting his arrival.

It was not long before he arrived at Myton School’s Library Resource Centre, where the presentation took place. Once the ceremony was underway, two spokespeople from Warwickshire’s Schools Library Service introduced Rick to the audience. He then spent time, sharing his first ideas for storylines when he was only thirteen years of age. He told us about how he had always had an ambition to write, but could never find what to write about! When he was thirteen he wrote a story about a child who went to heaven and had a conversation with an angel. He showed this to his schoolteacher who was amazed, and advised him to get in touch with a publishing company. He did, but the editor rejected his request saying it just wasn’t right for a magazine. His mum very proudly framed his rejection note and hung it up but Rick said it forever haunted him.

He then questioned the children in the audience, asking them what material they read and wrote, in terms of genre. He also gave out ‘blue candy’ and tee shirts in a quiz about Lightning Thief.

After his talk, Rick read a passage, as a sneak preview for his next book – ‘The Titan’s Curse’. No one, apart from the author and the editors had read it yet and it is due to come out in stores in America on the 1st May. He read the passage out loud, and with great enthusiasm! He read up to a crucial cliff hanger where Percy, the main character of the series, finds himself approached by a mysterious character. This is where he left the book, and everyone was intrigued, including the adults!

He then, with great pleasure, accepted his award from the Warwickshire Schools Library Service and then asked the children if they had any questions for him. There were loads! Amongst the many searching questions that were asked, one stood out. The child asked “Where did you get the idea for ‘Lightning Thief’ from?” Rick replied, “My son was finding it hard at school; he didn’t enjoy reading, nor writing. However the one thing that really appealed to him was Greek mythology. He said to me one day, Dad, wouldn’t it be cool if the Greek gods were still alive”. And this is what triggered the idea.

To conclude this event Rick Riordan then took the time to sign books before setting off to Birmingham for his next stop.

The Frontiers of Mythology

I've had some requests for copies of the speech I gave this weekend at the annual conference for the Federation of Children's Book Groups at Worth Abbey School in England. The theme of the conference was 'Crossing Frontiers,' and so I titled my speech 'The Frontiers of Mythology.' My speech notes are below. There may be a few things left out, like impromptu comments and my bad jokes, but most of the content is included!




The Frontiers of Mythology

I heard the theme of this conference was “frontiers,” so they decided they’d better get someone from Texas to speak. It’s true when most people in Texas hear the word frontier, they are more likely to think of barbed wire and cows than children’s books and authors, but I do think the idea of frontiers has a lot to do with children’s literature, especially my favorite kind of literature – mythology. So I thought I would explore three questions today: What is a frontier as it applies to children’s literature, what is mythology and why is it relevant today, and why do I aspire to be on the frontiers of mythology?

So first, what’s a frontier? According to the dictionary a frontier is that part of a country which fronts an unsettled region or another country; the marches; the border, confine, or extreme part of a country; the edge of civilization.

That’s something I know about, coming from Texas. Texas has always had a bigger-than-life reputation as the frontier, where civilization overlaps with the wild. This is an image we Texans love to perpetuate.

My mother was actually raised in England, because her father was stationed her in the Air Force after World War II. They lived in Hatch End and she grew up reading the Noddy books. She moved to the States when she was a young teen and I don’t think she ever quite got over the culture shock.

I was born in Texas, but even now, in modern times, Texas has always felt like a frontier to me. We don’t ride horses anymore. We have cars and internet and cable TV, but we still view Western Civilization from the edge, not from the center, and it does skew my perspective, possibly letting me see things as others might not. Sometimes the best way to observe something, after all, is from a distance.

For instance, people often ask me why I set the Percy Jackson series in New York City, when I live in Texas. They ask how I know so much about New York. In fact, I learned everything I knew about New York from not ever living there. I wasn’t so much interested in New York, the real place, as I was in New York, the icon of American culture. When you live on the frontier, everything does seem larger than life. You grow up with an innate fascination for finding the limits and stretching the truth.

Today, the very notion that there are frontiers anymore is often challenged. The definition of “Western Civilization” has changed dramatically over the centuries. What does that mean? Which cultures and countries does it include? Is the term even relevant today, in a global society? But I think frontiers are still important, because they push the boundaries of who we are. They force us to constantly redefine ourselves.

How does this apply to those of us who are interested in children’s literature? Well, U.S. inventor Charles Kettering once said, “Where there is an open mind there will always be a frontier.” And certainly children’s literature is all about opening minds. We must constantly look for better ways to reach children, to find literature that engages them, and makes them want to read. To do that, we have to constantly reexamine what we mean by children’s literature. We must do that with the help of children, by learning what they like, and what boundaries they are pushing. And believe me, as the father of two young boys, I know that children love pushing boundaries. I have had to pull them back from the frontiers of bad behavior on numerous occasions.

Still, I would pose the radical idea that the best judges for children’s literature are . . . children. These books are, after all, written for them. This is why I am so grateful for the Federation of Children’s Book Groups, because the Federation understands and involves children so well. I don’t believe that quality is divorced from accessibility, or that a good book must be a difficult book. I believe that any book that gets children reading is in fact a good book. If this includes anime, graphic novels – so be it. These, I would argue, are literary frontiers, and often our children are the ones blazing the trail, while we adults follow behind in our slow heavy covered wagons. When it comes to children’s literature, the frontiers really do depend on open minds, and the Federation is wonderfully open-minded.

Recently I was asked in an interview to name the ten books I thought every child should read. I took issue with the question. Perhaps we should stop thinking about a universal canon of children’s literature. The ten books my twelve-year-old son should read are not the same as ten books his nine-year-old brother would enjoy, or that a fourteen year-old girl would like. Children are not the same. Perhaps instead of narrowing the field to define the center of children’s literature, we should be more active in pushing the boundaries and widening the edges. Let’s expand, not narrow. One of the reasons, in fact, that I love mythology, is its myriad nature. There is no canon of “correct” stories. Instead, there are countless versions of each myth, leaving the reader free to pick the permutation that most appeals to him or her.

And so moving on to that second question: What exactly is mythology and why is it relevant today? Certainly, you can get through life knowing no mythology. You can get through life not knowing how to read and write, too, but it’s a pretty poor existence. Mythology is the symbolism of civilization. It contains our most deeply embedded archetypes. Once you know mythology, you see it everywhere – from the names of our days of the week to our art and architecture. You would be hard-pressed to find any work of English literature that does not draw to some extent on Classical mythology, whether it be the hero’s quest or simply allusions to the Olympians.

Knowing mythology certainly makes one a more informed member of society, but it’s not simply important to understand and appreciate Western Civilization. Mythology is a way of understanding the human condition. Myths have always been man’s attempt to explain phenomena – and not just why the sun travels across the sky. Myths also explain love, fear, hate, revenge, and the whole range of human feelings.

When I speak to school groups, I often ask children what Greek god they would like for a parent. My favorite answer was from a school girl in Texas who said, “Batman.” Actually, the girl’s comment about Batman being a Greek god is not too far off, because it’s the same idea at work: creating a superhuman version of humanity so that we can explore our problems, strengths and weaknesses writ large. If the novel puts life under the microscope, mythology blows it up to billboard size.

Myths aren’t something that happened in the past, something that we left behind with the Bronze Age. We are still creating myths all the time. My books, among other things, explore the myth of America as the beacon of civilization, the myth of New York, and the myth of the American teenager, which I’ve found resonates very strongly with British school children.

When we understand classical mythology, we understand something of our own nature, and how we attempt to explain things we don’t comprehend. And as long as we’re human, there will be things we don’t comprehend.

So finally, what do I mean when I say I like to explore the frontiers of mythology?

On one level, I mean I’m trying to have fun with the Classical models by modernizing them. The Underworld works very well under Los Angeles, and Ares is just at home in Washington D.C. as he was in Sparta. Whether or not children know anything about the original myths, I try to make their modern equivalents accessible in the Percy Jackson books, and almost invariably I find that kids know a lot more mythology than most adults give them credit for. There is something about myths that is naturally appealing to children.

But by frontiers of mythology, I also mean that I try to push mythology by putting it to new uses. Why did I choose to put the Greek gods in America? On a practical level, that’s the world I know. On a philosophical level: I liked exploring the idea that Western culture shifts over the ages, that its center of power moves, pushing its frontiers outward. As Western Civilization moved to America, it took on a distinctly new flavor, and yet retained its core. As America was Westernized, the West was Americanized. No one can deny this whose seen a Hollywood movie or eaten at McDonald’s. I’m very interested in how the Classical models change, and how they stay the same, when they’re applied to America. My young hero Percy is very American, but at the same time he shares a lot of common ground with Perseus, Heracles, and all the others.

On a more personal level, mythology was very helpful to me. Before I wrote The Lightning Thief, my son Haley was struggling in second grade, or Year 3. It turned out he was dyslexic and ADHD. These learning disabilities, by the way, are also a frontier, a way of seeing from the edge. ADHD and dyslexic people are creative, out-of-the-box thinkers. They cannot do things traditionally, so they learn to improvise. Percy Jackson was a myth to help him make sense of who he is. Mythology is a way of explaining something that can’t be explained, except by allegory, and my son’s struggle in school definitely applied. He completely bought in to the idea that ADHD/dyslexia, taken together, was an almost sure sign that you have Olympian blood.

With three Percy Jackson books now written, I’m having more fun than ever exploring and modernizing mythology. I have two more books to write in the series, and I’ve gone beyond the old standards of the Minotaur and Medusa to some lesser known but equally amazing myths that never made it into the most mythology collections. They’re every bit as fascinating as the myths you might have heard, and you can be sure Percy Jackson will be discovering them afresh on his next quest. The frontiers of mythology are as fresh and fertile as they were two thousand years ago, and I’m having a fantastic time introducing them to today’s young readers.

In closing, I’m very grateful to the Federation for the work you do opening minds, and expanding frontiers in children’s literature. Children need advocates who care about reading, who care about youth literacy, and who understand that reading needs to be a fun, positive experience if we want children to grow up to be lifelong readers and lifelong learners. A hero is someone who stands against great odds and does the right thing, and in that light, you all stand very tall in my mythology.

Final Report from England

I’m off to Heathrow in about an hour. What a trip it’s been!

Thursday I had a fantastic interview on BBC Live 5 radio with English children’s laureate Jacqueline Wilson, Malorie Blackman (author of Noughts and Crosses) and Tim Bowler (author of Frozen Fire). The rumors about Jacky Wilson’s enormous collection of rings are true. She’s quite deadly with all that heavy silver hand armor, but fortunately she’s a very nice person. Thanks to Simon Mayo for having us on the show, and for the young caller Jessica who was asked to review the Titan’s Curse on the air. She did a great job and had very kind things to say.

Friday I talked to the Puffin sales reps. We ate New York bagels in honor of Percy. Then in the evening I got to see Spamalot at long last. Funny show. The only thing is, so many people in the audience knew all the lines and were reciting them, it felt like a bizarre cross between a church service and the Rocky Horror Picture Show. My favorite parts were the “I’m Not Dead Yet” song-and-dance routine and the killer rabbit puppet.

Saturday, I visited Milton Keynes, which is apparently the only city in England intentionally modeled after suburban American communities. It’s on a grid, and the shopping malls are very much like what you’d find in the US. I found it a little surreal. Ares and Aphrodite were on hand, giving out candy and Percy Jackson brochures outside the bookstore. The kids liked the gods. The adults liked Ares’s Harley. Everyone went home happy. I’ll be interested to find out who wins the trip for four to Greece. I’m not eligible, darn it. We took some good pictures of the gods and me. As soon as I get copies, I’ll post them. Zeus and Poseidon were in Manchester and Birmingham. I hear those events went well, too.

Yesterday, I addressed the Federation of Children’s Book Groups, a fun bunch of people and very dedicated to youth literacy. They are the same organization that sponsors the Red House Children’s Book Award, which is run very much like the Bluebonnet Award in my home state of Texas.

My embarrassing moment of the day: I got my first Yorkshire pudding with lunch and immediately poured custard on it, thinking it was a dessert. It’s not. The custard, which Americans would call pudding, doesn’t go on the pudding. It goes on the pie, which is also called pudding in England. So simple! Why I had trouble, I don’t know.

I’ll be back in England at the end of May for the Hay Book Festival, but for now, it’s time to get home!