Demigod of the Week

Thanks to Kinzi from Egypt for sending in her own demigod profile. Kinzi tells me she wants to be a writer, and it looks like she's well on her way!

If I was a Demigod

by Kinzi: Heir to Artemis

How is this possible? Artemis has sworn that she would remain a maiden forever. However, Artemis thought that she would need an heir. This heir would be the leader of the Huntresses; her second in command. Artemis asked Athena how to do the brain- child thing and Athena gladly helped.

Kinzi grew up in an orphanage for her whole life until she was twelve. A satyr discovered that she was a demi- god while she was hiking threw the forest with her fellow orphans on a field trip. She was taken to Camp Half- Blood and was declared undetermined. She grew to know Percy Jackson, and watched him with curiosity as he saved the world.

Meanwhile, Artemis sensed that Kinzi was ready to become her second- in- command and journeyed to Camp Half- Blood to tell her who her parent was. Kinzi (and everyone else for that matter) was surprised when they found out that Artemis had a daughter. Artemis told Kinzi about why she existed and why she was the only daughter she had. She offered Kinzi the position of Leadership in the Huntress league, but Kinzi refused; she had been watching Percy, Annabeth, Grover and the others and dreamt of helping them to defeat the evil Titan Lord Kronos. Artemis was enraged but Kinzi held firm.

I am Kinzi. I am Artemis’ daughter, and I am the one who has to suffer at certain points in life because of that reason. That is my story, now I can show you what a daughter of Artemis can do.

Powers: I can turn into any animal I want. (I’m getting better and better at it each day. I can now make new animals of my own by mixing animal body parts and I can become mystic/ fictional animals too.) I also have the skills of a Huntress.

I have bark brown hair and the same color eyes as Artemis. (my eyes were made to look like a dear’s- long lashes and all that; but they can also make my emotions very apparent; it’s really annoying because then people can tell how I’m feeling) I’m pretty tall and athletic (I think) and I’ve got white skin.

I can use bow a bow pretty well, but my magical item is my staff- spear Roakwan. Roakwan turns into a sword or staff at will. The staff part can grow shorter or longer; same thing with the sword part. The Emerald in the middle dips in so that the user can put their finger in it and spin Roakwan around at a dangerous speed. This trait allows you to cut off many enemies’ heads at the same time. (You have to duck down to make sure yours doesn’t get chopped off too though) The Emerald also allows you to turn Roakwan into two separate swords; do this by pressing on the Emerald. The gems give Roakwan magical power which makes it strong and unbreakable. Roakwan can shrink to charm size so that you can attach it to a leather necklace or bracelet. If you want it to turn back into normal size then you must press on the Emerald. The Emerald is the key and magical source to everything that makes Roakwan what it is.

39 Clues web updates

Scholastic is gearing up for the launch of 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones. The main website has been updated here, with sample chapters, a countdown timer, and a video greeting from me. Too bad I can't actually play the online game for prizes because I wrote the book -- sigh -- but it still looks so cool!

You can also check out this interesting site documenting strange occurrences of the number 39 around the world. What does it mean? I don't know, but it's pretty eerie.

Also note: I've added the official public book launch event on my web calendar. The Maze of Bones party will be at BookPeople in Austin, Friday, Sept. 19. More details to come, but if you've been to BookPeople events before, you know they throw an amazing party. The event is free and open to the public. I hope to see you there!

From the Mailbag

Most of this summer has been about finishing Percy 5, which is why my blog posts have been less frequent. I'm happy to report that the first readable draft of the book is done. I've read it to Haley and Patrick, which is always the first test. They gave it two thumbs up. Now I will revise it one more time and send it off to the publisher. Don't get too excited. There are still many, many months of revisions to go, and the book will not be published until next May, but I'm happy with the manuscript so far! My sons' biggest comment was, "When is the next Camp Half-Blood book going to be ready?" That's always a good sign.

I took the weekend to dig my way out of a mountain of wonderful fan mail. Thanks to our artists above -- Whitney from Union, Kentucky, who sketched Mrs. O'Leary, Amber, who handed me her sketches of various Percy characters while I was on tour, and Brayden from Kent, Washington, who drew Percy's battle with Antaeus and tells me that I shouldn't listen to all those other #1 fans. He assures me he is truly fan #1. Fortunately, I have a "big tent" policy and everyone who so chooses is welcome to be a #1 fan.

Thanks to the many others who wrote. Chase Academy from Seoul, South Korea, recently finished the Lightning Thief as part of their English language studies. I enjoyed reading letters from all the students. Frances from San Francisco wrote because she was concerned I had forgotten the goddess Hestia in the series. Not to worry, Frances! You will meet Hestia in book five. Julia from Bloomingdale, Illinois tells me she wants to be a young published writer like Nancy Yi. Keep at it, Julia! It's rare that a writer gets published so young, so don't get discouraged if it takes you a while. I started writing at age 12 and I was 29 when my first novel got accepted. But stay persistent, read a lot, and write a lot. Those are the three keys to getting published. Alexandria from my hometown of San Antonio asks if Rick Riordan is my real name, "or do you just use it to fake people out?" Believe me, Alexandria, if I made up a name, I would make up something that people could pronounce! Sujita from Beaconsfield, Canada wants to know simply, "What happens next?" Alas, that question I can't answer until book five comes out! Sara from Albuquerque asks if Thalia has any other powers besides electricity manipulation. It's possible Thalia has powers over the air and sky. The only problem is she's scared of heights, so she's probably never wanted to explore the possibility! Sara informs me she has roughly 204 more questions, but hopefully I answered a few of them in my response letter. Justin from Berkley, Massachusetts wonders if people recognize me in public and ask for my autograph. It happens occasionally, Justin, but being a writer is a lot easier than being an actor. Even if people know my books, they don't usually know my face, so I can be anonymous most of the time. Finally, Julia asks if I'm worried that the movie version will ruin the book. I think every author worries about that! I keep my fingers crossed, but as John Le Carre once said (paraphrasing), Having someone turn your book into a movie is like watching someone turn your oxen into bouillon cubes.

Thanks to everyone else who wrote. I loved reading your comments and questions! More information about book five will not be available until the fall -- probably October at the earliest -- But stay tuned to rickriordan.com for the latest.

Percy Jackson capture the flag video

Becky happened across this very cute video on YouTube. I like the bloopers, too!

Demigods in Rancho Cucamonga

Thanks to Katie, Krissy, Jennifer, and Tatiana from Borders Rancho Cucamonga in Southern California. They recently hosted a Camp Half-Blood at their store and I'm told all the kids had a great time. The shields looks awesome!

Battle of the Labyrinth UK Release

As of July 3, The Battle of the Labyrinth is now available in the United Kingdom! Sorry for the wait, British fans, but I hope you enjoy the book.