Off to England!

I leave in the morning for my UK tour, promoting World Book Day and the British release of The Sword of Hades.

It will be hard leaving our gorgeous Texas weather. It was 90F yesterday, which is hot even for us this time of year, but today it's cooler and sunny -- perfect for Patrick's birthday! He turns eleven today and we're having a get-together/picnic in the back yard.

Tomorrow, I'm off before dawn to make the long trip to London. I don't have any public appearances scheduled next week, but I will be visiting quite a few schools across England. I'll blog from the road and keep you posted.

In other news, 39 Clues 3: The Sword Thief comes out Tuesday, March 3. I'm looking forward to that. I just finished reading Savvy by Ingrid Law. Lots of fun. If Gabriel Marquez and Eudora Welty had a child, and that child grew up to write a children's book, it might sound like Savvy. I also finished and enjoyed Lee Child's most recent Jack Reacher novel Nothing to Lose, an adult thriller. Next on my list: I started listening to the audio version of The Graveyard Book way back in early December when I did a road trip up to Killeen, but I stopped about halfway through -- not because I didn't like it, just because I don't normally listen to audio books unless I'm driving, and I haven't done any driving trips since. At any rate, I'm bringing it along on my iPod for the trip to England and will hopefully get to hear the rest. Neil Gaiman does a good job narrating his own story.

Remember, if you haven't signed on to Twitter, I am posting tidbits about The Last Olympian once a week until the book comes out. Follow the tweets and see if you can guess what's in store for Percy and the gang! Have a good weekend, everyone!

US vs. UK Covers

Above, you can compare the American cover (top) with the British cover (bottom) for The Last Olympian -- very different approaches, but I like them both! The release date is the same in both markets: May 5.

Percy in Chinese!

Percy Jackson's Taiwanese publisher Yuan Liou recently debuted the complex Chinese edition of the Lightning Thief at the Taipei Book Fair. They also have their own Percy Jackson site.

The Last Olympian Cover -- Blackjack Speaks Out!

An Interview with Blackjack the Pegasus

Percy: Hey, man. I hear you had the final say on our new book cover.

Blackjack: That’s right, boss! Looks pretty awesome, huh?

Percy: Um, I notice it’s a picture of you.

Blackjack: Well, sure, but if you look really close you’re in there too. How about those wings, huh? And I like the way my head tilts heroically to one side. It really plays up the best things about this book!

Percy: Like . . . you.

Blackjack: You’re making me blush, boss.

Percy: Hey, didn’t we already have a cover with you on it? The Titan’s Curse, right?

Blackjack: (whinnies) This is totally different. We’re flying, see? And we’re heading up to Mount Olympus to –

Percy: Whoa, big fella. Remember, we’re not supposed to give away the story.

Blackjack: I’m just saying . . . this is a different scene. Besides, boss, you can’t have only one cover with me. People would complain!

Percy: Annabeth’s only been on one cover. She’s like a tiny little dot on the Sea of Monsters.

Blackjack: Does she have beautiful black wings?

Percy: Well, no.

Blackjack: I rest my case. Anyway, this cover ties the series look together. You can tell it’s a Percy Jackson book with lots of action and adventure and cool close-ups of me. They do have photos of me inside, right?

Percy: Um, I’ll get back to you on that.

Blackjack: Besides, this cover is a different color than Titan’s Curse. They let me pick my favorite color, you know.

Percy: Let me guess: black.

Blackjack: With gold lettering! Looks good enough to eat, doesn’t it? Speaking of which, did you bring me a sugar cube?

Percy: You’re not supposed to have sugar cubes.

Blackjack: But I’m a star, boss. Look at the cover!

Percy: Whatever you say, buddy.

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Visit Disney-Hyperion's newly updated website, percyjacksonbooks.com, for a video introduction to the book and more!

The Importance of Librarians

Motoko Rich has a great article in the New York Times about the importance of librarians in the digital age. Visiting as many schools as I do, I meet a lot of librarians/media specialists across the country. I see what they're up against with schedule cuts and budget cuts and district officials who seem to think they are luxuries rather than necessities. But I also see how librarians rise to those challenges with dedication and good humor. In my book, they are heroes as much as any demigod. A good library is the heart of a good school. In the age of digital media, this is truer than ever.

On that same note, I've gotten a lot of emails from fans asking if information they've found on the Internet is true. There are numerous YouTube videos out there claiming to show the cast or scenes from the Percy Jackson movie. All of them are completely false. Anytime somebody labels a video: "True! No lie!" that's a pretty good sign they're making it up. Wikipedia also changes from time to time with people adding supposedly true information about the upcoming book or the movie. Again, all false.
Don't believe everything you read on the Internet. It's a wonderful medium, but you have to be an intelligent consumer. That's why librarians are so important. They can direct you to good websites as easily as they direct you to good books. When in doubt, ask.

From the Mailbag

This weekend I'm making my way through the fan mail. It's such fun hearing from kids all across the world. The only sad thing is that the volume of mail has increased to the point where it's no longer possible for me to respond personally to every letter -- unless I stopped writing books to answer mail full time, and I don't think the kids who are writing me would like that. Still, I'm reading every letter and responding as much as possible.

Some of my recent favorites: Vicky writes from Goleta, California, and sends her sketches of Percy and friends from Battle of the Labyrinth (see above). Brian and Anna wrote from Turlock, California. Brian wrote the letter and Anna did the picture of Kampe you see above. Hannah and Clara wrote from St. Peters, Missouri with a top ten list of things NOT to do at Camp Half-Blood. Among these: Do not dress up as a giant spider and try to give Annabeth a hug, and do not sell the Council of Cloven Elders to a petting zoo. I love it.

Madison from Thunder Bay, Ontario sent a Percy Jackson theme song to the tune of "All Summer Long." Class 5GB from Newport Primary in Middlesbrough, England, read The Maze of Bones and started a class bulletin board to track the characters and the 39 clues. You can see a photo of it above.

Jerome Spiteri from Malta was kind enough to send me a copy of his novel, The Haunted Mansion. I visited Jerome's school several years ago when I toured Malta, and Jerome was inspired to become an author. He wrote his story, illustrated it, and got it published. Now I have a signed copy of his book! Keep it up, Jerome. Way to go!

Most exotic location awards go to Mukund from Singapore, Oliver from Nova Scotia, and Mykin from West Fargo, North Dakota. I don't believe I've gotten mail from any of those places before.

Most interest location name: Floyds Knob, Indiana, from which I got several letters. I'm sure there's an interesting history to that name.

Most interesting fan name: Stone, whose last name is Mountain. Dad is Cliff, and his sisters are Sierra and Crystal. The letter is signed 'Stone and the Mountain Family.' That would make a cool name for a bluegrass band!

Thanks to everyone who has been writing, and again, if you don't get a personal response, please forgive the overworked author, but know that I always read every letter!

Percy 5: The Last Olympian

Next Wednesday, February 18, the cover for The Last Olympian will be revealed. Check percyjacksonbooks.com or rickriordan.com on Wednesday to see the artwork and get some advance information about the book. The Last Olympian will be published on May 5.

Meanwhile, The Demigod Files is now available and doing extremely well! I hope everyone likes the stories and the sneak peek from chapter 1 of Last Olympian.

Ohh, Ahh!

Check out the cover for 39 Clues #4: Beyond the Grave, which I just found posted on-line! The book will be out June 2, and is by Jude Watson (a.k.a. National Book Award winner Judy Blundell). As previously mentioned, book #3, The Sword Thief by Peter Lerangis, will be out March 3. A close look at the cover will give you a hint where Amy and Dan are off to in this adventure. I'm excited!

Long Island Wrap-up

I’m back in San Antonio after a week in New York. Hooray for Texas winters! It’s 75 degrees and sunny, and I’ve traded my parka for shorts and a t-shirt.

Even if the week was cold in NY, the welcome I received was very warm. Thanks to Beth, the librarian at Setauket Elementary, for coordinating my visits. Above are her sons, George and Eric, who helped out on my first day. I set them up with Camp Half-Blood shirts and named them demigods of the week for their hospitality!

The second day, we squeezed in three school visits since Tuesday afternoon had been partially snowed out. At the first school, I got to meet with a book club where the kids had many great questions. Some had already gotten the Demigod Files from their school book fair and wanted to know if the Sword of Hades tied into The Last Olympian. The answer is ‘sort of.’ How’s that for vague? You’ll see what I mean when the last book comes out. The first signed copy of The Demigod Files went to a student named Nico, which seemed appropriate.

I also got a question I’d never heard before, and after all these years, that’s very rare. A girl asked, “What is your most prized possession?” I had to really think about that. I’m not very sentimental about stuff. As long as the people I care about are okay, the stuff doesn’t matter. I suppose I got that attitude when I was in college and my parents’ house burned down. But after a moment’s reflection, I decided my prized possession is a watercolor my mother did for me when I was twelve years old. It’s a picture of me with a quote from the Lord of the Rings, my favorite book at the time (and still one of my favorites). I then went to Arrowhead School for two more great assemblies. Special thanks to Mrs. DiPrimo’s class, pictured above, who dressed in costume for the day (Check out the centaur on the right) and presented me with a beautiful scrapbook. The third school of the day was also fantastic – and thanks to everyone for being flexible as we worked around our unexpected snow delay.

Thursday morning, I went to Mount Elementary, where the PTA had bought a book for every student who attended the assembly. Wow! The kids were beyond excited, and we had a wonderful visit. Special thanks to the Math Olympics team, who made me a welcome banner. They had adopted Percy Jackson as their team mascot, which I found ironic since Percy has a tendency to vaporize math teachers, but hey, whatever works for you!

Finally, on Friday, I spent the day in Manhattan. In the morning, we videotaped a mythology bee at Bank Street School (check percyjacksonbooks.com in a few weeks and you might see some clips from the event). I had a pizza lunch with the eighth graders, who I’d last seen four years ago when I visited for Lightning Thief. Then I got to browse and buy some books at Bank Street Books (great store), before heading downtown for a photo shoot. It was a long day but a good day!

Now it’s back to writing. I’m looking forward to the release of the Demigod Files on Tuesday. Also, stay tuned for an exciting announcement about The Last Olympian – more on that next week!

Sunrise over Manhattan

This is the view from my hotel room this morning at the Trump International. (Did you know Donald even has his own brand of bottled water decorated with his face? Scary.)

I had a great three days in Long Island. More about that later. Today I'm off to Bank Street School for a video-taping session, and to observe my first mythology bee! I'm looking forward to seeing the kids again. Last time I was at the school, The Lightning Thief had just come out. It seems appropriate that I visit again as we gear up for The Last Olympian.

As I've mentioned before, the mythology bee is a nationwide contest sponsored by Disney. If your school hasn't participated yet, there's still time. Check the publisher's Percy Jackson site for details. The overall winner gets a trip to Greece for four, and they'll meet me and my family in Athens!

Snow Day in Long Island

I'm sitting in the Hyatt Regency Long Island looking out at an unbelievable winter scene. The weatherman predicted 1-2 inches of snow, but it looks like way more to my untrained Texan eyes.

I arrived last night before it started and got to my morning visit at Setauket School without a hitch. The presentations were great, but the snow really started picking up and the district canceled classes halfway through the day, so I couldn't do my afternoon sessions at Arrowhead School. The organizer at Arrowhead said the kids were very disappointed. "I've never heard them complain when we sent them home early for snow before," she said. "But they really wanted to see you." That's quite a compliment! Fortunately I'll be able to see them tomorrow instead, assuming the roads are clear and school isn't canceled. Funny, in four years of traveling, this is only the second time I've had an event rescheduled because of weather. I guess old Zeus has been keeping the skies under control for me or something.

For now, I'm staying warm in the hotel and working on my next book. The scene I'm writing is actually set in New York during the winter, so the atmosphere is perfect. Boy, I bet the satyrs at Camp Half-Blood are freezing their furry tails off in this weather!

AdLit Video Interview

Check out a video interview I did with AdLit.org. Finding this was like opening a time capsule as I recorded it last spring during the whirlwind tour for Battle of the Labyrinth and then forgot about it. I know, that was only a year ago, but it seems like another reality!