Gareth's Sketches

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that illustrator Gareth Hinds had done some mythology drawing demonstrations at my Wellesley Booksmith event to entertain the kids while they waited to get books signed. Gareth was nice enough to send me copies, which you can see above. Thanks, Gareth!

Barnes & Noble Summer Reading

As part of the Barnes & Noble Summer Reading program, I will be guest blogging all this week on BN.com's Letter Blocks book club. Stop by, sign in and say hi!

Home Court Advantage

Home at last! Nothing like sleeping in my own bed. I never thought I’d miss waiting in the car pool line, but the highlight of my week was picking up Patrick from school!
Thanks to everyone who came out on the last leg of the tour. Mitch and the crew and Books & Books in Coral Gables put on a great event in a funky old church. Lots of Miami atmosphere, and an enthusiastic crowd. Thanks to Alyssa, who introduced me. As usual, my introducer was more organized than I was.

Little Shop of Stories hosted an event for about 1000 in Decatur at the local rec center. Always good to visit there. They gave me a cool Mythomagic card deck that they’ll be using this summer for Camp Half-Blood. I understand the Decatur branch has two sessions this year (both sold out) and they are cooperating with Camp Half-Blood Austin to do some of the same activities.

After Atlanta, I flew to Dayton, OH with a quick stop for stock signing at Joseph-Beth, Cincinnati (great children’s department). At the Books & Co. event, people came from all over Ohio and beyond.

Then, at last, I flew home yesterday morning, but my work wasn’t quite done yet. Last night I had a homecoming signing at San Antonio’s newest Barnes & Noble at La Cantera. This event was the official kick-off for the B&N Summer Reading program, for which I’m the national spokesperson this year. CRM extraordinaire Caren was well prepared as always, and it’s good thing, because the crowd was massive. Caren estimates over 3000 people came, making it the largest book signing event she can ever remember in San Antonio. What a nice way to come home. You can see pictures above, but even they don’t really capture just how large the crowd was, wrapped all the way around the upper level and completely filling the crowd floor of a giant store. I saw many former students in the audience, including the real-life Travis and Connor Stoll. Thanks for coming, guys! I stayed until everyone got his/her books signed, so we wrapped up after about three and a half hours of signing.

Once again, thank you to the booksellers who helped organize the events and worked so hard to make things run smoothly. Thanks to the parents and kids who waited in line for hours with patience and good humor. And thanks of course for all the great comments I heard from the road and the wonderful feedback on the Last Olympian. Now, I’ve got two books promised for 2010, and I’d better get back to work on them!

Heading South

I think the Saint Louis crowd caught everyone by surprise.

The county library was prepared for 900 and could hold 1000, which seemed like plenty to me. When we arrived at the library, however, it had already filled to capacity and a line of five hundred more people snaked around the building. More than fifteen hundred people showed up in all – wow. Thanks to those who heard the presentation, and especially to the hundreds who couldn’t get it and could only do the signing line. On top of everything, the area was under a storm and tornado warning! Fortunately everyone got inside before the rain started.

Favorite moment from the night: A crowd of girls dressed in costume (Bianca, Thalia, Percy, Annabeth, etc.) asked me this question: “If Percy can talk to horses and control water, does that mean Annabeth can talk to owls and control olives?” LOL. Fear me. I control the mighty black olive! Another thought-provoking question I’d never had before: Would I rather be a god, demigod or mortal? Interesting. I’m still thinking about that one. I met more school groups than I could count. Librarians and teachers came from all over the state. Families had traveled from Jefferson City, Springfield, Indiana and even Chicago to attend the signing. Thanks to the Saint Louis County Library staff for managing the huge crowd so well, and thanks for everyone who waited through the three-hour signing line with such patience.

Here’s a blog from the Post-Dispatch about the event, which they are speculating might be the largest Saint Louis book signing ever for a single author.

Last night in Raleigh, we had another successful visit at Quail Ridge. Elizabeth Edwards had just left when I got there, so we didn’t have any overlapping crowds. Adultery and Greek mythology . . . Awkward. The bookstore was completely full, and it was hot and steamy in there! People came from Florida, Washington, D.C., and Richmond for the event. Wow, I’m causing an enormous carbon footprint these days. The satyrs are not going to be happy with me. I should plant some trees when I get home or something. Thanks to Carl from 'Boys Rule, Boys Read' for coming to the signing, and for all the teachers and librarians who brought books for their kids. Now that’s dedication: standing in line for two hours on a Saturday night for your students. We had more great costumes: Athena in full aluminum-foil armor, Hades in black robes, Artemis with her bow, and of course a ton of campers: Percy, Annabeth, Nico, Thalia, just about everyone. Most interesting question of the night: “Will Grover ever marry Clarisse?” My stunned answer: “Um . . . probably not.” Response: “Darn!” Where that idea came from, I have no idea, but wow – enough to give Grover nightmares.

Today, I don my Tommy Bahama shirt and we head to Miami for two events. It’s my first time doing public events in South Florida for the Percy series, and I look forward to meeting the kids. I’ve been watching the third season of Dexter on my iPod as I travel – I will try not to let that color my impressions of Miami!

Hello, Saint Louis

This is the view from my hotel window at the Four Seasons Saint Louis. Okay, so you can't see the Arch, but it's just to the right. You can see it from the other side of the building, and it's pretty stunning. No sign of Echidna or demigods falling from the observation deck, but then again, I can't see through the Mist.

In a few minutes I'm heading to the Saint Louis Library for an event. We're expecting a huge crowd.

Thanks to everyone who came to the event last night in St. Paul, MN. The Red Balloon Bookshop did a great job organizing everything. We completely filled the St. Paul Church of Christ sanctuary next door. I'm told we had over 900 people. One young fan remarked on the irony of talking about Greek gods in the middle of a church (my signing table was right under the altar) but it seemed like a very cool and laid back church, so I don't think they minded. My green room was the bridal room, which made me feel all beautiful. Okay . . . maybe not, but least they didn't put me in the 'crying room.' Once again, tons of great comments from kids and parents. I was given artwork, letters, stories, even a CD of a school project. It was my first visit to Minnesota, and the people could not have been more welcoming. Thanks also to Rachel and her mom, who drove all the way from Duluth to interview me for Publisher's Weekly.

We're heading into the home stretch of the tour. After Saint Louis, it's Raleigh tomorrow. I hear I'm speaking at Quail Ridge Books only a few hours after Elizabeth Edwards. That should be interesting. I hope our crowds don't get switched. Then it's on to South Florida, Atlanta, Dayton, and finally home for an event in San Antonio. I'm in marathon mode, just taking it one day at a time. The enthusiasm of the fans sure makes it easier to stay energized. Thanks, everyone, and hope to see you on the road.

East Coast Wrap-up

I’m sitting in the Fairmont Hotel at Copley Square in Boston -- a setting from 39 Clues: The Maze of Bones, by the way! Later today I’ll be flying to St. Paul for an event at the Red Balloon Bookshop.

The East Coast leg of the tour has been great. Monday I visited the Disney Publishing offices in Manhattan and set a land speed record, signing 1000 books in 45 minutes, though I couldn’t have done it without a lot of help from the staff. I felt like Lucille Ball in that chocolate factory conveyor belt sketch (yes, REALLY dating myself with that reference). We then took the Long Island Railroad to a signing at the Barnes & Noble in Huntington. This was my first event as part of the Barnes & Noble Summer Reading program – more on that later. The store had really done a great job decorating. We had volunteers in Camp Half-Blood T-shirts, great artwork by Hannah, and even specialty drinks in the cafeteria, which had been relabeled the Mount Olympus Café. I hear they did a brisk business in Mint Medusa, Pink Poseidon, and (wait for it) Zeus Juice. Thanks to the many hundreds of young demigods who came out. The biggest question of the night: Why did I put Camp Half-Blood on Long Island? The answer: my wife’s family is from Long Island, and the place made a big impression on me when I first visited many years ago on our honeymoon.

Tuesday I went the other direction from the city – out to New Jersey. I did a school event at Bogert Elementary in Upper Saddle River, sponsored by Books, Bytes, and Beyond. What a beautiful area of the state. We had an informal signing at the store (just me and a few hundred close friends) then I drove down south for a signing with Clinton Bookshop. They’d reserved the Raritan Community College auditorium, and we needed the space! Again, we had about 700 people show up. The bookstore staff was well-organized and the signing line went quickly. They also made Camp Half-Blood T-shirts, which I understand sold out almost immediately. Big question of the night as I was talking about future books: Will I ever do a Norse mythology book? Oh, believe me, I love Norse mythology and taught it just as often as Greek & Roman. It’s on my radar screen, but there are other projects to be done first.

Yesterday, I took the train to Boston, which is always a nice ride. I like watching the coastline go by, and I even got a little writing done -- amazing! The event last night for Wellesley Booksmith was even more enormous than usual. I’m told we had close to 1000 people, but Alison and the rest of the staff did their normal fantastic job and everything moved along smoothly. Thanks to everyone for being so patient, and to Gareth Hinds for keeping the kids entertained with monster-drawing lessons while they waited. I hope to show you some of the pictures he came up with when I get back home and get to my scanner. Gareth has an illustrated version of the Odyssey coming out next year that will blow you away, but more on that later.

As I’ve gone through my events, my media escorts keep making the same comment: “Look at all the girls in the audience!” I suppose this surprises people because my books are so often labeled as ‘book boys.’ Not that I mind that. I’m very happy they appeal to boys, because I’ve got two reluctant reader boys of my own, and I know how tricky it can be finding good books for them. But it’s true that at every single event, the audience has been almost exactly balanced between girls and boys. I love that. As I’ve said before, I always taught in co-ed schools, and I would hate to think my stories only worked for one gender. The girl fans range from elementary school through college, and they are so enthusiastic! Last night I lost count of the number of homemade Camp Half-Blood T-shirts and bead necklaces. We even had a dead ringer for Annabeth, complete with NY Yankees camp, and this was in Boston! I’ve also met quite a few fans with Greek mythology names on this tour – Rhea, Phoebe, Athena, and even an Annabeth! So thanks, girls, for showing your demigod pride.

In other news, the Last Olympian is ripping up the bestseller charts. It is #1 today out of all books in USA Today, part of a very small group of children’s books ever to debut at #1. It has also driven the series to #2 on the NYT bestseller list, second only to someone named Stephenie. Apparently she writes vampire books. Who knew?

Tonight, I’ll be in St. Paul, and tomorrow it’s on to St. Louis. Sorry if I haven’t visited your city. Believe me, we’ve crammed as much as we could into a fifteen day tour, but it’s a big big country! For the complete tour details, as always, check the web calendar.

More Pictures from the Road, and Other News

Thanks to Deborah, my publicist, for making these photos available. At the top: me in the KLRN studio, San Antonio, on pub day. We did a satellite tour from the studio, and I talked to eighteen different radio and television shows across the country. I was tired afterward!

Next, you can see another shot of the crowd at BookPeople. Under that, we have Larry the centaur and Tommy leading a game of Mythomagic.

Picture five shows the crowd in Vancouver, and below that is me standing outside the amazing storefront display at Kidsbooks. The picture of me in the massage chair -- they had that thing in the green room for the local noon television news program. That's me doing my Dr. Evil impersonation, plotting to take over the world. Under that, me on Studio 4's morning show in Vancouver.

Last two pictures: You see me doing a signing at Amazon Headquarters, and you can tell that the average age of the employees has suddenly gotten a lot younger! Finally, a picture to give you a sense of the enormous crowd at Third Place Books in Seattle.

The Last Olympian has been out exactly one week, and the response has been tremendous. I am so gratified to hear that you guys have enjoyed the end of Percy's saga.

As I've been announcing on tour however, the end is not really the end. When you read the conclusion of The Last Olympian, you will probably get that sense. The more I write about Camp Half-Blood, the more I realize how much there is to tell -- gods and monsters I've never discussed, the life at camp (which Percy hardly ever gets to experience) and so many other characters who don't get their moment in the spotlight. In late 2010, I will be launching the second Camp Half-Blood series. I've already gotten a flood of emails from fans pleading for details, but I can't tell you much yet. It will feature a new generation of demigods, ready to take on a new prophecy. You may see Percy, Annabeth and the rest of the gang from the first series, but they will not be the main characters. Again, read the ending of the Last Olympian and you will get some clues what I mean. I'm afraid the rest of the details are secret for now -- no character names, no titles, no hints. Sorry! I will probably post more on my website in the fall.

*And* I've got another non-Greek-mythology project in the works for spring 2010, but more on that later... If you attend an event, you will get the inside scoop on it.

Today, I'm off the New Jersey, the land of Medusa! I hope to see some of you tonight at the event hosted by Clinton Bookshop.

Pictures from BookPeople

Thank you to Topher for sending pictures of the BookPeople World Release Party for The Last Olympian. The top three photos give you a sense for the size of the crowd. Topher says their best estimate puts the attendance at 4200, and number of books signed 5300, including all the backlist titles. The signing line lasted five solid hours, so I can believe it! Everyone was so patient and understanding though, and the staff kept things running smoothly as usual.

Picture 4 shows the Greek chariot, which was available for pictures. This is a perfect example of Topher at his best: "Hey, I found a chariot in somebody's barn. Let's use it!" I swear, if you asked the guy to produce a living hydra, he would make a few calls and find one.

Picture five shows some young gladiators at work. Below that, we have the unbelievable Mythomagic game board crafted just for the event (and I understand they'll be using it at Camp Half-Blood, Austin this summer). Thanks to Tommy, our gamemaster, who taught us to play. Tommy had me inscribe his book this year 'to the son of Apollo and Ares' (Don't ask).

Picture seven shows me running the gauntlet to the stage through a line of young demigods. Behind me, you can see Topher on the left and my editor Jen Besser on the right. Finally, there's a picture of the youngest demigod, Grey, with his mom Ceci. (Proud papa Topher not pictured). Just about the cutest baby ever? Quite possibly.

A great event all the way around. Thanks, BookPeople, for a party of Herculean proportions! Today I'm in New York, off for an event on Long Island this evening. I'll keep you posted!

Breakfast in San Francisco, Dinner in New York

I’m sitting in my hotel room looking out at the San Francisco skyline on a sunny Sunday morning. Later today, I fly to New York to begin the East Coast leg of the Last Olympian tour.

Yesterday, we had two events in the Bay Area, and both were great. Books, Inc. hosted the first at a high school auditorium in San Bruno. It was a beautiful Saturday morning so we figured the crowd would be fairly small. Wrong! Over six hundred people showed up, according to the booksellers. Thanks to Walter (aka the Giant Storyteller) for introducing me. I’d heard legends of Walter for years, as he’s an institution in the world of children’s literature, and it was great to finally meet him in person. The only challenge of the day was the orchestra pit in front of the stage, which reminded me of the Pit of Tartarus, but we all avoided falling in as the kids came up on stage to get books signed. I met quite a few families from my old school, Presidio Hill. The staff from Books, Inc. was extremely well organized and we got through the signing line in record time. Thanks to everyone for being so patient.

In the afternoon, we headed down to Menlo Park for a second event at Kepler’s Books. I was a little worried that having two events so close geographically would make the stores compete for attendance, but I was proved wrong again. Kepler’s was absolutely wall-to-wall with kids. I was told we had somewhere between 600-700 in attendance, and the store quickly sold out of Last Olympian even though they had hundreds in stock. We signed bookplates for those who didn’t get a copy, so hopefully everyone will get their signed edition. Some of the moments that stood out for me at Kepler’s: Astara and her brother came up to the table and said they had a bone to pick with me. They were about the age of Camp Half-Blood counselors. They had their orange Half-Blood T-shirts on, ripped from what they told me were harpy claws, and their clothes were stained with soot from various explosions. “Who’s brilliant idea was a lava wall?” they wanted to know. LOL. I apologized that being demigods had made their lives so difficult, but I have a feeling those two are up to the challenge. I also got to see a former student from Saint Mary’s Hall in San Antonio (hi, Mirage!) who was in town with her mom. It’s so cool, and yet so surreal, to see people out of context like that. She was very sweet and told me how excited she was about the success of the books. Finally, thanks to Jenny, a young fan who made me an origami Pegasus. My youngest son Patrick is an origami fan, so he will love seeing that. Thanks to all the other fans who handed me beautiful artwork and thoughtful letters.

All in all, it was a great day. Thanks to my media escort Dave who helped out a lot. Dave told me he is gearing up for a Walk Against Cancer. Next week he is going to walk 43 miles from San Jose to San Francisco to raise money and awareness for cancer research. That made me feel like my travels were easy! You can check out his charity event site here.

Time to head to the airport. Thank you, Bay Area, for so much enthusiastic support. Now it’s off to New York where I’ll be staying at one of my favorite hotels, Le Parker Meridien. The burger joint in the lobby is one of Thalia’s favorite eateries, so maybe I’ll run into the Hunters of Artemis there. I’ll let you know. For my signings in the New York area, check the website calendar.

Greetings from Vancouver

I’ve spent the morning doing television and newspaper interviews in this beautiful city. It’s my first visit, and what a great place. Everyone keeps apologizing for the cool rainy weather, but after steamy Texas this is a nice treat.

The Last Olympian tour has been incredible so far. Thanks to everyone who came out in Austin and Houston. Among the many gifts and notes people gave me during the signings: Sarah from Houston presented me with a cool Sculpey trident, Wes gave me a story “The Day I Saved the World,” Mariam gave me a drawing of Calypso, and Patricia, a mom, gave me a thank you note for bringing Percy and a love of books to her family. All priceless gifts. Thank you, guys! Also in Houston, I got to see Camille of BookMoot – always a pleasure!

On launch day, ABC World News Tonight came to BookPeople to film the event. If you didn’t catch it live, you can watch the segment here.

This afternoon I’m off to visit the set of the Lightning Thief movie, and then an event tonight for Kidsbooks Vancouver. I’ll let you know how it goes!

Lightning Bolts and Other News from PA

Just back from the PSLA librarians' convention in State College, PA, but first, some older business from earlier in the week. The pictures above are from my visit to Holicong Middle School on Tuesday. You can see the lightning bolt class project I mentioned earlier. Another great teaching idea! The kids' didn't really have glowing red eyes. That's just the way the photo came out, though they do sort of look like the Ares Cabin this way . . .

The conference at State College was a lot of fun. Friday morning I was presented with the PA Readers' Choice Award. Thanks to my middle school presenters, Autumn and Sam. They called me the "Zeus of authors" and even gave me a laurel wreath to wear while I gave my acceptance speech. A guy could get used to treatment like that. :D

On Saturday, I did a workshop for the librarians and spoke at the luncheon. I enjoyed talking with so many librarians from around the commonwealth and hearing stories about their kids who had gotten into the Percy Jackson series. Special thanks to Tina, the media specialist at Marshall Elementary, who handed me a folder full of pictures and letters from her fourth graders. They had just finished reading The Maze of Bones and had very nice things to say about the 39 Clues. Among their suggestions: They wanted one of the books to take place in England. They'd like to see one of the other teams help Amy and Dan. And they suggested calling the final book The Last Ingredient. Thanks for the ideas, guys, and stay tuned! Book four comes out in June.

On the way home I finished reading Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. I'm not sure why it took me so long to get to this book, but it was very good. The story moves along at a fast clip and the characters are engaging. It reminded me strongly of Logan's Run (yes, I'm dating myself with that comment) but the book put a totally original spin on the concept of running from a utopia with a sinister side. Check it out. Once you read the first, you will definitely be looking for the two sequels.

Now it's the calm before the storm! On Tuesday, The Last Olympian is released at long last, and I'm off on a whirlwind tour -- three weeks, a different city every day. Again, you can see my web calendar for details, and I will do my best to blog from the road.

So We Got a New House . . .

My spring wasn’t busy enough, so we decided it would be a good idea to buy a house. We’re not moving far – just about two miles from where we live now in San Antonio.

The new place isn’t huge, but it’s larger than our present house, and with the kids getting bigger, it will allow us a little more room to grow. As it is, every room in our house serves multiple purposes and there’s never enough room to store everything. I’m sure most people can relate to that. Now my home office can be just a home office, Becky gets her own office space, and the boys will each get their own bedroom. The cats are excited, too, because the house has an atrium. They are inside cats, but this way they can sit out in the sun, eat the plants and chirp at birds (their favorite pastimes) and still be inside! I’ve always wanted a house with an atrium. I’m a fan of Ancient Rome, so what would you expect? The dog also gets a bigger back yard, and a whole new set of neighbors to bark at. They will be so excited, I’m sure.

We’re remodeling the place, so we won’t actually be moving in for several months. I’ve always wanted to be one of those authors who have two homes. You know how their bios read on the back of their books: “Glamorous Author X winters in New York and summers in the South of France.” Now, for the next six months or so, I can be like that! I’m going to change my bio so it reads: “Rick Riordan summers inside of Loop 410, and winters outside of Loop 410.”

Alas, eventually we’ll sell the old place and be a one-home family again. So much for my fleeting attempt to be one of the beautiful people.

Another cool fact: We had to repaint the new house, and guess what color we picked out? “Zeus.” It’s a stormy gray-green, almost like camouflage. You can check it out at the Sherwin-Williams site if you’re into that kind of thing. When we saw the name of the color, we knew it was meant to be.

I’ll be on tour for the next month, so I won't get to be around supervising the work, but hopefully sometime this summer we’ll be moving in. I’ll keep you posted on how it’s going at Zeus House!

Percy in the Wall Street Journal

Today's Wall Street Journal features an article about the Percy Jackson series and next Tuesday's release of The Last Olympian. Check it out here!

Demigod of the Week

Thanks to Marni, who presented me with this cool picture when I was in Central Bucks County, PA. You are demigod of the week!