Percy Event at the Met

I'm happy to announce I'll be at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City on March 14 for a public talk on Percy Jackson and Greek mythology. The Met has all kinds of cool activities planned for families. You can get tickets on their website. This will be my first public event of 2010 and my only event until the Red Pyramid comes out in May (more details on that tour will be announced in about a month). If you're in the New York area, come on by!

Percy Jackson Reads!

Check out the cool Percy Jackson READ poster available from the ALA store. They've also made bookmarks. Very clever, and a good addition to any library or classroom. :D

On Point Interview

I had a great time on Wednesday with NPR's program On Point. If you missed the interview, you can listen on-line here. The program originates in Boston, but I spoke from our local NPR station in San Antonio, and we had calls from all over the place. It was the first time I'd left the house for several weeks because of my intense writing schedule! And now, speaking of that, back to the revisions . . .

The News from Zeus House

Tired author alert! I’ve been absolutely absorbed in the world of Camp Half-Blood for the past two weeks. I am working long days and long nights to finish revisions on the first volume in the new series, which I hope to have wrapped up and to my editor in about three weeks. The novel (fingers crossed) should be published this fall, because remember the editing process takes a long time. Exact information about the pub date will be made available when we’ve nailed it down. The name of the series, and the title for the first book, will not be announced for a while. I’m pretty sure I know, but I always finish the manuscript before naming it. Well . . . almost always. I already know the title for the second Camp Half-Blood book, strangely enough, which is only in the planning stages. I wish I could tell you why that is, but I can’t yet.

So what can I tell you? Not much yet! I can only say that I’m having a blast with the series, blending the new characters with the old, and injecting a totally new spin into the world of Percy Jackson & the Olympians. I’m smiling a lot, even though I’m tired, and my sons are getting anxious to read the manuscript. As always, they are my first test group!

As I’ve mentioned, the first book in the Kane Chronicles, The Red Pyramid, will be released May 4, and the publisher has some exciting plans in the works. I will tell you more when I can, but I hope you enjoy my modern take on the Ancient Egyptian gods. Carter and Sadie quickly won my heart. They’re just such fun main characters to write about.

Haven’t had much time to read or do anything but write, but I did manage to finish Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. I enjoyed the Southern Gothic take on the supernatural love story. The relationship between the two main characters is well developed, and the supporting characters are great. Ridley especially is a scary creation. Yikes!

In the totally random news department, we are still enjoying our new house and its proximity to the creek and the wildlife. A few nights ago I came home and was ready to pull into the driveway, but there was a buck deer in my way. It was huge, with massive antlers. We just stared at each other for a minute. I tried to take a picture, but of course it was too dark. Then the deer calmly walked down the street, heading toward the creek. Too cool. Then this morning, some mallard ducks decided to have a party in our swimming pool. I looked out the back door, and there was a male and female paddling around in the deep end. Becky did manage to get a shot of the female (see above) but the male flew away too fast.

It’s been cold and rainy here in San Antonio, but nothing compared to what the East Coast is enduring. I hope everyone is staying warm and safe! I will probably be pretty quiet on the blog until I can get this manuscript finished, but know that I’m being silent for a good cause. Happy reading, everyone!

The Red Pyramid sneak peek

The first chapter of the Kane Chronicles, book one: The Red Pyramid, is now live on Disney's Kane Chronicles website. I hope you enjoy!

The Viper's Nest

Congratulations to Peter Lerangis, whose new volume in the 39 Clues saga, The Viper's Nest, comes out today! Ooh, I can't wait to see what Dan and Amy are up to. Well...I know what they're up to, because I sketched out the story arc, but I'm always surprised and delighted to see what the other talented authors have done to bring the ideas to life. It's like opening a birthday present every time one of these books comes out.

And speaking of 39 Clues, kudos to this dedicated librarian from Skokie who made a video of Grace Cahill. Nicely done! I usually do demigods of the week, but I guess I will name her Cahill of the Week. Does the cat Saladin look a bit ill in this video? Too much red snapper, perhaps.

Happy clue hunting!

New Greek Mythology Source

Becky happened across a cool interview in School Library Journal with author George O'Connor, who has launched a new series of graphic novels about the Olympian gods. I haven't read them yet, but they look amazing. Check out his website, too! Fantastic resource for the gods. I especially like the family tree, each with illustrated entries about the gods and their powers. Definitely worth a visit for any young demigod.