Before the flurry of tour activity begins, I thought I’d
write a quick update on the blog.
House of Hades
First and most importantly, the wait is almost over! The House of Hades will be released in
the UK, US, and Canada on Tuesday, October 8! I have confirmation it will also
be released in Brazil this day. I believe
the English language edition will also be available that day (or soon after) in
most countries that usually get English editions, meaning Australia, New
Zealand, South Africa, India, and the Philippines, but I have no direct confirmation
about that. As always, you should check with booksellers in your area to ask
them when the book will be available. As for other international markets, I
don’t usually get information about their release dates. Remember, it takes
almost as long to translate a book as it does to write it in the first place.
That’s why the international editions are often a year or more behind. You will
need to ask a local bookseller when the book will be available in your area.
Spoilers: Everyone
hates them! I hate them. The fans hate them. So please, if you happen to get an
early copy of The House of Hades,
don’t spoil the story for everyone else. Accidents happen with the release
date. When you’re dealing with millions of copies of a book, some of them will
inevitably get out before they are supposed to. If that happens to you, well,
you’re lucky, but ssshhhhhh! We don’t want to know about it. We certainly don’t
want you telling everyone the plot of the book.
Another point about this: Readers, don’t believe every rumor
you hear on the Internet. In fact, it’s pretty safe not to believe any of them. I know you guys like to
call me a troll, but the real trolls
are the people online who spread false reports trying to get you worked up
about the book. From some of the supposed “spoilers” and fake book excerpts I’ve
seen online, you would think that every character in The House of Hades gets
killed several times. These aren’t spoilers. They are troll droppings! So if
somebody claims they know what happens in the book, my advice is: 1) don’t
listen 2) don’t believe 3) wait and read the book for yourself.
When the book does come out on Oct. 8, I hope you guys enjoy
it. There will be some eye-popping surprises. I promise you that. But after
you’ve read the book, I think those surprises will make total sense to you.
The Tour Itself
I’ll be visiting eight cities in the US this time. All the
events are sold out except for the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville. The
only reason that one isn’t sold out is because they aren’t selling tickets in
advance. You just have to show up and hope you get a seat. If you’re planning
on seeing me in Nashville, my advice is GET
THERE EARLY. Based on the response,
I can pretty much guarantee there will not be enough seats for everyone who
shows up, and I would hate for you to drive a long distance and get turned
away. (Of course, there will be a ton of other great stuff to do at the
festival and lots of other amazing authors.)
If you are coming to an event, make sure you read my blog
post so you know what to expect: http://rickriordan.blogspot.com/2013/08/what-to-expect-and-not-expect-on-house.html
. Due to the size of the crowd, there
won’t be a signing line, so leave your books at home. There will still be
signed copies of The House of Hades
available, but I won’t be able to personalize your books and meet each of you
individually. As much as I’d like to, when you’ve got an intimate crowd of one
thousand or more, it just can’t be done in the time that we have.
As usual, my apologies if I’m not visiting your city. We try
to visit different places every tour, but there’s only one of me, so obviously
we can’t get everywhere. Most of the time, I have to stay home to continue
writing. That’s the only way I can keep turning out a book a year!
International tours, for the foreseeable future, aren’t possible either. I
can’t tour and write at the same time. Like Percy, I’m pretty ADHD and I just
can’t concentrate on both things at once. So for now, the writing has to take
precedence.
Having said that, I look forward to seeing you if you are
coming to an event, but even if you’re not, the best way to “meet” me is to
read the books. Each novel is a private conversation between the reader and me,
so I’ll look forward to chatting with each of you individually very soon.
What’s Next?
I’ve finished work on Percy
Jackson’s Greek Gods, which is a collection of the original Greek myths
told in Percy Jackson’s point of view. Our favorite Seaweed Brain will tell you
everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the major gods – the good stuff,
the bad stuff, and especially the embarrassing stuff – all in his trademark
snarky sarcastic way (which of course bears no resemblance to the way this author thinks.) Percy Jackson’s Greek Gods will be
released August 2014. I’ll post more details as soon as I can. On the tour,
I’ll give you a sneak peek. If you can’t make the tour, I’m sure the sneak peek
will find its way onto the Internet.
The Heroes of Olympus
series will have one more book, capping off the five-book story arc. The title
of the fifth book will be revealed at the end of The House of Hades, the same way I’ve revealed all the other
titles. Book five is next on my writing schedule, which is why I have to make
the tour short so I can get back home and get to work! The book will be
released October 2014 – one year after The
House of Hades, again, just like all the other books have been.
After book five of Heroes
is complete, I will at long last launch into my Norse mythology series. The
first volume in that series is
scheduled for 2015. It’s way too early to tell you anything else yet, but I’ve
got the series mapped out and I can’t wait to get started on it.
As far as other projects I might write, believe me, I’ve got
more ideas than I’ll ever be able to write in a lifetime. The problem is
finding time to write them all. I can’t really speculate what will be next after
the Norse series, but I will keep you posted as things develop.
What’s Going on
Personally?
The Riordan family relocated to Boston this summer, as some
of you read on the blog. Our new place, which we dubbed Athena House, already
feels like home and we’re enjoying our new city very much. Speedy the dog loves
walking through the park (or pulling
us through the park, more like.) Our sons Patrick and Haley are liking their
new schools. And I’m finding it a great place to write!
Tomorrow, Sunday, I’ll be participating in the Literary
Lights event for the Boston Public Library. I believe the event is sold out,
but if you’ve got tickets, I’ll look forward to meeting you!
And now, back to writing, but I’ll keep you posted from the
road once the tour begins.