Spring Update from Athena House

Hello, all. It’s been a while since I’ve had a chance to write an update, but I hope you are staying healthy and safe and finding many good books to read. Here at Athena House, Riordan headquarters in Boston, life is busy !

WRATH OF THE TRIPLE GODDESS

I have at long last finished my revisions on WRATH and submitted it to my publisher. Hooray! The book will be published on Sept. 24.  This is the second new Percy Jackson adventure after CHALICE OF THE GODS. It focuses on the classic trio, Percy, Annabeth, and Grover, as they try to complete the ultimate heroic quest of finding godly recommendation letters to get Percy into college. Wish them luck! As you may have read, I pitched three ideas for new Percy books when we were initially trying to entice Disney into making Percy Jackson a TV show. It turned out we didn’t need to use those ideas, but once the show was in progress, writing the new books seemed like a good way to celebrate Percy’s ‘rebirth’ with my readers. WRATH focused on the goddess of witchcraft, Hecate, who asks our heroes to pet-sit her supernatural companions while she is away for Halloween. Spookiness ensues.

Sadly, I will not be doing an in-person tour for this book in the fall. We anticipate being back at work producing season two of Percy Jackson and the Olympians by then, if all goes according to plan, and also, to be honest, I kind of want a breather from touring! Last year was incredible with three different media tours — for The Sun and the Star, Chalice of the Gods, and of course the TV show. But this year is going to be more about catching up with projects.

Also, I apologize in advance that I won’t be signing copies of WRATH. One result of last year’s epic touring was that my signing hand finally said, “Okay, I’m done! Enough!” It’s been a wonderful problem and privilege to sign tens of thousands of books every year. I’ve been doing that for over fifteen years now, sometimes for two books a year, but now I have done some real damage to my hand and I need to let it heal. Physical therapy is helping. I just need to be careful.  Thanks for understanding. I hope you’ll enjoy the book regardless!

PJOTV

Hopefully you heard the news that Percy Jackson and the Olympians will be back for season two on Disney+. Season one did very well indeed, and we are all excited to continue the story. I can only provide the most general of updates, but we’re making excellent progress. Becky and I continue to serve as executive producers the same way we did on season one. I read every outline and every script, making notes as needed. As I’ve said before, TV is a team sport. It is impossible for any one person to control every aspect of such a huge endeavor. When you watch any show, you are watching the collective vision and creative input of an entire team. That said, everyone involved is committed to bringing the Percy Jackson story to the screen in a faithful way, but also adding value and depth with glimpses into the characters’ lives and backstories so that even fans who have read the books hundreds of times will find new enjoyment and a few surprises. Our job is to build on the solid foundation of season one. I’m a perfectionist. I believe that we can always do better. I think we’re off to a good start with this new season as we recreate The Sea of Monsters. 

Scripts: We are working from an eight-episode outline that I created last year, detailing what each episode will cover from the book. From there, the writers’ room has drawn up a more detailed outline of each episode (with my input). I have read all those outlines and they’re in really good shape. The next step is writing the actual scripts. Half of those are done and the rest are in progress. I am pleased with the results so far.

Artwork: Our team has begun designing sets and creature artwork. Everything I have seen so far looks incredible. I am constantly amazed how our designers can find new ways to bring these scenes to life. If you’ve read the book Sea of Monsters, you already know some of the treats that await you, but I won’t spoil the surprises.

Casting: Our core team of actors is so excited to get back to filming, and so are we!  Regarding new castings, as I’ve mentioned before, that is all handled by our casting director. I don’t get involved until they start sending the producers audition tapes to look at. I know of no plans for open casting calls for any roles, so I would not expect any announcements from me about how to submit for this role or that role.  I can only tell you that all the actors who have made it onto our show got the job because they’ve worked incredibly hard for years learning how to act, committing themselves to their careers with no guarantees of success and many sacrifices, accumulating auditions and rejections, and getting better at their craft. They won the roles by competing against hundreds, even thousands of other actors who have done the exact same hard work. Even the youngest ones are pros, and it shows in their tapes.

Best advice if you want to act: Do what they did. Commit yourself to it. Start small and work your way up. Do auditions as much as you can. Learn how the system works. Eventually, try to get a reputable agent. That is a huge step that tells the industry: “Someone in the business believes I have the talent.” It’s similar in publishing. Getting a deal for a book is very difficult without a literary agent who has pre-screened your work and agreed to represent you. Most publishing houses won’t even consider un-agented manuscripts.

At any rate, we have only just begun our casting conversations for season two. When I know more about which actors have been chosen for what parts, I will let you know, but that is still quite a ways away.

MISCELLANEOUS

As far as other TV/film projects, the industry is presently in a state of contraction. Streaming services are taking a hard look at how much money they spend, and it is getting more difficult to get a film or show made. Many projects that have been in development have been shelved. For instance, I previously wrote that the rights for The Kane Chronicles have reverted to me after being in script development as a feature at Netflix for several years. I’m not sorry we went through that process. There are no hard feelings! I met many talented people and learned a lot about script development. Becky and I are exploring other options for Kane, but there is nothing I can announce yet. We will hold out for the right deal in the right place. Similarly, Daughter of the Deep rights have reverted to me after being in script development as a feature at Disney+. There was no issue with the script or the team. I loved everyone we were working with! It was simply a budgetary call, as I understand it, and Daughter would be an expensive film to make. I know these kind of setbacks are disappointing to fans, but they are common in the film industry, and happen more times than not. Getting anything made, even in the best of times, is monstrously difficult. I have gained a lot of respect for the producers, executives and writers who manage to navigate the rapids and get projects through. I don’t know what the future holds for Daughter. I guess we’ll have to wait and see. Magnus Chase I am intentionally holding in reserve, not seeking a deal for that series yet, as I want to have more bandwidth available to do it justice when and if we get it placed somewhere.

Future writing projects for me? Nothing I can announce yet, but there are a few fun things in the works. I love writing, and see no reason to stop as long as there are readers who are excited for new books! In the meantime, check out the latest titles for our incredible authors at Rick Riordan Presents. Happy reading!

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