Percy Jackson Fan Club! discussion
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MOVED - CHECK BIO, Head Camper ~ "Bob says hello."
(last edited May 06, 2012 10:30AM)
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May 06, 2012 10:15AM
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MOVED - CHECK BIO, Head Camper ~ "Bob says hello."
(last edited May 06, 2012 10:32AM)
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Thank you, Bay Area!
It's always great to be back in the Bay Area! The past two days in the South Bay have been so fun. Yesterday morning we did our live webcast from the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum and Planetarium. We had tens of thousands of people tune in from all over the world, including Egypt, Azerbaijan, Poland, and of course my good friends down in Brazil.
Above is a statue of Horus on the grounds of the museum. Below, a giant-sized game of Senet. Dibs on the traffic cones!
Tawaret greeted us as we walked toward the entrance:
And here I am at the main entrance, which is modeled after the temple of Karnak. Those are papyrus plants growing on either side of me, and the golden doors have handles shaped like the "was" symbol, the staff of power that many gods carry.
The entrance is also flanked by ram's-headed sphinxes, which would probably give Carter and Sadie the creeps, as they look exactly like the sphinxes that attacked them in The Red Pyramid.
Inside, we got ready for the webcast with a full run-through. These shots might give you some idea how many people it took to put together a live show!
I haven't seen the final product, but I'm told it looked good and I certainly had a great time leading the tour! If you didn't get to catch it live, no problem! You can register for free on the http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/s... , and very shortly they will have it on the website ready for viewing at your convenience.
We had a ton of great questions come in from all over the world. Some of the ones I didn't get to answer:
Q: Pancakes or waffles?
A: Dude, waffles. Not even a choice.
Q: Are you as sarcastic in real life as you are in your books?
A: No, not at all. (rolls eyes sarcastically)
Q: Do you have a cat?
A: Two cats, but they're pretty sure they own me, not the other way around.
Last night, we kicked off the book tour with our first event for Kepler's Books at the beautiful Fox Theater in downtown Redwood City. You can see the crowd gathering above, and my name on the marquee, along with the British Invasion, MMA battles (Coach Hedge approves!) and the ABBA concert.
Redwood City had its first ever farmers' market on the street outside the theater, which gave the evening a festive atmosphere. There was even a bouncy house, though alas I didn't get to go in. I'm told the crowd forming for our event was so huge the mayor of Redwood City walked over from City Hall to see what was going on. I hope he wasn't disappointed that I wasn't ABBA.
1100 people showed up for the event, and we had a great time. I read a section from The Mark of Athena and everybody seemed to like it (phew!). The questions were great, and my publicist said the fans were screaming so loudly at one point her eardrums popped. Thanks to Kepler's for hosting our launch event, and to everyone who attended!
Today, I'm off to Utah for my sold-out event with the Provo Library. Can't wait! I hope you all are enjoying The Serpent's Shadow. I'll keep you posted from the road.
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Walkin' Like Egyptians in Provo
It's not often I pull up to a stage door and find the entire pantheon of Egyptian gods waiting to greet me. Last night in Provo, Utah, the Egyptians were out in force! The folks you see in these shots are staff or volunteers for the Provo Library, and boy do they know how to put on a party.
That's me, below, with Gene, the library director -- er, I mean, pharaoh. We took over the auditorium of Timpview High School and filled it to capacity with 1500 people who were very, very excited (and loud!).
The show started with a sing-a-long and dance led by Isis, Bast and Thoth, who you can see in the group shot below. The staff had rewritten the words to "Walk Like an Egyptian" to honor Carter and Sadie. Pretty amazing. The Egyptian gods walked through the crowd, giving out signed books as prizes to the best costumes and best dancers. That certainly got the crowd going!
I read from The Mark of Athena, talked about the Kane Chronicles, and answered lots of terrific questions from the audience. I'd been to Provo once before and had a blast. This makes it two for two. One girl in the audience was literally bouncing up and down for the entire hour. Upon hearing the news that I would be writing a Norse series, another young fan jumped into the aisle and did the happy dance, really busting out the pro moves. And the costumes -- wow! Everybody was dressed to the nines, or is it 'dressed to the nomes'? Thanks everybody for coming out! Today, I'm off to Vancouver for another sold-out event with KidsBooks. Can't wait to revisit Frank Zhang's hometown! Check out the amazing storefront window Vancouver KidsBooks has done for my visit.
((You need to get your picture on his blog haha))
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From Anchorage to Portland
Our Serpent's Shadow tour of the Northwest is winding down! Tonight, I have a sold-out event for A Children's Place in Portland, and tomorrow I travel back to http://store-locator.barnesandnoble.c... there on Wednesday, and http://www.thewittliffcollections.txs... .
After sold-out events in Vancouver and Seattle, we headed north to Anchorage, Alaska on Friday night. The city is just as amazing as I remember, and we had well over 1200 people at the local Barnes and Noble. Here's the view of the Tumagain Arm from the Old Seward Highway:
Before the event we had breakfast at my favorite place, Snow City Cafe:
That's the stuffed French toast with reindeer sausage. Rudolph was delicious!
And check out some of the costumes at Barnes and Noble:
The folks at B&N even made their own Rosetta Stone, which I resisted the urge to blow up:
To see more photos of the event, check out http://www.adn.com/2012/05/05/2453971... .
The end to a perfect Alaska day? Dinner at Simon and Seafort's, where the seafood is beyond amazing. That's me below with my trainer Danny, who was along on the tour to keep me burning off the huge number of calories I consumed.
Sunday, we flew to Portland, another fantastic city. I can't believe the beautiful sunny weather here -- very unusual!
Last night after dinner we took a walking tour through downtown and came across a few establishments run by Greek gods:
Then finally we made our way to the Underworld of Donuts: Voodoo Donuts. Even at 9PM, there was a line down the block, and after sampling the sinfully delicious goods, I can see why.
Thanks to everyone who came out for the Serpent's Shadow tour! If you're coming to one of the two Texas events, I'll see you later in the week!
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(Haha! :D)
((Food. Grover was right, if you eat like this, you'll go "Food" in your sleep all the time...wanting to eat at Zues Cafe and get some donuts now...rudolph can live so I can get more presents))
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(LoL! Haha, I'm craving for donuts now)
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Rick Riordan was in San Marcus, Texas on Friday, May 11. I was there at his last stop.
Riordan talked about his history, how he used to hate reading and writing. He said the first book he read that he liked was Lord of the Rings.
He said the first thing he wrote was something called(I think) Archangel Conversation. A guy goes to heaven and has a conversation with an angel. His teacher told him to send it out, so he did. He waited everyday for two months. Finally he got the letter(It was written on a typewriter). He got rejected. His Mom was so proud of that rejection letter, she framed it and hung it in the hall, so he had to look at it every time he went down that hall. Then the house burned down. The only thing that survived...was the rejection letter. That's the power of rejection for you!
He showed us the cover of the first edition of the Lightning Thief.
He told us also, that all over the world the book was printed in sold. He was told that Germany would have and need a strict, striking, dark cover. He prepared to see that. He got...
(One on the left)The Minotaur...in his underpants.
I will add the rest later, but here's two more things that he told us.
He said he had a Japanese reader who didn't know all American terms. One day he got an E-Mail that said...
Mr. Riordan
What is a wedgie?
LoL, right?
Another part, he said his son came into his writing room one day and said to him, "So I just finished my manuscript."
Rick made a surprised expression and jumped back. "What?"
"Yeah it's six-hundred pages."
"That's more than anything I've written!" Rick exclaimed.
His son, he said, then nodded with a creepy/happy/evilish smile and said, "I know."
Hahaha! Well, I'll add more later folks, along with pictures!
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Note from Mrs. Riordan:
As many of Rick’s hosting venues now require a book purchase in the ticket price this event has the opportunity to purchase a ticket for $5 that does not include a book. Great for those of us that read books from the library! Rick will be reading from passages of books yet to be published and do a more lengthy Q&A. This should be a very special event.
Hey Bloggers!
The Pirate Princess, here! Thanks you very much for reading my blog. Here is some fun news! I just came back from San Marcos, TX–the last stop on the tour of author Rick Riordan.
Rick Riordan has written four series. His first children’s series was the awesome Percy Jackson and the Olympians books. Rick co-authored a book in The 39 Clues. Another series is titled The Kane Chronicles, which is a trilogy, and the last book was released on May 1st. Sadly (yet awesomely!!!), I had to wait until the 11th to get mine. Why, you ask? Because the 11th of May was his last stop on his tour for The Serpents Shadow.
I got my ticket and went to San Marcos, and had an awesome time!!! Eeep! I was the 8th person in line since we got there extra early. We were told that the people who sat closer to the front, right next to the camera usually got called on during the Q&A, so that’s right were I sat.
I bought a SIGNED copy of The Serpent's Shadow Kane Chronicles 3 that night and got to ask him a question, and was awesome–I always am! ☺
Rick talked about how when he was young (No, it will not be like your grandparents telling you, “When I was young, I didn’t have a bike. Blah, blah, blah.) that he didn’t like reading or writing–until he found a book that he really liked. The first book he read that he enjoyed was Lord of the Rings. He was told it based of Norse gods and goddesses and myths or Norway/Scandinavia, which interested him at the time.
When he was in eighth grade, he sure he wanted to be an author. Rick wrote his first short story where a guy goes to heaven and has a conversation with an angel. I forgot what he named it (I think it was Conversations with an Archangel). His teacher told him to send it out to see if he could get it published. And he did. Rick sent it to a sci-fi magazine that wrote stories like the one he had written and then waited for two months. When he got the letter (It was written with a typewriter), he got rejected.
And guess what? His mom was proud of that rejection letter! She framed it and put it in the hall, where he had to pass it and had to look at it…every. Single. Day. Then, a few years later, the house burned down. The only thing that survived (besides the family)….was that rejection letter. She reframed it and it’s now hanging in Riordan’s mom’s house. That’s the power of rejection for ya’!
Rick told us about how The Lightning Thief came to be: (If you haven’t you have to read the books! The Lightening Thief is number one in his Percy Jackson and the Olympians series.)
When his son was little, they found out that he had ADHD and is dyslexia. It made it so that his son didn’t like reading or writing. Rick asked his son if there was anything he was interested in at school. His son responded he liked the Greek myths they were teaching. Riordan told his son all of the myths. The night he ran out, his son wasn’t too happy. He wanted more.
“Make up another!” his son said.
“Another hasn’t been made in 2000 years,” Rick told him. Then, he decided to make a story. He gave it a shot. Then came Percy Jackson. He told his son Percy Jackson was ADHD and dyslexic, too. So, Percy Jackson started as a bedtime story. Now it’s a bestselling awesome book. (Read it already!)
Rick let his class read it before it was published. They liked it. He had to change the title though. His class pointed out that he needed a catchier title. After that, he sent his manuscript out.
Disney Hyperion liked it and said, “We want it!” Rick said okay. Then, when they worked on the cover. The first guy….I forgot what happened to him but he got fired. The second guy wanted to monsters to be coming out of the book (see pic on top). Then they made a second edition which is the one we all see today. The Lightening Thief was sold worldwide. Rick was told that in Germany, they needed a strict, striking, dark cover. He prepared to see that. And he got…The Minotaur….In his Fruit of the Loom underpants, aka, tidy widies.(One on bottom left)
During the Q&A, I got to ask him a question.
I asked, “How do you come up with your stories?”
He replied, “I think of the myths and imagine what they would be like in the real world.”
Apparently, in the 21st century the Minotaur needs undies.
Rick also told us about his adult series(Don’t read it! {Unless you are an adult of course.}) They were killer mysteries. He said, one day in his sixth grade class(He was a teacher), one of his students asked, “Can we read your book?”
“NO!” Was Rick’s response. “It has violence and bad words! Lots of bad words!” He said when he told them that their eyes lit up and they said, “Really?” They all got the book and highlighted the bad words. So much for no.
Rick read the first chapter to a book called, Mark of Athena, the third book in his series Heroes of Olympus. I laughed very hard. You’ll see why when it comes out.
He told us more about his adult books and his children series.
He also said, one day his son came into his writing room and said, “Yeah, so I finished my manuscript.”
Here, *insert shocked expression* “What?” Rick asked.
“Yeah, it’s 600 pages.” Hayley, his son, said.
“That’s more than anything I’ve written,” Rick told his son.
Hayley said, *insert evil smile and nodding* “I knowww.”
That’s a LoL moment!
Another LOL moment. Rick said, for his book, as I have mentioned many times(The Lightning Thief for those of you who skimmed this) he had a Japanese translator. She had to translate all the American phrases into Japanese. Every day he got e-mails from her asking about American terms. One day he got one that said this...
Mr. Riordan,
What is a wedgie?
Hahaha! ☺
Here are some more answers to the top questions his readers may be thinking…
1. Yes! Rick will write a Norse gods series after Heroes of Olympus.
2. Yes, the Percy Jackson world and Sadie and Carter’s world DO exist side-by-side. So, in the Red Pyramid, Carter did see Blackjack!!!
3. Rick does not know if he will make a Red Pyramid movie. He said if he’s offered the right amount, maybe, but he hasn’t considered it much.
4. Rick does not know if he will continue the Percy Jackson world after “Heroes of Olympus”.
5. No, the Lotus Casino does not exist.
6. Rick did not see the movie of The Lightning Thief. He had nothing to do with it. He said he didn’t see the movie, because he already has the characters in his head. If he went to movie, it might’ve messed that up, so he avoided it.
And I happened to notice that right now, The Lightening Thief is on sale for Kindle for $4.99, which is awesome!
If you enjoy reading Rick’s books, you will LOVE seeing him speak in person. If you get the chance to hear him speak, you should totally do it. We drove over four hours to get there and it was totally worth it. And in case your parents are wondering: Yes! There were lots of kids there. Most were in Middle School, like me. To see when he’s touring next, watch his website, www.rickriordan.blogspot.com . We bought tickets within an hour of the event being posted and got in. They sold out by later that night, so be ready to grab tickets as soon as they go up or you might not get in.
this is great, if he didn't see the movie and had nothing to do with it, we can yell at the screenwriters and not RR at all!! only one thing made me mad...LOTR IS A CHRISTIAN BOOK!!!!!! Norse gods? are you crazy who ever told him that? J. R. R. Tolkein wrote a Christian book that didn't show Christianity really clearly like his best friend C. S. Lewis did with the Narnia books!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! *goes and beats a punching bag* I'm slightly better now
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Calm down Matthew. His teacher(He was like in 6th grade he said) told him that. He/She told him RR it was based off of Norse gods/goddesses/myths
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Percy Jackson Fan Club!
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