Interview Starts
Question: What's next for the Olympians?

Rick Riordan: Well, it’s funny you know I always said it’s going to be five books because I wanted it first to have a nice strong ending and you know the big battle when you find out what happens in the end. I think this is really important for the stories to end well so it just doesn’t drag on forever. At the same time you know as I’m going to around talking to all this kids they’re like, “Well what about that character? What about this and what are they doing at camp, why they’re always off in this quest? You never talk about that.”

And I realized that there’s a whole other side of the story that I never told that I couldn’t fit into the five books, so yes in about a year we’re going to launch the second Camp Half-Blood Series and you may see some of the old characters like Percy and Annabeth but they may not be the main characters. They’re going to be a little bit older. There will be counselors at the camp and there is a new prophecy at the end of the Last Olympian - I think we can say that without giving too much away if you haven’t read it yet - that does sort of set it up, so when you read the ending of Last Olympian you’re going to have a pretty good idea of how things are going to change at Camp Half-Blood and what maybe happening in the second series, so absolutely that’s it as well. I’m also working in another book I got to tell you guys that I’m so excited about.

The Camp Half-Blood Series is probably going to come out in winter 2010 but before that in the spring of 2010 we’re hoping to launch this new fantasy that I’m working at. A lot of kids as I again gone around the country talking to schools and stuff and said, “have you ever thought about doing any other form of mythology because there’s so many, and Greek mythology is great but what about all those other mythologies out there?” and I have to bite my tongue because it’s been a top secret that I’ve been working at, but I can now tell you what’s coming up. There’s only one thing in my years as a teacher that was more popular than Greek mythology. Anybody want to guess what it was? Yeah.

Participant: Egypt.

Rick: Egypt. Bingo! You’re absolutely right. So, next spring - the kids know right - next spring you guys look out because the gods of ancient Egypt are going to invade the modern world. It’s going to be really cool.

[Audience laughs]

Question: On the Real Mrs. Dodds

Rick Riordan: Some of the characters are based on real people like, I don’t know if you guys have read The Lightning Thief, but there’s an evil math teacher Mrs. Dodds. She turns into a monster and he has to vaporizer her with a sword. Oh, by the way I just saw the casting shot for the Mrs. Dodds in the movie. She’s perfect, so sinister looking. I will not want her as a substitute teacher.

I digress. Mrs. Dodds is based on a real teacher whose name is Mrs. Dodds. And I taught with her and I just thought it would be funny to put her in the book as my son knew who she was. Then I got the book published and I forgot to change her name, so I have to go up to her and say, “Oh Mrs. Dodds I turned you into a monster and killed you. I’m sorry.” But it’s funny because now all of her students are scared of her, so she thinks it’s great.

Question: Are there some Percy Jackson books available on the Kindle?

Rick Riordan: [overlay] No I cannot tell you how many times I’ve got that question. “When are you coming out of Kindle?” I don’t know. It’s not my department. I just write the books. But I have to say the Disney Hyperion bent over backwards trying to figure it out to get it out in time for the Last Olympian and the Percy Jackson books are actually the very first titles that that publisher was able to get on to the Kindle and they really rushed the process through. So yes it just came out, the [inaudible] Last Olympian, the entire Percy Jackson series. I’m very pleased to say is now in Kindle. So that’s an excellent thing, yeah.