Congratulations to Joella Peterson at the Tumwater Timberland Library, Tumwater, WA, who is our fourth and final UK Percy Jackson poster winner. The contest is now closed, but we are sending out all the extra posters we have left, so if you are a librarian or teacher who asked for one over the last few weeks, there’s still a chance one might arrive in the mail. (Though today being tax day at the post office, don’t expect them to arrive immediately!)
In other news, The Last Olympian‘s release date is drawing near! Three weeks from today, all your questions will be answered at long last. Check Twitter, the Disney-Hyperion site, and this blog for the most recent news, and check the web calendar for my schedule of appearances.
I’ve been at home writing the last two weeks, which has been an incredible luxury, but I’ll soon be packing my suitcases again. I’m off to Missouri for a library conference this weekend. This event is just for librarians, but if you live in Missouri and would like to meet me, never fear. I’ll be back in Saint Louis in May for the Last Olympian tour.
Tomorrow my older son Haley and I are off on a top secret research trip for my next book. I can’t tell you where we’re going, as that would give away the book’s subject matter, but I’m excited!
What we’re reading: We just received the third Skulduggery Pleasant book, The Faceless Ones, from the UK, and we had to buy two copies because Patrick and Haley (and my wife Becky!) all wanted to start it at the same time. Derek Landy’s series is not yet as well known on this side of the Atlantic, but it’s well worth checking out and is very popular in the Riordan household. I’m also reading a book of poetry by Hafiz, a medieval Persian poet (how’s that for random?) and The Recruit, the first of the Cherub series by Robert Muchamore. This is another series many British school children have recommended to me during my travels. It isn’t well-known in the US (as far as I can tell) but extremely popular in the UK. Looking for good reads while you’re waiting for Percy 5? I keep a list of my favorite recommendations (and my sons’ favorites) on my website here.
