Here I am at an ungodly early hour in the DFW airport, heading back home from a good week visiting schools in the Dallas area. Last night in Sherman, Texas, we had an excellent event at the public library. I was told it was their biggest crowd ever. Thanks to all the parents, teachers, and students who drove from all over the area to attend. The librarians told me that at one of their last major events, a Harry Potter party, they attracted religious protesters who held an anti-Harry prayer vigil in the parking lot and picketed the event. Welcome to the Bible Belt! I was disappointed to find no protesters for Percy. Oh, well . . . one can dream.
Tuesday and Wednesday I spent in Coppell, a community situated between Dallas and Fort Worth. The librarians were very welcoming (boy, did we eat well!) and the kids were great. Last week, when I was showing off the Titan’s Curse cover art in Austin, the kids decided Percy was riding a hippo rather than a pegasus. The kids in Coppell assured me it did not look like a hippo. They decided Percy was riding a war moose. Now I can’t look at the cover without pondering the zoological possibilities.
A writing update: I am making my way through the second draft of Percy 4. No title yet. That will probably come only after I finish the third draft. A few months after the Titan’s Curse is released, I will post a short summary, most likely.
And those rumors about a Percy Jackson short story to tide you over until Titan’s Curse is released? My lips are sealed, but watch this space . . .
