I had a great time in South Portland last night. Thanks to the 2000 people who showed up at Borders, despite the cold rainy weather. A special shout-out to my wife’s Aunt Donna and our cousin Bradley who made the drive to see me. They live in Maine and we don’t get to see them much, but it was great to catch up, albeit briefly. Thanks also to the local elementary schools, who made a life-sized Percy Jackson display for the store. Borders had arranged face-painting, a hieroglyph hunt and other cool activities, so there was plenty to do.
Everyone was so polite and enthusiastic, despite the long signing line. I met several ‘Sadie Kanes’ with combat boots and highlighted streaks in their hair. One even had her own boomerang wand, and was accompanied by Thalia Grace, with aegis shield and a sword. Awesome!
Favorite comment of the night: I signed a book for a young girl who looked down at the inscription with absolute disgust. “What is that?” she demanded. I replied, “Er, that’s my signature.” I almost thought she was going to demand I erase it, or shout, “How dare you defile my book!” She accepted the explanation, but still looked pretty repulsed. Yes, my signature is not very pretty. Oh, well. Guess I’ll have to work on that.
Some of the many good questions:
Q: Will I ever do a Norse mythology series?
A: I’d love to, but with Kane and Heroes, I’ve got my hands full at the moment. It will be several years before I could even start on something like that.
Q: Would I ever do a crossover series with Kane and Percy’s world?
A: I don’t know. It’s an interesting idea, but for now I think it’s best to keep the worlds separate to avoid utter confusion. Again, so many ideas, but each one takes a long time to write!
Q: Do I do school visits?
A: Sadly, not anymore. I did hundreds and hundreds while Percy was being published, but now there just isn’t enough time in the calendar year to meet my deadlines and travel that much. Sorry about that! Has anyone perfected author cloning yet?
Q: Favorite character?
A: Bes from the Kane Chronicles, Tyson from the Percy series, and Leo from Heroes of Olympus — so far. The answer is always changing.
Q: Do you like Greek mythology?
A: What gave me away?
Q: Why did you set a scene at Bar Harbor, Maine in the Titan’s Curse?
A: I had totally forgotten that! My wife and I had been through Maine only once before, twenty-five years ago on our Honeymoon, and we stayed overnight at Bar Harbor. I always remembered it, and decided to set a scene there.
Today, we’re off to Vermont for an event in Manchester Village with Northshire Bookstore. If you live in the area, I hope to see you there!
