I think that kids have a greater capacity for processing things than we give them credit for.
I wrote for 10 years before I even started the ‘Percy Jackson’ series.
I’ve always found the second book in a series is the hardest to write.
I’ve always liked the idea that writing is a form of travel. And I started my writing career as a mystery novelist for adults.
Turkey, Australia, and Japan are three of my top destinations.
When I write, I’m still imagining a kid reading it on paper. I read e-books when I travel, but in general I still prefer holding an old-fashioned book in my hands. There’s a special, tactile experience.
Back when I taught middle school and wrote adult mysteries, my students often asked me why I wasn’t writing for kids. I never had a good answer for them. It took me a long time to realize they were right.
I like both Greek and Egyptian. More Greek stories have survived, so we know more about them. They’ve always been my favorite. On the other hand, I like the Egyptian stories because they’re not as commonly known and they have an exotic flavour.
I think anytime you’re writing to the middle grades, you’re writing to young readers who are trapped in a number of ways between two worlds: between childhood and adulthood, between their friends and their parents.
I’ve never been a collector – just a consumer – and these days unless a book is signed to me by another author, I don’t normally have any qualms about passing it to a friend or donating it to the library.
To a degree, the Greek and Roman mythological heroes are just the first superheroes. They appeal to children for much the same reason. These gods and heroes may have powers, but they get angry and they do the wrong thing. They are human too.
Ever had a flying burrito hit you? Well, it’s a deadly projectile, right up there with cannonballs and grenades.
It seemed weird calling a teenager ‘sir’ but I’d learned to be careful with immortals. They tended to get offended easily. Then, they blew stuff up.
I said hello to the poodle.
Suspecting and knowing are not the same.
The entrance to the Underworld is in Los Angeles.
Deadlines just aren’t real to me until I’m staring one in the face.
Where’s the glory in repeating what others have done?
My dear young cousin, if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the eons, it’s that you can’t give up on your family, no matter how tempting they make it.
Almost everything strange washes up near Miami.