The past two weeks I've had the luxury of visiting with fans on Twitter as my manuscript for The House of Hades has been with my editor. Now I've got to head back to 'full-time writing' land, but if you missed our exchanges on Twitter, I'm copying a transcript below. I had a great time answering these questions!
RT: @bloggernot hurry up writing, Rick! / (Yoda
voice) "There is no 'hurry up.' Only 'get it right.'" Write faster =
write worse.
RT: @liamtome
will Heroes of Olympus be the last time we'll read about Percy, Jason and
company? / Several years too early to say.
RT: @coleenmikaelson
Would you give some teasers/spoilers for HOO? :) / No! (cackles maniacally)
RT: @Hand9_Remy
Can you tell us the name of the 5th book HOO ? / WAY too early for that. It'll
be printed at the end of HoH, as usual.
RT: @Maddiemoo17
if a god/goddess was in mortal form, what would happen if he/she got hit by a
car? / Time for a new car.
I have been called sassy. Please. A 48-year-old man cannot
be sassy. Cantankerous perhaps. (Shakes cane. Get off my lawn!)
RT: if you give leo a girlfriend can you name her after me.
/ You realize I've gotten this request 6,784,231 times. No sry. But Leo sez
thx.
I really do appreciate how attached readers get to my
characters. It's cool that they want even the secondary characters to stay
safe.
Me: 'Grover stepped on a twig.' Reader: 'Ah, how could you
kill that twig! That twig was my favorite character!!'
RT: @rohmatullohA Rick look at me and Hermes. i
met him last week :D
RT: @bethimusprime
I think the other fandoms are calling a therapist for us.
Supposedly I have 122K followers. Think it's actually 22K
& one enthusiastic Brazilian w/100K Twitter accounts. Thank you, my one
super fan!
RT: @Odaircubes
did you ever had Greek or Latin Classes in high school? /Latin, yes. It was
very helpful.
RT: @geekishly
A friend & I discussed how knowledgeable you are about locations in your
books. How many have you been to? /Most of them.
RT:@thishalfblood
what you pretend to write after percy jackson? /Think I'll pretend to write the
Great American Novel, but do a MG fantasy.
Reading Best Served Cold, an excellent fantasy. Forgot how
much pain @LordGrimdark likes
to inflict on his characters. *Wince.*
RT: @oqueidrew
What would be if it were not a writer? / Probably still teaching, and that
would be fine. I liked teaching.
RT: @VioletOwls
How many times will you rip our hearts out and stamp on them in HoH? /Well, I
haven't actually counted....
RT: @ThatQurlCris
Do you get writers' block? /Not usually but.... ah, dang it. I was going to say
something. Oh well.
RT: @livingpercy what do you enjoy doing when not
writing books? /Sleeping. Also, I play guitar, read, and hang out with my
family.
RT: @Clavinerise
Do fans attack you when you go to the mall? /What a scary thought. No. Though I
will now be paranoid. Thanks.
RT: @ahsengarfield
Will we see more Nico Di Angelo on The House of Hades? /Yes. Quite a bit.
RT: @notrustingducks
you're awesome bro ok Thanks for throwing my otp into Tartarus by the way /No
problem! Oh, that was sarcasm...
RT: @Books_Follower
Did you know you are better than any school teacher? /But I am a school
teacher. I just don't have to grade papers now!
RT: @mkwissler
Do you think your fans have influenced your writing as your series progresses?
/some. Fans convinced me to write about Egypt.
And of course, just the fact that I *have* fans who are
waiting to read the next book is awesome. That keeps me excited about writing.
RT: @MvLannister
There is any chance of Jason and Reyna staying together? /They never were
together.
RT: @choconouis
why do i have a feeling that hoh is going to have the worst cliffhanger yet ?
/Nah. Nothing could be worse than MoA.
RT @CadeMeuSatiro_
how you see yourself in 20 years? /If I'm still alive and still writing, I'll
be happy.
@DerekLandy! /Derek is hands down my sons'
favorite author.
RT @KSkogs2113
I'm studying to be a math teacher but your books have me wanting to get a
history endorsement! /We need more good teachers!
RT: @dindagale
I hope Luke Castellan will show up on the next book. / Sadly (SPOILER) he's
dead.
RT: @amandatbh the turn around time for you to write a book
is so fast. u go u wizard./Thanks. Usually I hear FASTER, FASTER, FASTER!
Which is a nice compliment too, by the way, but I can't
really speed up the process anymore than I already have.
RT: @NatTaylor97
How is planning for the Norse series going? Are you excited? /Excited but still
a ways off before I start writing that.
RT: @hadesplease
I hope Haley had some input on House of Hades. /He is busy finishing up his own
novel, but yes I asked his advice.
RT: @Harun_bala2000
we're probably gonna get a major plot twist like Reyna Beauregard or something
/clever idea, but no. : )
RT: @lolpercy
you've met with JK Rowling? / No, strangely she doesn't come to San Antonio TX
very often.
RT: @percableth
is there going to be an epilogue at the end of HoO? / No, I dislike epilogues.
Twenty years later, blah, blah, blah.
Honestly, I don't kill that many characters. Never killed a
main character. If NO good guys EVER died, that wouldn't be realistic, even in
a fantasy.
RT: @peluciodoron
Do you like more of PJ or Heroes of Olympus? / Heroes is more challenging &
keeps me interested b/c the many POVs.
@wtflovarow You think of any actor playing Leo
Valdez?/ I never cast my own characters. I have absolutely no interest in that.
Leo is Leo.
RT: @PotterPendragon
Do you like Game of Thrones? /Yes, though as with all things, THE BOOKS ARE
BETTER.
RT: @FieryValdez
thoughts on John Green?/ Don't know him, haven't read him, but I know he's got
a big following.
RT:@HungerGamesFCBR
are you excited to write a trilogy with suzanne and cassandra? / Uh, what?
Great authors, but we don't collaborate. Two writers writing together doesn't
always work. Just b/c you like pizza and ice cream does not mean they'd taste
good mashed together.
RT: @SublimePotter
DO YOU HAVE LUNCH WITH OTHER AUTHORS AND LAUGH AS YOU PLOT ANOTHER DEATH OF A
FICTIONAL CHARACTER? / Maybe...
RT: @Deenerys
sarcasm you're becoming one of your characters / someone once said: 'You cannot
create a character that isn't partially you.'
RT: @p0intofview
any emotional scenes coming up in HoH? / No. There will be absolutely no
emotions expressed in this book. :P
RT: @karlitaboheme
Will we know anything about Grover in HoH? /Okay, very minor spoiler. Yes,
you'll see Grover briefly in House of Hades.
RT: @larryth1ngs
who is your inspiration for leo? / Leo is totally made up, though I love his
character.
RT: @Brawl483Matthew
Will there be more Kane Chronicles in the future? /Just "Son of
Sobek" short for now. Heroes is keeping me busy!
RT: will Tartarus scenes be 18+ / Since I write middle grade
novels, aimed at ages 8-14, I'd have to go with NO, ARE YOU CRAZY?
RT: @wantstromwick
what was your inspiration for Sadie? /My mom. Like Sadie, she was an American
girl raised in England.
RT: @_iamzion
you are the best serial killer / Uh . . . thanks?
RT: @ImThisWeirdKid
who's your inspiration for Nico? / A former student of mine named, wait for it,
Nico. As far as I know, not a Hades kid.
RT: @likej0nes
you could give reyna a surname? /You will learn her surname in HoH, and no, I'm
not taking requests. :D
RT: @OhGloryWitches
will there be new characters in House of Hades? /Because we don't have enough
characters already?
RT: @JoeeCaraig
WOULD YOU DRESS UP AS THE EASTER BUNNY IF ASKED?/ How do you know I'm not
already dressed as the Easter Bunny?
And guys, if you want to talk movies, you're seriously in
the wrong place. I have no info & am not the person to follow or comment
to.
RT: I just heard a myth that Leo will die in The House of
Hades...Is it true? / I heard a rumor that Internet rumors are just rumors. No
one knows what will happen except me, my editor and my family. No one will know
until Oct. 8. Anything you see online is pure guessing.
RT: "why does it take so long to write a book?"
One year is very fast, actually. Some authors take 3, 5, 10 years to complete a
single book.
Unfortunately, no plans to visit [insert name of your
country here]. Got to stay home and write!
RT: @juliem13b
Don't you live in the US, though? A: No, Texas. Believe me, it's another
country entirely. Or planet...
Being a novelist constantly asked about movies is like being
a cardiologist constantly asked about brain surgery. That ain't my department.
MT: "state writing test. Please send my kids some
encouraging words!" A: Dear kids, state tests are just as pointless as you
suspect.
But hang in there. You are bright and creative, despite our
broken education system. You will prevail! (Hope an HONEST reply is okay)