6 Questions With Rick Riordan As The Bestselling Author Publishes His Seventh ‘Percy Jackson’ Novel
by Josh Weiss · ForbesAlmost two decades ago, Rick Riordan lobbed a well-aimed bolt of electricity straight into the heart of YA fiction with The Lightning Thief, the debut entry in his Percy Jackson and the Olympians saga. Fast forward to present-day, and the Greek mythology-inspired franchise now includes seven novels, two Hollywood film adaptations, a quartet of spinoff series, a slew of short stories, a collection of graphic novels, several supplementary materials, and an ongoing television show on Disney+.
In other words, Riordan is living the dream harbored by all authors and what’s more: he shows no signs of slowing down as he publishes the seventh title centered around the demigod progeny of Poseidon — Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Wrath of the Triple Goddess (now on sale from Disney Hyperion).
Hoping to get accepted to New Rome University, Percy (now a high school senior) requires three letters of recommendation from the Greek gods, who won’t deliver the goods until he fulfills a trio of extracurricular labors. And you thought Hercules had it bad? Slaying lions and hydras are a cake walk compared to getting a college education these days!
6 questions for Percy Jackson author Rick Riordan
Josh Weiss: Give me the elevator pitch for Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Wrath of the Triple Goddess. What can fans expect out of this adventure?
Rick Riordan: Percy, Annabeth, and Grover have to pet sit for Hecate, the goddess of witches, in her haunted mansion during Halloween week. What could possibly go wrong?
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Weiss: You've been writing the Percy Jackson books for almost 20 years now. What's your secret for keeping the series fresh?
Riordan: I try to keep young readers in mind and make sure my ideas feel exciting to me, so they’ll hopefully feel exciting to readers. Every series and every book presents a new challenge for me as the author. That’s what keeps it fresh!
Weiss: Going off that, would you say your writing style/approach has changed now that Percy has grown so much as a character?
Riordan: Percy is still Percy. He still has the same sarcastic sense of humor, love for his friends, and incredulity about just how messed up the world of the gods is. But he is also older and maybe even wiser now, being a senior in high school. He’s looking at things from the perspective of a young adult who would like to have a future, go to college, get married, and maybe not be killed by a gorgon while doing so.
Weiss: Is there another mythological pantheon you'd like to explore, à la The Kane Chronicles and Magnus Chase?
Riordan: I’ve only gotten to dip my feet into the waters of Celtic mythology with a recent story I wrote about Finn Mac Cumhail, the great Irish hero. I’d love to do more with that mythology, both since it’s my ancestry and because it is so rich, fascinating, and largely unknown to a wider readership. The Percy world is keeping me very busy at the moment, however!
Weiss: What can you tease about Season 2 of Percy Jackson and the Olympians on Disney+?
Riordan: We were just on set last week, marveling at how hard to crew is working on putting everything together. None of these are spoilers to anyone who has read The Sea of Monsters, but we saw Clarisse’s ironclad ship being finished, chariot race stunts that would give Ben-Hur nightmares, and some hilarious moments in the Gray Sisters Taxi. The thing that always impressed me most, is how happy everyone is to be working on the show. It’s a very ‘feel good’ environment to be creating something everyone feels so passionate about, and our young cast is simply the best.
Weiss: What has been the most rewarding moment or byproduct of writing a series that so many people love?
Riordan: As a former teacher, it means the world to me every time I hear that these books got a child to love reading. Almost everyone involved in our TV show has a story like that — how a child in their lives was their motivation to work on Percy Jackson. This makes it a labor of love for the whole crew, and I feel very fortunate for that.