Author Visit: Rick Riordan

My goodness, I am so sorry it has taken me this long to post about this exciting event, but the week following Sunday has just been absolutely crazy. But now I can report about Rick Riordan's visit to Olympia, Washington!

There really is only one way to sum everything up: it was amazing. There were tons of activity booths (I was in charge of the picture booth, called Sea Stars) where people could make crafts, fish for character cards, print their names in Greek, and all sorts of other things. Orca Books sold lots of copies of Mr. Riordan's books - they even had pre-signed copies! I wish I had had money; I would have gotten one.

Around 2:00, Mr. Riordan arrived by yacht, and sea nymph dancers escorted him to the main stage, where he gave a good 20-minute talk, along with questions. It was absolutely crowded; I just barely found a place to snap a quick photo on my cellphone - and unfortunately, I have no way of downloading it onto my computer, so I am super, super sorry, Readers, but I have no photos to show you!:( He talked about what got him started writing children's fiction, and specifically the genre he chose. But the biggest news? He intends on writing a series containing Norse gods!!! How awesome is that?!

After the talk, the signing lines, um, lined up. Mr. Riordan's tent was located right behind my booth, so my and my volunteers' hands were full making sure people didn't try to get too close. I did not get any books signed, because I unhappily own none of his work (I intend to mend that come Christmas). But I would not have had much of a chance to talk with him anyway - not like when I met John Flanagan - because they were rushing people through the line so quickly. Over 3,000 people attended the event, so that gives you a pretty good idea of how many books that poor guy had to sign. I cannot imagine how badly his hand hurt afterward.

Things continued on until around 5:00, then Rick Riordan continued on; everyone gathered to say good-bye, then it was packing up time. Thank God the weather held for the entire thing. It was supposed to rain, and the clouds certainly looked like they were threatening it most severely, but they held back and the sun actually came out a couple of times. It was a lot of fun, and I hope that he'll maybe come again someday - and hopefully I'll have books for him to sign this time!!

Thank you, Mr. Riordan, for coming to Olympia! It was a real treat to meet you!