Many moons ago, also known as several weeks ago, a couple friends and I journeyed to Coral Gables to see the man… the myth… the legend.
…Percy Jackson. 
I MEAN RICK RIORDAN.
I have been a bad, bad book blogger and failed to post a recap of said event, but here is what I remember:
Parking was just slightly tipping the line past insane, as was the line, leading me to wonder aloud how bad it would be if J.K. Rowling was there. (QUIET, I CAN DREAM). We hopped into the insanity happily and waited for our T-shirts before the event began. 
Things were kicked off as the children’s bookseller from Books & Books called for cheers from people who aligned themselves with Camp Half-Blood and those who felt that special bond with Camp Jupiter. This led to my friend Brooke commenting “I feel like I’m at a One Direction concert” as the screams threatened to deafen us. The most adorable child ever then introduced Rick Riordan to us.
Rick took us through his early years of wanting to be a writer, including the first rejection letter he ever received. At one point he mentioned that it had been in a fire, but miraculously survived. He therefore concluded we should all build our houses from rejection letters because they are apparently indestructible. 
He took us through his years of teaching, how he began writing mystery novels, but how Percy evolved through bedtime stories for his son. He’d told his son every myth he knew and when he ran out but his son still wanted more, he began creating. 
We got to see some of the covers of the series around the globe, including my personal favorite, the German cover of The Lightning Thief, upon which the Minotaur is pictured in his underwear. 
We got to hear from Riordan’s son, who is also a writer and has a short story published in the accompaniment to the Percy Jackson world, The Demigod Diaries. Riordan told us a bit about The Mark of Athena, by which point I was itching for a copy in my hot little hands and then rounded off with a few questions from the audience. 
My friends and I then received our signed copies of The Mark of Athena and retreated back to one of their apartments to geek out a bit. All in all, a fabulous day.
(Shhhh. We’re reading.)
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Want to feel like you were there in person?
Check out some clips from the event below!
Note: These clips are random and pretty much not edited at all. Also, sometimes my hands shake. Watch with these things in mind!
