Short Q&A

Rick posted this on his blog recently. In case anyone was freaking out over the ending of The Mark of Athena (I know I was) there is some reassurance here.

"Q. Why can't I have the next book NOW? I NEED IT!
A. The thing is, it doesn't exist yet. Sadly, each book takes a full year to write.

Q. Why can't you speed it up? You were writing Kane Chronicles and now you're not, so can't you release the new book in six months?
A. No, even when I was writing two books a year, I'd be planning and researching one while revising the other. It is possible (though exhausting) to work on two series at once, but each book still takes a full year to create. If I tried to speed up the process, the book wouldn't be any good. It's better to take my time and write a good book than the rush out a bad book, I think! Besides, the publisher wouldn't ever release the books of one series in a time span shorter than a year. It takes that long to figure out the release date, promote the book, design the cover, edit the manuscript, talk to the booksellers, format the e-book in all the different versions and of course print and ship the physical books. It's a long process! 

Q. I want to go forward in time and pull the next book out of fall 2013.
A: Gosh, me too. That would save me a lot of work. Unfortunately, Kronos the god of time is not a friend of mine . . .

Q. Why are you taking time to write a blog entry? Get back to writing House of Hades!!
A. Yeah, well, I do have to take breaks from time to time for, you know, eating and sleeping and stuff. That's also part of the process. Like Percy, I'm pretty ADHD. I tend to write in a 'hit and run' fashion. Write a page. Get up a walk around. Check email. Write another page. Take the dog out. Etc. I've learned the hard way that if I treat writing like a nine-to-five job and sit at my computer for hours on end, my productivity and quality don't increase. I just stare at the screen more. Having said that, yes, I am trying to limit my time doing other things, so if you don't see a lot of new blog entries, that's why!

The one thing I can promise regarding The House of Hades  ***SPOILER ALERT****  At the end of Mark of Athena, Nico senses that Percy and Annabeth are still alive, despite the incredible danger they are in. Nico is right. They are alive. You WILL find out what is happening to them in the next book. They don't disappear from the story.  **** END SPOILER ALERT*****"