Rick Riordan

"So, great. This is Camp…what do you call it? Camp Fish-Blood?Aphros frowned. I hope that was a joke. This is Camp __________. He made a sound that was a series of sonar pings and hisses."

"Otis, I said. Shhh, he said. I'm incognito. Call me... Otis. I'm not sure that's how incognito works, but okay. Otis, aka Otis climbed into the chair I'd reserved for Sam."

"If you’re listening to this, congratulations! You survived Doomsday. I’d like to apologize straightaway for any inconvenience the end of the world may have caused you. The earthquakes, rebellions, riots,tornadoes, floods, tsunamis, and of course the giant snake who swallowed the sun—I’m afraid most of that was our fault. Carter and I decided we should at least explain how it happened."

"The the glow become brighter: a holographic golden sickle with a few sheaves of wheat, rotating just above Meg Mc Caffrey. A boy in the crowd gasped. 'She's a communist!'A girl who'd been sitting at Cabin Four's table gave him a disgusted sneer. 'No, Damien, that's my mom's symbol."

"Let us find the dam snack bar, Zoe said. We should eat while we can. Grover cracked a smile. The dam snack bar?Zoe blinked. Yes. What is funny?Nothing, Grover said, trying to keep a straight face. I could use some dam frenchfries. Even Thalia smiled at that. And I need to use the dam restroom. Maybe it was the fact that we were so tired and strung out emotionally, but I startedcracking up, and Thalia and Grover joined in, while Zoe just looked at us. I do notunderstand. I want to use the dam water fountain, Grover said. And… Thalia tried to catch her breath. I want to buy a dam T-shirt. I busted up, and I probably would've kept laughing all day, but then I heard a noise:Moooo. The smile melted off my face. I wondered if the noise was just in my head, but Groverhad stopped laughing too. He was looking around, confused. Did I just hear a cow?A dam cow? Thalia laughed."

"Unless you stop him. Perhaps next we meet. You'll be just as annoying? I guessed. He fixed my with those warm brown eyes. Or perhaps you could bring me up to speed on those modern courtship rituals. I sat there stunned until he gave me a glimpse of a smile-just enough to let me know he was teasing. Then he disappeared. Oh, very funny! I yelled."

"Now-what’s our game plan? Coach Hedge belched. He’d already had three espressos and a plate of doughnuts, along with two napkins and another flower from the vase on the table. He would’ve eaten the silverware, except Piper had slapped his hand. Climb the mountain, Hedge said. Kill everything except Piper’s dad. Leave. Thank you General Eisenhower, Jason grumbles."

"The eidolons started pounding on the door. 'Who is it' Leo called. 'Valdez!''Valdez who?"

"She'd secretly had a crush on him since they were twelve years old. Last summer, she'd fallen for him hard."

"You will suffer, son of Hades!’ What else is new? Nico thought."

"THAT'S IT! Terminus cried. That's AGAINST THE RULES!Polybotes frowned, obviously confused that he was being told off by a statue. What are you? he growled. Shut up!He pushed the statue over and turned back to Percy. Now I'm MAD! Terminus shrieked. I'm strangling you. Feel that? Those are my hands around your neck, you big bully. Get over here! I'm going to head-butt you so hard--"

"Like water leaking through a dam, said Piper. Yeah, smiled Percy. We've got a dam hole. What? Piper asked. Nothing, he said. Inside joke."

"I do like to wrap things up and leave some things to the readers' imagination."

"I have a great deal of sympathy for reluctant readers because I was one. I would do anything to avoid reading. In my case, it wasn't until I was 13 and discovered the 'Lord of the Rings' that I learned to love reading."

"I've always liked the idea that writing is a form of travel. And I started my writing career as a mystery novelist for adults."

"When I write, I'm still imagining a kid reading it on paper. I read e-books when I travel, but in general I still prefer holding an old-fashioned book in my hands. There's a special, tactile experience."

"Writing 'Book 1: The Maze of Bones' didn't feel much different than writing one of my other novels, but I thought it was very innovative to offer the website and trading card components as well for those readers who wanted to go more in depth with the Cahill experience."

"I think children love reading, and they will make time for it if we put the right books into their hands. And I hope I get the chance to keep being one of the people that writes them."

"I love Norse mythology - Thor and Odin and Loki - amazing characters."

"It's not easy. I got lots of rejections when I first started out. If you want to write, you have to believe in yourself and not give up. You have to do your best to practice and get better."