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         Rick Riordan (pronounced Ryer'-dan) is a 40-year-old man who writes books for a living. He lives with his two sons and his wife in San Antonio, Texas.

Rick Riordan was born June 5^th 1964 in San Antonio, Texas. His father was a ceramicist and his mother was a musician; both were teachers. As you can see, he came from a very artistic family. The first book he ever read was the Lord of the Rings series. His favorite topic in middle school was Greek and Norse mythology; he also liked to read fantasy and science fiction books.

He became interested in mystery novels in high school. That’s where he got his inspiration to write adult mystery novels. They intrigued and fascinated him. His first inspiration for writing children’s books was when he was telling his son, Haley, a Greek myth one night. When he ran out of ideas to tell him, Haley asked him to make one up. Rick decided to make one about a kid who finds out he’s the son of Poseidon, and he has to find Zeus’s lightning bolt. The story took three days to complete. When he was done, Haley advised him to write it down as a book. You can read his book and its follow-ups at your local book store.

He began his writing in middle school. His biggest inspiration was his 9^th grade English teacher, who often pushed him to write. He went to Alamo Heights High School for his high school degree. His college was at first North Texas State, but he was then transferred to the University of Texas at Austin for his double major in English & History. During his school years, he was caught writing an underground newspaper that made fun of the school’s football team, who later egged his car. His first job was at a middle school in New Braunfels, Texas. If you ask me, you have to be really sociable to be able to deal with modern-time middle-school kids.

Rick Riordan was a teacher for 6 to 7 years at Presidio Hill School & Saint Mary’s Hall. He also worked as a music director at Camp Capers for 3 years. After coming back from San Antonio after having his two sons, he quit his job as a teacher to become a full-time writer. Most of the years that he taught he taught Greek Mythology, his favorite subject. As you can very well see, he has much experience in different fields. His first two publications were short stories sent to the UTSA magazine. He has won three medals for his mystery novels: The Edgar, the Anthony and the Shamus.

Rick Riordan has now published approximately 8 adult mystery novels and 3 adolescents’ books, with one due to come out on May 4^th 2008. He now lives with his wife and two kids as a full-time writer in San Antonio, Texas. You may find out more at www.rickriordan.com.