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• #LastOlympianWeek is over, but we want more!!
• Walker Scobell was at the Disney Upfront event, but we didn’t get anything about Percy Jackson and the Olympians.
• We did get this article from People that talks about Walker wanting to speak with Logan Lerman.
• Read Riordan also debuted the cover for Winston Chu vs. the Whimsies by Stacey Lee.
• We try to figure out what ~vibes~ it gives us and whether or not those are eyeballs.
• There’s also an official synopsis, and we are SO intrigued!

• You can check out Karen’s spoiler-free Ballad & Dagger book review on Subjectify.
• This is the first young adult book from Rick Riordan Presents, but could younger readers still enjoy it?
• We take a stab at explaining this book in just a couple of sentences.
• What were our initial thoughts on Ballad & Dagger?
• San Madrigal is like a character in its own right.
• Kristen throws out some Florida slander.
• Can you imagine Lin-Manuel Miranda and Daniel José Older working on a project together!?
• No cops allowed!
• Mateo is a true delight, and we love him so much.
• The way Mateo interprets the world through music had a huge impact on us.
• Mateo is an extremely anxious person, and it’s very relatable.
• The way Mateo heals people is super unique, and we loved it!
• Kristen is champing at the bit to talk about Tams.
• Tía Lucía is a firecracker, and we definitely loved her, even if she was infuriating sometimes.
• How could we forget about Farts!?
• Chela Hidalgo is way too cool for us.
• Let’s take a second to appreciate the Ballad & Dagger cover.
• We love Chela’s dad, and her cousin, who wasn’t what we expected!
• Okay, let’s talk about Gerval.
• How did we feel about the fact that Gerval brought San Madrigal to the outside world?
• Was it difficult for Karen or Kristen to understand all the Spanish in this book?
• The dialog in this book in general is SO GOOD.
• So, the monsters in this book were kind of scary!
• The spoiler section starts at 50:40. Continue to the interview below if you want to skip this part!
• THIS IS YOUR LAST SPOILER WARNING!!
• Tía Lucía’s death was kind of violent and really sad!
• Were we worried when Mateo took in that shard of death?
• Mateo’s powers are SO COOL AND INTERESTING!!
• Chela and Mateo’s kiss was so soft and tender and beautiful.
• DJO went there with San Madrigal’s history, and we were glad to see it.
• It was also awesome to see how all of these religions blend together.
• Was it a surprise that Gerval turned out to be a bad guy?
• Spoiler alert for Moana!
• There was a really good twist to the end of this book.
• The end of Ballad & Dagger is truly beautiful.
• Spoiler alert for Star Wars!
• We’re SO excited for the Ballad & Dagger sequel.

• Does Daniel have any weird quirks when it comes to his writing process?
• Have you listened to the Ballad & Dagger playlist yet?
• What about any go-to snacks?
• Daniel DOES listen to music when he writes, and nobody is surprised.
• Did you know he’s also composed a song for something he wrote previously?
• Is there a part of the editing process that Daniel hates more than others?
• We also find out his star sign!
• What was it like joining the Rick Riordan Presents family?
• Did you know Ballad & Dagger was initially a middle-grade novel?
• We even find out what the original title would’ve been!
• Daniel also reveals what the process was like regarding Ballad & Dagger’s cover (shoutout to Irvin Rodriguez).
• What was the hardest part and the easiest part of creating this story?
• What’s the most important thing a writer can do?
• There IS a title for book 2!
• Daniel also gives us a little teaser about the Ballad & Dagger sequel.
• Who would be Daniel’s godly parent?
• And what Rick Riordan Presents world would he like to live in?
• Is there a Star Wars story that he personally wishes they would bring to Disney+?
• Daniel gives some really great advice for writers.
• He also talks about what other projects he has coming up, including a co-written graphic novel called Death’s Day.

• Megan sent in this awesome video of a curious octopus because it reminded her of Daughter of the Deep.
• We managed to convince Ian to rewatch the Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief movie just so he could complain about it along with us.