“When I was young, my favorite picture book was 'Fletcher and Zenobia,'...” — Rick Riordan Quote

When I was young, my favorite picture book was 'Fletcher and Zenobia,' written by Edward Gorey and illustrated by Victoria Chess. It's long out of print now, but its mix of macabre humor and 1960s psychedelia made it a perfect children's book for the times.

Down in the water, Octavian yelled, “Get me out of here! I’ll kill you!

What are you talking about?" Narcissus demanded. "I am amazing. Everyone knows this.

But Grover’s voice was already growing fainter. ‘Sweet dreams. Don’t let me die!

When teachers would say, 'When you all graduate, you won't have anywhere to go' - I'm the type of person playing chess and thinking ahead. I thought that was a good question. Am I going to be winging it? I didn't want to be in that position, so I set myself up to go to college.

In poker, you want to play the weaker guys. In chess, it's the opposite.

Maybe if I didn't have the talent in chess I'd find the talent in something else. The only thing I know is that I have talent in chess, and I'm satisfied with that.

In chess, you have to bring all the pieces into the game. It is about development. In writing, you have to develop the story.