Episode #33 - Just Vibes

Prophecy Radio: A Percy Jackson Podcast

Welcome to Prophecy Radio, a Percy Jackson podcast dedicated to all of Rick Riordan’s past, present, and future projects! Co-hosts Karen Rought and Kristen Kranz discuss the latest news in the Percy Jackson/Rick Riordan Presents fandom, then talk about Ballad & Dagger by Daniel José Older as well as interview the man himself! We’re also taking the week off from our Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth re-read. New episodes of Prophecy Radio air weekly, and all ages are welcome to tune in.

News and Updates (00:01:33)

• #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!

Ballad & Dagger (00:10:05)

• 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.

Interview with Daniel José Older(01:09:07)

• 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.

Feedback (01:31:15)

• 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.

Thanks for listening, and tune in next time for episode 34, in which we go through our What If…? season 3 ideas centered around Titan’s Curse.

This episode’s hosts are: Karen Rought and Kristen Kranz.

Each episode, our Prophecy Radio hosts and their guests will keep you up to date on the latest information coming out of Camp Half-Blood, including upcoming books and adaptation news, discuss a topic of choice, and do a chapter by chapter reread of the Percy Jackson series.

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Prophecy Radio is a Subjectify Media podcast production. Visit Subjectify Media for more shows, including Not Another Teen Wolf Podcast, ReWatchable, and Not About The Weather, and for all our latest articles about the stories we’re passionate about.