Clive Cussler

Cussler joined the Air Force during the Korean War. There he served as an aircraft mechanic and flight engineer in the Military Air Transport Service. He began writing in 1965. His first novel was Pacific Vortex but it was was rejected. His second novel was Mediterranean Caper, which go t him a contract. He's still writing today. He also founded NUMA (National Underwater and Marine Agency), a nonprofit organization dedicated to naval history. 

Rick Riordan

Rick Riordan is the famous author of the Person Jackson series. His son loved mythology[3] so he asked his father to tell him myths at home but soon Riordan ran out of myths to tell his son so he made one up using an assignment he had given his mythology class in the past. That’s how the first idea of Percy Jackson came about. Riordan based Percy off of himself as a student, adding his own sense of humor. He gave him ADHD and Dyslexia because his son has those same disorders and based some of the other characters on students he had taught in the past [2]. Riordan also keeps in mind the diversity of his reading audience when he introduces new characters[3].

He loved teaching, especially at the middle school level. He kept his classes fun and relevant to keep the kids interested in what they were learning and he also had sympathy for them and kept that in mind while teaching[2].  Once he finished writing the first book of the Percy Jackson series he asked some of his students to read over it since they were his intended audience and took many suggestions from the students about the details of characters and weapons. His students also came up with the title. Once he sold the Percy Jackson series to Disney he had to write two books a year to keep up with his deadlines and he quickly realized he couldn’t be a good teacher so he made the decision to stop teaching and now writes full time[3]. 

1. "Biography." Clive Cussler New York Times Bestseller.  N.p. N. d. Web. 04 Jan. 2013.

2. "Meet the Author." Library Sparks, 1 May 2014, pp. 30-33. Ebscohost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edo&AN=94881932&site=eds-live&scope=site. Accessed 6 Dec. 2016.

3. Riordan, Rick. "An Interview with Rick." Rick Riordan, rickriordan.com/about/an-interview-with-rick/. Accessed 6 Dec. 2016.