I am way behind times. But still, I cannot contain my excitement at the sight of THESE:

Release date: 1st May 2012.
Holy mama it's the last installment of the Kane Chronicles trilogy!!! Yippeee!!!! Finally, an end to all those questions and mysteries unsolved! I can't wait for it to come! MPH had better sell the hardcover version. If not, my 'The Throne of Fire' book would be the odd one out. I'm still looking out for The Red Pyramid hardcover version so that it matches my whole Kane Chronicles series and I can put all three books side by side. Yay!
ANd I have to agree with Rick Riordan, the cover is definitely the best out of all three Kane books. Love the colour contrast!
AND........... this:

Release date: 14th August 2012.
You have no idea how wide the silly grin on my face is right now. Rick Riordan, YOU. HAVE. JUST. MADE. MY. DAY. Here is an excerpt of Rick's post about the book and it's contents:
Also announced on Rock Center tonight: The Demigod Diaries, a book of new short stories set in Percy Jackson's world. This book comes out August 14, and will hopefully make the wait for Mark of Athena a little less painful! Included in the Demigod Diaries:
*A story from Luke Castellan's point of view, from the days when he adventured with Thalia and Annabeth. Many people have asked me to write an adventure prequel to The Lightning Thief. Here it is!
*A classic first-person Percy Jackson story, the first I've written since The Last Olympian. In this adventure, Annabeth and Percy's date is interrupted by the god Hermes, whose staff has been stolen by a fire-breathing giant. This cannot be good . . .
*A Leo Valdez story, set at Camp Half-Blood. As Leo builds the Argo II, something goes terribly wrong. Now Leo will need the help of Piper and Jason, or the entire camp might be destroyed.
*And, as announced on Rock Center, the anthology includes a debut short story from my son Haley. Since Haley inspired the entire Percy Jackson series, it seemed only right that I asked him to contribute his own original spin on Percy's world for this book. I was amazed at what Haley came up with. His brother Patrick, who's a tough editor, was quick to say, "Dad, his story is better than yours!" Haley ponders the question: "What happened to the demigods who fought with Kronos's army after the battle in Manhattan?" This is the story of one such demigod, and I have to admit, some of Haley's ideas are so good I wish I'd come up with them!
LUKE'S STORY!!!!! Can't wait for that one!!! XD
Okies, that's all for this post. I'm still waiting for The Mark of Athena, which will be released this fall. Here's to hoping that nothing goes wrong and Rick writes us an awesome, action-packed story in which Percy saves the day again!