ABOUT ME

Bio

    Currently Writing

    Currently Reading

    Currently Listening

BIO

Novelist and screenwriter,

Purveyor of internet romance,

Village witch.

Alexene Farol Follmuth, also known under the pen name Olivie Blake, is a lover and writer of stories, many of which involve the fantastic, the paranormal, or the supernatural, but not always. More often, her works revolve around the collective experience, what it means to be human (or not), and the endlessly interesting complexities of life and love.

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Alexene tripped and fell into writing after abandoning her long-premeditated track for Optimum Life Achievement while attending law school, and now focuses primarily on the craft and occasional headache of creating fiction. As Olivie, she has been published as the featured fiction contributor for Witch Way Magazine, as well as the writer for the self-published graphic series Alpha and a variety of other books. As Alexene, her debut YA novel, My Mechanical Romance, is coming May 2022 from Holiday House.

 

Alexene lives and works in Los Angeles, where she is generally tolerated by her rescue pit bull. She can be loosely defined as the sort of person who picked up sparring as a means to improve writing fight scenes. 

 

CURRENTLY WRITING

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  • THE ATLAS PARADOX, Book II of The Atlas Series. The sequel to The Atlas Six is forthcoming! As the new Society initiates prepare for their final year in residence, outside forces conspire; alliances shift; somebody lost gets found.

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  • UNTITLED HOLLYWOOD GOTHIC, a young adult romance featuring the noble sport of pigeon seduction and some demonic Santa Ana winds.

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  • ONCE UPON A TIME IN SUBURBIA, my current story in installments for Witch Way Magazine! In this fictional oral history, a practicing witch is convicted of murder at the height of 90s right-wing Satanic Panic. Now, on the thirtieth anniversary of a young woman's death, the truth of the crime will finally be revealed.

UNPUBLISHED WORKS

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  • MY MECHANICAL ROMANCE, previously UNTITLED S.T.E.M. YA, in which I strive to convince young women everywhere that nerds are hot and being true to your own nerdy self is even hotter. Competitive robotics, AP Physics, opposites-attract romance, and a lot of me consulting Mr Blake's science curriculum. Coming May 31, 2022.

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  • TWELFTH KNIGHT, a YA homage to Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Another dual POV rom-com, this one features the gender politics of fandom, RPGs, and gaming. Currently under revision.​

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  • BOYS WILL BE BOYS, a short film written for Phineas Productions about two hyper-competitive college friends who are dared into a kiss. A playful exploration of what it means to love and be loved. Currently awaiting production.

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  • AWE OF THE NIGHT APPROACHING, a high fantasy about women in a War of the Roses-type conflict. THE WHITE QUEEN or GAME OF THRONES, but MOANA-ed. 

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  • STARGAZING IS NECROPHILIA, a nonlinear exploration of love, sex, and the female experience. You can check out some excerpts here.​​

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CURRENTLY READING

  • SALT HOUSES by Hala Alyan. This month's S.P.E.L.L. read! I really enjoy family sagas and I think this one, following a multigenerational story of Palestinian migrants, is a topical one. Also I read a review criticizing the female characters for being "sex-crazed," so I was like okay, yeah. Yes please. Let's find out!

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  • EVERYONE KNOWS YOUR MOTHER IS A WITCH by Rivka Galchen. I am exceedingly into this purple cover and also this excellent title. This one is historical, sort of, and also a bit of an oddball voice, which I love. Kind of like if Ottessa Moshfegh wrote an old woman who, much like all her other women, gave approximately zero fucks.

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  • ANIMAL by Lisa Taddeo. Truthfully I don't have a lot of interest in the plot, but I know from reading THREE WOMEN that Lisa Taddeo can definitely do thriller pacing that haunts my brain. I look forward to seeing what she does in fiction.

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  • I'LL LOVE YOU TILL THE COWS COME HOME by Kathryn Cristald. Yes, this is a picture book. A board book, in fact, for tiny babies, which I happen to have. Have you ever been shopping for children's literature? It's very overwhelming, but I saw these cows coming home from Mars and the frogs in party hats on bicycles and thought FINALLY, someone understands my whimsy. It is my new favorite book.

 

CURRENTLY LISTENING

  • If I Can't Have Love, I Want Power by Halsey. I should have saved this for my September list because here we are, listening to it primarily in September. As I said last month, I'm always very curious what Halsey has to say, considering we're both bipolar women who write our thoughts down for a living (in different formats, of course). I'm particularly drawn to this project about motherhood and pregnancy, seeing as I can relate to both the joys and horrors.

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  • TV by Tai Verdes. This is poppy R&B that has a very cool sound, almost Jack Johnson-y if he were, you know, much cooler. (Tai Verdes is apparently 6'7? Love that for you, Tai Verdes.) FYI I played "we would have some cute kids" to Mr. Blake many times while pregnant, so perhaps it was foreshadowing.

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  • What Were You Hoping to Find by Vistas. I just love Vistas, okay?? I love them. I will always listen to them. They are high energy and good vibes and I probably base way too much of my personal philosophy on their lyrics!! It is what it is.

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  • Simply Loved and Linger On by Sir, Please. This is more of my usual shimmering alt-pop, so if you usually like the stuff I recommend you'll probably like this, too. I have gotten a lot of play out of "Different."