The Atlas Series, Book 1
Olivie Blake
ABOUT ME
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.
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. Under her Olivie byline, New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling The Atlas Six released 2022 from Tor Books, followed by its sequel The Atlas Paradox and the re-release of her viral literary romance Alone With You in the Ether. She has also been published as well as the writer for the graphic series Clara and the Devil and a variety of other books. As Alexene, her debut YA novel My Mechanical Romance released May 2022 from Holiday House (US) and Macmillan Children's (UK).
Alexene lives and works in Los Angeles with her husband and goblin prince/toddler, where she is generally tolerated by her rescue pit bull.
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
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August 7, 2023: In person event celebrating the release of MASTERS OF DEATH - Strand Books, New York, NY, details TK
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August 9, 2023: In person event celebrating the release of MASTERS OF DEATH - The Last Bookstore, Los Angeles, CA, details TK
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August 22, 2023: Virtual event for MASTERS OF DEATH, in conversation with Alix E. Harrow for White Whale Bookstore - Event link TK, 7pm EDT
CURRENTLY WRITING
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GIFTED AND TALENTED, The Royal Tenenbaums meets Succession meets hot magic nerds in a family dramedy about three magical siblings on the prodigies-to-clinical depression pipeline.
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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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SECRET PROJECT 1 and
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SECRET PROJECT 2 (sorry I'm insufferable)
FORTHCOMING RELEASES
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MASTERS OF DEATH, revised hardcover and audio with new illustrations from Little Chmura and end pages by Polarts coming August 8, 2023 from Tor.
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FROM A CERTAIN POINT OF VIEW: 40 Stories Celebrating 40 Years of Return of the Jedi, Star Wars anthology coming August 29, 2023.
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IN THESE HALLOWED HALLS, dark academia anthology coming September 12, 2023.
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THE ATLAS COMPLEX, Book III of III in The Atlas Series. The final installment of The Atlas Six is forthcoming and currently in production! Releasing January 9, 2024, in what is a very standard lead time (The Atlas Paradox had only 6 months and I nearly killed everyone in production, so, you know. An achievable release this time.)
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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. Coming 2024 from Tor Teen under my Alexene Farol Follmuth byline.
CURRENTLY READING
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THE BEST OF EVERYTHING by Rona Jaffe. I'm subscribed to Kathryn Jezer-Morton's parenting newsletter "Brooding" (one of many I'm subscribed to from The Cut/NY Mag), and while I can't always say Kathryn and I vibe the same way, she has so far not steered me wrong with books. She mentioned this one sort of off-handedly, so I put it on hold at the library, which is my way of remembering to read things that I don't necessarily intend to get to right away. Imagine my surprise, then, to discover while reading HEARTBURN, Nora Ephron's only novel, that Ephron name-checked THE BEST OF EVERYTHING as a "bad" book. I don't know what this means! To be fair, the main character of HEARTBURN is kind of (understandably) a hater, so who knows if she meant bad as in bad or just bad as in cheugy. I guess I'm about to find out!
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SHANGHAI IMMORTAL by AY Chao. I have recently returned from my tour of the UK for ONE FOR MY ENEMY, which was meant to be alongside Susan Dennard's tour for THE LUMINARIES. Alice, aka AY Chao, was wonderful enough to fill in as a conversation partner, and I had a great time talking with her about mythology, women who consume voraciously, and chasing our id in fiction. This one is set in paranormal Jazz Age Shanghai, with a fantastically voicey (and vampy, literally) narration.
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OUR WIVES UNDER THE SEA by Julia Armfield. I have been teasing for a while that I have a lot in the works, and while I am going to continue being annoying in that way, I will say this one is technically research for a project about what can go wrong under the sea. My project is neither horror nor fantasy, but I am currently in search of deep water vibes. I think it will probably frighten me a great deal as I am very afraid of depths! They are like heights but worse. (My body is very concerned with my survival and thus does not usually allow me to think about these things.)
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SPRING'S ARCANA by Lilith Saintcrow. I think that Baba Yaga might currently be in the zeitgeist, as to my knowledge she features prominently in this book as well as Veronica Roth's next Tor novella. I obviously think this is a fantastic thing for everyone, notably me, especially since ONE FOR MY ENEMY's iteration of Baba Yaga wasn't a metal grandma celebrating her crone era like I hope this one will be. Plus with a comp to AMERICAN GODS, how could I not be into this??
CURRENTLY LISTENING
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A R I Z O N A by A R I Z O N A. I love this band for the vibes, usually, and therefore could not have told you what any of their previous songs were about. This album, however, seems particularly concerned with thought experiments I most closely associate with myself and AJR, in that they seem especially mired in thoughts of mortality and what will matter between now and our inevitable demise. Which is OBVIOUSLY a compliment because great minds, as they say. (Insert the Barbie "do you guys ever think about dying?" meme here.)
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I Love You, I'm Trying by grandson. grandson is also concerned with his death, but more importantly, the culpability of society and our collective contribution to the death of ethics, compassion, and/or human dignity. (Sound familiar? she poses Alexandrian Societally.) Some very punk-minded aesthetics lyrically, which invariably do wander to the subject of mortality as well but in a different outfit, with stompier boots. I relate very strongly to grandson's frustration with (waves hand) all of it and also find his hooks very catchy, so you can see how this is a win.
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Peace by Alexis Ffrench. Alexis Ffrench is technically classified as classical crossover, much in the same way I am technically classified as crossover sci-fi, which is a thing I know to be true and yet will not now explain. (I am very jet-lagged.) I was especially excited to see this EP because it features Bach's "Sheep May Safely Graze," and if you're deep in Olivie lore, you may recall my love of the book I CAPTURE THE CASTLE by Dodie Smith, which happens to feature this song. (Also, "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" is a song I once knew how to play on an instrument I am just now learning is called a lap harp.)
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With Love From by Aly and AJ. I have really liked the pivot Aly and AJ have made over time (not really a pivot, I guess, more of an... evolution? Although who could possibly consider "Potential Breakup Song" to be a place to evolve FROM, so that's maybe a poor choice of words) and I am also very into Aly's vibes as she has grown into an adult. Is that weird to say? I, an artist also born in 1989, am appreciating Aly Michalka's personal and artistic journey from my position as extreme third party observer.