Olivie Blake has a lot to say.
Since the author began writing, she hasn’t stopped. Blake, the pen name of Alexene Farol Follmuth, made a name for herself in 2022 when “The Atlas Six” went viral on BookTok, but the author has been self-publishing for years.
If you look at her complete body of work under both Blake and Follmuth (she uses the latter for her young adult fiction), the 37-year-old has cranked out more than a dozen books since 2017.
“The chance to commune with a reader is both a pleasure and an honor,” she says. “The absolute gift of my life.”
Blake didn’t set out to be a writer; in fact, she studied urban planning and social policy and worked at a public defender’s office while attending law school.
“I was diagnosed with Bipolar II disorder while I was in law school. After I dropped out … I floundered a bit, searching for what should come next,” Blake said by email during a recent interview. “I started writing in the middle of the night for lack of anything better to do, and suddenly everything about my mind and my body felt like it was coming out of a fog.”
Fast-forward a decade and the Los Angeles resident has the makings of a prolific writer. Her latest, “Dreamland,” from Tor Books, is just the tip of the iceberg of what she has planned, including another novel, guest- and co-editing anthologies, a graphic novel, a play, and adaptations of her work for the small and big screens.
“Always something new, which is how I like it,” Blake said.
But back to “Dreamland.” The novel follows Anya, who’s named after a “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” character, as she navigates all that L.A. promises — including Santa Ana winds that might just drive everyone crazy, her family’s occultish store, and a life-saving pigeon — while maybe also dealing with a demon that might be responsible for a slew of homicides plaguing the city? Actually, we’ll just let Blake tell you in her own words.
“‘Dreamland’ is a contemporary Gothic set in Los Angeles about an aspiring actress, Anya, who receives a lucrative opportunity to care for the reclusive son of the movie star William de Witt. For various reasons, it’s an offer she can’t refuse, and she soon finds herself ingratiated with the various eccentric occupants of the de Witt villa.”
For a deeper dive into what makes “Dreamland” and Blake tick, including what she loves about L.A., read our full interview below. These questions and answers have been edited for length and clarity.
Sign up for our free newsletter about books, authors, reading and more
Q. The plot is loosely based on the Black Dahlia murder, and the protagonist is an aspiring actress like Elizabeth Short. Where else did you draw inspiration from for the story?
It is, I will say, a very loose inspiration — mainly, the inspiration came via reading about sensational violent crime in Angeleno history. I was toying with the idea that the problem is almost never some genius super-criminal. It’s more often a matter of corruption — police or political or otherwise — that is a product of bigotry in the system. I wanted to discuss which victims are allowed to be tragedies and which are forgotten by time.
This being a novel in the Gothic tradition, I also wanted to stylistically approximate the feeling of sublime — the mix of horrific and erotic that comes from the supernatural and macabre. The Santa Ana winds make a very fine speculative element in that sense. I also leaned on the “classic L.A. novel” and “Old Hollywood” as an atmosphere in terms of noir — cynicism that was often vaguely dissonant against the fairy-tale-esque Gothic plot. In many ways, Anya is a character who shouldn’t be in a Gothic novel — she’s too nihilistic for romanticism, too ambitious and selfish for the virtuous Gothic heroine — so I would say her narrative dissonance was partly inspired by Shirley Jackson’s work, like “We Have Always Lived in the Castle.” Or rather, I suppose, Jackson made me feel like what I was doing with Anya was allowed.
Q. The Santa Ana winds are featured throughout the book and almost feel like a character. Were you consciously tapping into the work of Raymond Chandler and Joan Didion with those references?
I read Joan Didion’s essay about the Santa Anas during a formative era of my youth, so I think it’s probably the opposite — Didion told me about the Santa Anas and how “the winds make us who we are” before I ever experienced one myself. Eve Babitz wrote about them, too, in a way that speaks to me now, as an adult and a creative in Los Angeles. So did Wendy C. Ortiz. We’re all a bit obsessed with them, aren’t we? They’re uncanny, they’re unsettling, they’re strange. They fit so conveniently into the fabric of superstition. I stood in a Santa Ana and wrote down everything I could think of to explain it. I wanted the atmosphere, the tension, to be accurate and true.
Q. You have a subplot about a pigeon that, without giving any spoilers, ends up playing a major role in a character’s fate. What kind of research did that require?
The actual reason I wrote this book was because my agent told me she wanted someone to write a rom-com between two doo-fliers (people who practice the hobby/sport of competitively breeding pouter pigeons). I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about and did a lot of research on them in order to understand the impetus that, yes, doo-flying is a longstanding cultural heritage and a palpable obsession for those who partake. It inspires incredibly long and ardent rivalries, and would make a good romance. But for some reason, this is the book I wrote instead.
Q. Anya says little prayers to herself throughout the book. Is that something you do internally, too?
Anya says various prayers to herself that are variations on the mantra I used to get myself through the grind of being not-yet-successful as an artist: “If I don’t make it, it won’t be because I didn’t do the work.” The way I saw it, success was always going to be a matter of luck and timing, so I had better put myself in exactly the right situation if the tide ever turned. It meant I chose relentless work even when it didn’t seem at first like it was going anywhere. Even if it looked like I might never succeed. But when my ninth self-published book eventually went viral, I was ready for all that would come.
Map: 100 Southern California independent bookstores to visit in 2026
Q. In your acknowledgments, you also write about the contributions of immigrants, social issues, and being an L.A. resident. Could you speak a little further on that?
So many people who influence public opinion in the United States do so in a damaging and unproductive way because the problem of creeping authoritarianism doesn’t affect them personally. And listen, I understand that as a novelist, my ability to address this is limited by the constraints of a good story — my job is story. The act of reading is communion between the reader and the writer via story. And while fiction has the capacity for advocacy because it can and does broaden empathy, I need to be able to reach people who don’t agree with me, or else I’m nothing more than another echo in the chamber. So, I wrote a story about an interesting person who happens to be an immigrant, and I hope she — and I, and my family, and the contributions of all immigrants — will be humanized in some respect for readers.
Immigration is a social good. There is greater innovation with higher immigration, which also means growth. Immigrants raise the efficiency and productivity of the economy, and to say they are the problem in this country is a myth. L.A. is a city of immigrants, and we are all the better for it. And to ignore the city’s history, which is steeped in racial tension, is to have failed in my job as a novelist writing the Gothic.
Q. As an Angeleno, what are some of your favorite places and things about L.A.?
Along with bipolar, I have the thing where I become mercurial with insufficient sun, so the weather in L.A. is a major factor in my living here. I can do my best work here because I’ve removed one of the big obstacles to my ability to function. I love the ocean, of course. Of course! I truly believe it cures all ills.
I went to school here, so many of the places and things I’ve loved belong to eras of my life at this point. I used to have a real fondness for Bar 107 downtown. I worked for LACE (Los Angeles Contemporary Exhibitions) and learned so much about art and advocacy there. Now, most things revolve around my son, who is five. I love Kidspace — we have a membership there. I will always seek out an Urth honey vanilla latte. I love Grand Central Market; as I write this, I have commenced daydreaming about pupusas. Love Sawtelle; after my son gets his hair cut, we go to Somisomi for ice cream, and when he was born, my mom and godmother came to stay with me; they ordered incredible amounts of Big Boi. My most recent love is Santinos, which I heard about from the LA Taco newsletter. I initially subscribed to support their reporting on ICE raids in L.A., but now I look forward to the newsletter every week. The library — must always talk about the library. So many interesting branches and robust programming.
Q. You’ve had a lot of work published in the past few years, including your graphic novel with artist Little Chmura, “Clara & the Devil.” The second volume is expected out early next year. Can you talk about that project a little?
Little Chmura and I have been collaborating for ten years, since we met through fandom in 2016. She understands my work so intuitively. I’m so proud of her and so lucky to have her.
“Clara & the Devil” is a 7-book series about Faustian bargains, beginning with the one Clara tries very hard not to make when the devil pays a visit to her town and begins an affair with her best friend. Each volume pairs a deadly sin with a medium of art; volume I is lust and literature, volume II is gluttony and theater, and so on. With the first volume, it’s really about the blur between ambition and desire. We really tried to turn the concept of lust on its head as we also engage with the question of agency and feminine power. And, of course, art.
Q. Do you have any other projects you’re working on you’d like to talk about?
I guest-edited the 2026 volume of “The Best American Sci-Fi and Fantasy,” which releases in October and is filled with incredible short fiction. It was such an honor to work on, and I think about those stories almost daily. Many of them reshaped my view of the world. My 2027 release is a dystopian satire called “NEWPHORIA!”; I’m co-editing a forthcoming dark academia anthology; I am working with a director friend on a play I wrote called “Dead Weight;” many of my books are in various stages of being adapted for film and TV; much to be excited about.
Q. What is something about a piece of your work that you wish people knew?
“The Atlas Six” is often mistaken for romantasy, particularly YA or new adult. It is not. It’s an adult SFF [science fiction and fantasy] series about the nature of institutional power, and whether power can ever be held benignly or if it is always exploitation by design. Of course, there are romantic undertones and a purposefully pulpy quality, but it will not satisfy a reader seeking a conventional HEA [happily ever after]. It’s a psychological thriller with magic.
Q. If you could ask your fans one question, what would it be?
Are you having fun? Are you feeling something? Thinking about something? That’s really all I’m trying to do here.