The End

Learn more about my debut novel, The End: Five Queer Kids Save The World, published by Prizm Books. It’s a story of time travel, nuclear war, magical amulets, and first love. In The End, a group of LGBT teens must travel through time to save the world from nuclear war.

April 3, 2012–Big News!

This is the secret I was keeping from you before–Bold Strokes Books has acquired my new manuscript, SWANS & KLONS.

What does it take to survive in a world built on lies?

Sixteen-year-old Rubric loves her pampered life in the Academy dormitory. She’s dating Salmon Jo, a brilliant and unpredictable girl. In their all-female world, non-human slaves called Klons do all the work. But when Rubric and Salmon Jo break into the laboratory where human and Klon babies are grown in vats, they uncover a terrifying secret that tears their idyllic world apart.

Their friends won’t believe them, and their teachers won’t help them. The Doctors who rule Society want to silence Rubric and Salmon Jo. The two girls must flee for their lives. As they face the unthinkable, the only thing they have left to believe in is their love for each other.

Bold Strokes Books is one of the premier LGBTQ presses, and within the last few years they started a new imprint, Soliloquy, for YA titles. Sleeping Angel by Greg Herren and 365 Days by KE Payne are a couple of the great YA titles they’ve published. Bold Strokes Books titles aren’t just available on the internet and in LGBTQ bookstores, they’re routinely on the shelves at Barnes & Noble. I think Bold Strokes Books is the perfect home for SWANS & KLONS and I’m really excited about working with them.

March 31, 2012–A Review From Estonia

I got such a great review from Martha Hubbard at The Future Fire Reviews. (The Future Fire is a magazine that publishes speculative fiction that is “dark, unexpected, exploratory, weird and says something important about the world.” And they also do book reviews.)

“Ms. Olsen tells an engrossing story that is well plotted and moves briskly along to a satisfying and believable resolution. . . How [Julia and Ginger] are rescued by Skilly, return to America, meet up with Marly and Vikki and return to the worst year of their lives, 2009, to save the world are the substance of a wonderful and sobering adventure story. . . [A]n amazing collection of ideas and references and a wonderful good time packed within the pages of this 267 page book. So, if you’re a teen looking for a good read, or an auntie or grandpa looking for something to give a favourite niece or nephew, I heartily recommend The End: Five Queer Kids Save the World.”

She really introduces the POV characters better than I do:

• “Skilly, currently known as Scott Amberiotis, had been given an amulet to save his life. . . Since then Skilly had wandered the earth, never dying, growing richer and richer from knowledge gained, never appearing to grow older and often painfully lonely. His lovers of both sexes, sooner or later, must always die.”

• “Next we meet Marly Ennis. . . openly gay, bitter, angry and out of control, unwanted by the aunt who had received custody after her mother was judged unfit, she appears again in Juvie Court and is sentenced by a biased, homophobic judge to detention in the toughest juvenile prison in the system, Spofford.”

• “Julia is an orphan and lives with her grandmother. Other people want to feel sorry for her or try to patronise her. She gets irritated when they call her an orphan, something she hates. She’d rather be raised by her wise old gran than most of their parents. . . These characters are all, with the possible exception of the self-absorbed Skilly, delightful, engrossing, challenging young people.”

However, the most interesting thing about the review is Martha Hubbard’s description of being an English teacher in Estonia and how her young students are struggling to reject the homophobia that is one of the many legacies of Stalinism. Take a look!

March 14, 2012–The Lady Heir

I’m really excited that I had a story included in this amazing anthology, Heiresses of Russ, edited by JoSelle Vanderhooft and Steve Berman, and published by Lethe Press.

Very cool cover, right?

It’s the best lesbian speculative fiction of 2010, and it contains some really socko stories by Jewelle Gomez, N.K. Jemsin, Catherine Lundoff, Esther Garber and Tanith Lee, and other very talented writers. I was honored to be included in such august company.

In other news, on Saturday March 24th, I’m going to be reading at the Rainbow Book Fair at the LGBT Center in New York City. If you love books, this is a great event, because there are dozens of LGBT publishers and authors selling their books, as well as panels and readings. I went last year and got to meet writers Jan Donley and Nat Burns. And I also picked up a great

book called Dakota, or What’s a Heaven For that I might not have heard of any other way. My reading will be short (4 minutes!) because there are SO MANY readers on the program! So if you are in the area and like to hear the spoken word, I encourage you to drop by the Center that day. (These photos are of last year’s event and came from the Rainbow Book Fair’s website .)

I am just bursting to share my last piece of news with you, but I’m afraid for now I have to keep it a secret.

November 2, 2011–Library Love

I love libraries. I get books out of the library every week. So I am very happy that The End is now in two different library systems: the Brooklyn Public Library and BLAIS, the Barnard University library. I’m especially pleased about the Barnard library for two reasons. First of all, I think this means that college students anywhere in the country can get the book through inter-library loan. Second, it’s in a brand new special collection at Barnard of LGBTQ YA novels, the first collection of this kind in an academic library. Cool!

In other news, I will have a short story appearing in Lethe Press‘ upcoming Heiresses of Russ, an anthology of the year’s best lesbian speculative fiction. The name is an homage to legendary feminist and science fiction writer, Joanna Russ. I’ll keep you posted on this! In October, I did a webinar for the Golden Crown Literary Society on lesbian and bi girl YA novels, which was a lot of fun. Prior to this I had no idea what a “webinar” even was; it turns out to be a presentation given by internet and phone.

Also I got the cutest ever review from a high school student on Read For Your Future blog. He started out by saying, “I thought that this book was going to be weirder than it was.” This really made me laugh. Luckily, The End was not as odd as he expected, and he went on to say, “As soon as I opened it and started reading I just couldn’t stop. I brought it with me to every class and even recomended to one or two of my friends.” Awww! Kids, don’t pay attention in class. Read books behind the desk instead.

June 23, 2011–Portland here I come! And a giveaway!

I am extremely excited about my upcoming reading at In Other Words feminist bookstore in Portland, Oregon. (Tuesday, July 12 at 7pm, if you must know.) This is my first ever trip to Oregon, and Portland is a city I only know through science fiction, so I’m half expecting Mount Hood to erupt, the way it does in The Lathe of Heaven. Congrats to my brother’s friend Grace for getting married, which is the occasion for our trip out west.

Also, in honor of Pride, there is a giveaway of The End on Goodreads! Open until July 6, so hurry up and enter to win.

In other news, I had a fun-filled trip to the Golden Crown Literary Society conference, which you can read about here. And a month ago I was one of the readers at Bi Lines IV, which was an amazing experience. I got to hear Malena Watrous, Ann Herendeen, Ann Tweedy, Cecilia Tan, and a lot of other great writers and performers celebrate the bisexual experience, and then I was the clean-up batter who read last. My books sold out and I had to sell the battered copy of The End that I read from. Afterwards most people went out to eat at a diner (which I think I’ve already mentioned is one of my fave things) and it was fun to get to know some folks better. I was really delighted that I was invited to be a part of this great event, which was organized by Sheela Lambert.

And now I’d like to take a moment to pimp Jane Austen’s books rather than my own. Last night my brother asked me which was my favorite. Although I also really like Emma, I chose Mansfield Park without hesitation. Some people have a hard time relating to a book that’s about the immorality of a group of young people putting on a play, but I think Fanny Price is a colossal heroine. Mansfield Park has everything: wit, poignancy, romance. Are there any other Mansfield Park fans out there?

May 19, 2011–A smackdown!

I have so much to tell you that I don’t know where to start!

The End recently received two great reviews.

Daisy Porter at QueerYA said “The gayness is nicely handled. . .  And even with all that going on, gaiety isn’t the focus of the plot; it’s all about saving the world.  It’s a little complicated, but so is real life, and I liked this one more and more as I got deeper into it. Recommended.”

Meredith Sue Willis wrote in Books For Readers: “[I]t’s got these five terrific heros with semi-super powers, mostly gay or bisexual girls, and the only boy is 5,000 years old. . . [I]n spite of people being dismembered and possibly dying of rabies, it is a good humored and uplifting novel.”

Not only that, but The End has also been selected to participate in Nerds Heart YA‘s 2011 smackdown tournament! The books battle head to head, until one winner stands alone. This is Nerds Heart YA’s way of promoting diversity in kid lit and bringing attention to quality books that received less publicity and hype. I cannot tell you how excited I am about this!

Finally, I want to report that I had a great time at Saints and Sinners, the New Orleans LGBT literary festival. I met a lot of cool people and I learned a lot. I did a reading and also participated in a panel about speculative fiction. The other writers on the panel were so funny that it was hard to remember that I was supposed to be talking too.

May 8, 2011–Thugs and Sinners

It was my great pleasure to give a reading on April 29th at Book Thug Nation, an awesome bookstore in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Book Thug Nation has a beautifully curated selection of books, and the reading was a lot of fun. Thanks to Jennifer Harris-Hernandez for organizing it!

Now I am looking forward to two exciting events. 1) This will be my first year attending the legendary Saints and Sinners literary festival in New Orleans, held this year May 13-15. I am very honored that I was asked to appear on a panel called Brave New World: Writing Fantasy Fiction, along with luminaries Jewelle Gomez, Michael Thomas Ford, and Cecilia Tan. <*gulp*> I will also be doing a short reading. (One of the other readers is Radclyffe! OMG!)

2) I was also invited to read at Bi Lines IV, a writing and music event hosted by the Bi Writing Association. This event will be held at the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center in NYC (affectionately known as The Center) on Friday, May 27. I have been to The Center many times, to do activities like board games, life drawing, a baking contest, etc. I heard Alan Hollinghurst read there once. But I certainly never gave a reading there before! The headliners at this event are bona fide literary celebrities, including many Lambda Literary Award finalists, and once again, Cecilia Tan. (What are the odds? Do you think we’re going to become friends?) Wish me luck!

April 15, 2011–Blogs, Day Of Silence, and a Panda

Today is Day Of Silence, a day when students take a vow of silence to draw attention to homophobic bullying and harassment. (People also have rallies and do other things that are less silent.) It was started by GLSEN, and you can learn more about it at the Day of Silence website.

Yesterday was a big day for me, too. I did a reading at Bluestockings Bookstore. It was really amazing. The most amazing part was that when I arrived, I was greeted by the volunteers who run the store, and this panda. Wow.

Not only that, but I had a guest blog post at Dreaming In Books. John is doing a whole LGBTQ Voices extravaganza in honor of Day Of Silence. The other guest bloggers are mostly luminaries like Malinda Lo, Nancy Garden, Brent Hartinger, Cheryl Rainfield, Hayden Thorne, and Catherine Ryan Hyde. So it was a little intimidating!

But I’ve been getting a lot of practice lately with blog posts. Melissa Montovani of YA Book Shelf graciously invited me to write a “How YA Lit Inspire You?” post. I got into the difference between “inspired by” and “ripped off” and talked about how I like when characters just “happen” to be LGBTQ.

And I wrote a post for Star Shadow about why dystopian YA is so awesome. Now I need to stop writing blog posts and get back to writing the sequel to The End.

March 23, 2011–Poisoned Rat

Today and tomorrow I am doing guest posts on one of my favorite blogs, Poisoned Rationality! Blogger Lexie very kindly invited me to share why I think queer teens are the new vampires (as in, the hot new trend in YA literature) and give an overview of some classic and contemporary LGBTQ YA novels. I had so much to say that it’s divided into Part One and Part Two.

In other news, I received my first review from an actual teenager! High school student John was able to squeeze in a review of The End in between his first trip to Disney World and play practice, at his wonderful blog Dreaming In Books.

I’m also looking forward to my reading at Bluestockings Books in New York on Thursday, April 14. It’s not only a great bookstore, but I have a sentimental attachment to it because I met my lovely girlfriend through Bluestockings, many years ago.  (“Awwww. . .!”)

March 11, 2011–A big day!

So I had my first reading, at the Brooklyn Public Library, and it was amazing. The librarian, Izabela, gave me the best introduction I’ll ever get in my life. (She even played Elvis Costello as theme music!) It was a small but really friendly audience and they asked wonderful questions after I read. And *cough* they bought some books. To top it off, I went to eat at my favorite diner, The Triple Decker, with my mother, my brother, my girlfriend, and an old friend I hadn’t seen in 4+ years. It was nice to be back in my old neighborhood, Greenpoint.

But that’s not all! I received my first review, on the terrific YA Book Shelf. Melissa Montovani said that The End has a “quirky and charming sensibility.” And it was very gratifying to see that she totally “got” the book. She also said:

“Julia, Vikki, Ginger, Marly, and Skilly might be teens with abilities that surpass that of the normal teen, but that doesn’t meant they don’t also have some problems that regular teens face. The author describes them facing difficulties as far reaching as thoughts of suicide, eating disorders, problems with their parents (or parental figures), love, and loss in meaningful ways as well as their struggles with coming out and understanding their sexual identities. Balancing all of these contemporary aspects with the framework of a sci-fi novel is a tall order, but Olsen does so in a way that is believable and engaging. Consequently, she tackles the stereotype that LGBT novels have to be only about coming out or coming to grips with one’s sexuality and thus, shows that they can be as complex as any other YA novel.”

Now you can see why it was such a big day for The End!

March 1, 2011–And the winner is. . .

Congratulations to Sean, who won the book giveaway! To everyone else who entered, better luck next time and thanks for playing.

February 26, 2011–On the air at WVKR

On Wednesday, March 3, from 5pm to 6pm, I will be on Be The Change radio show at WVKR 91.3. Hosts Julie and Amy will interview me and Zara Ansell of the Hudson Valley LGBTQ Center about how we can help young people deal with homophobia, bullying, and suicide. If you are in New York’s Lower Hudson Valley you can catch it live, or check later at Be The Change‘s archives.

February 17, 2011–Upcoming Reading at Brooklyn Public Library

On Thursday, March 10, at 6:30pm, I will be giving a reading at the Greenpoint Branch of the Brooklyn Public Library. I am very excited because I lived in Greenpoint for six years and it’s one of my favorite places. I have given a presentation at that library before, so I know what to expect, and I can’t wait.

February 15, 2011–The Outer Alliance Interview

Julia Rios interviewed me for The Outer Alliance podcast. She was easy to talk to and asked great questions. I also read an excerpt from The End, the part where Marly is trapped in juvenile jail and meets the goddess Bast for the first time. The Outer Alliance is a group of SF/F writers whose goal is to support and celebrate LGBT contributions in science fiction and fantasy. It’s a wonderful, diverse group of professional writers, beginning writers, readers, LGBTQI folk, and straight allies from all around the globe.

January 17, 2011–More ways to get The End

The End is now available for the Kindle. You can also now order it in print from Powell’s, which is the largest independent bookstore in the world, and a union shop. And not only that, you can now also order it from Charis Books, Atlanta’s famous lesbian-owned-and-operated bookstore, which also sells books online. Happy Martin Luther King Day!

January 3, 2011–The End: The Bagel

There are many writers who are more famous than me, but I bet I’m the only writer who has a bagel sandwich named after her novel at a local bagel shop! The Beacon Bagel is now offering The End, an everything bagel topped with egg, cheddar cheese, lettuce, cuke and their special home-made stewie sauce. It is simply scrumptious! The Beacon Bagel makes their own bagels fresh every day, and they have gluten-free bagels too so that even my celiac girlfriend can eat The End. They are also selling my book there, and the owner emailed me to ask me to bring more copies–oh, what sweet words for a writer to hear!

December 27, 2010–Radio Interview

I’m very pleased that I will be a guest on Lara Zielinsky’s blog talk radio show “Readings in Lesbian and Bisexual Women’s Fiction.” We will discuss The End as well as LGBTQ young adult novels in general. Listen in on Thursday, December 30, at 10:30pm EST. You can call in with questions at (646) 929-1909, or in the chat room http://blogtalkradio.com/lara-zielinsky.

December 18, 2010–Blog Tour

The End is on a blog tour. I’m picturing the book waving from the caboose of a steam train. It’s looking pretty cute with its jaunty green spine and Helvetica font and its little waving hands. But let’s get back to reality here–a blog tour just means that different blogs will be featuring The End. If you have a blog that would like to host The End, just let me know.

On Thursday Lee Wind featured The End in “I’m Here! I’m Queer! What the Hell Do I Read?” That’s his award-winning blog, which is a must read for anyone who is interested in LGBTQ YA literature (also known as “gay teen books.”) He included this video, which he filmed at the last winter’s SCBWI conference.

Kind of embarrassing, but okay, right? Lee told me to gesticulate so I wouldn’t look stiff and blocky. Luckily my hands are off camera!

The End also made a spontaneous stop at Bibrary Bookslut, a review site for fiction of all types that celebrates the positive expression of alternative sexualities, genders, and lifestyles. I had never seen this blog before, and it was worth checking out.

December 15, 2010–Book And Swag Giveaway

To celebrate the book launch, I am giving away a copy of The End and a matching magnet to one lucky winner. To fill out the entry form, go here.

December 15, 2010–The End Is Here!

Having your first novel published is something that happens only once in a lifetime. (Sometimes even less often!) I am thrilled that today was the big day. You can buy it from the publisher’s website, Amazon, Powell’s, Barnes & Noble, and your local independent bookstore–in short, wherever fine books are sold. (It’s also available in e-book format and in a Kindle edition.)