Alexene Farol Follmuth wanted to write a love story where two people give each other space to exist in their vulnerability without judgment, so that is one of the reasons why she wrote "Twelfth Night."
What was your inspiration behind your most recent book?
"Twelfth Night" is my pandemic book, and in a time of isolation and fear, and with very little in the way of inspiration, I fell back on an old love: 90s/00s Shakespeare adaptations. I wanted to write a book that could be a contemporary remix on my personal favorite Shakespeare play, "Twelfth Night," while updating it for a more contemporary context. While Shakespeare's Viola disguises herself as a man to seek safety in a strange land, Vi Reyes uses a masculine avatar to avoid harassment and bullying in online spaces — specifically in her favorite game, the Arthurian-themed World of Warcraft-esque MMORPG "Twelfth Knight."
What does Reading Rainbow mean to you?
The diversification of creators in publishing means that now, unlike when I was a teen, there are many more stories to represent a wide variety of marginalized experiences. While publishing certainly still has a way to go, it's getting closer to matching the true diversity of readers, particularly in representing the wide range of queer experiences. In my view, the demand for queer narratives has always been there, so it's worth celebrating that we are getting closer to adequate supply.
Why do you feel representation of a variety of people is so important when it comes to writing books?
The beauty of reading fiction is that it makes us feel less alone when someone else puts words to the feelings that live in our chests, and it also drives empathy for other perspectives. It matters just as much to see ourselves represented in fiction as it does to read as many experiences as possible outside our own. As a writer, my art will always be a reflection of the world I live in, and the world as I see and experience it is hugely diverse. If anything, it would be both irresponsible and unrealistic — a lie, in fact — to write a world that was universally white, straight, neurotypical, and so on. It would be equally limiting to read that way.
Tell us a little more about the book and why you decided to write it.
In updating "Twelfth Night" for a new era (a specific era that includes a fair amount of sociopolitical rage on my end, following closely on the heels of the Kavanaugh judiciary hearing and the #MeToo and Black Lives Matter movements), I wanted to talk about anger and who is "allowed" to feel it. Whose anger is justified, and whose is judged or undermined? As a young Filipina woman, Vi is constantly told to be nicer, to make herself palatable to the boys in her life who consistently devalue or resent her competency. Jack, the popular Duke Orsino character who finds his way to the MMORPG Twelfth Knight after a season-ending injury, is half-Black, and therefore easily made a caricature if he expresses his own anger or frustration with the sudden loss of his future plans. I was, of course, always writing a rom-com designed to be fun and filled with Shakespearean tropes, but it's primarily a coming-of-age story, and a story about how opening yourself up to other people can mean finally getting the chance to set your burdens down and rest. It's a love story where two people give each other space to exist in their vulnerability without judgment.
What can fans expect from your book?
Humor and romance, I hope! It's a dual coming of age story above all, with a soft landing for a well-earned love story. I personally think this book meets the Shakespearean standard of comedy when it comes to mistaken identity and error, so hopefully it feels a lot like watching one of the films I mentioned earlier — all-time favorites like "10 Things I Hate About You," "Clueless" (Austen, not Shakespeare, but it counts), and "She's the Man."
What's up next for you in the bookish world?
I've got lots in the pipeline as my alter ego, Olivie Blake, in the adult speculative space! My story anthology Januaries comes out in October, followed by "Gifted & Talented" (Succession with magic) and "Girl Dinner" (satire about a cannibal sorority) in 2025. Thanks so much for having me!
