We had the good fortune of connecting with Rex Ogle and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rex, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
As far back as I can remember, I’ve been in love with stories. Movies, TV shows, and of course, printed books and comics. By the age of 5, I was making up my own stories. Whether I was playing with toys or making up ghost stories for sleepovers, my brain was always trying to invent new narratives.
Once I became a teenager, I knew this was what I wanted to do with my life–I wanted to write. Books, comics, graphic novels, prose, verse, memoirs, fantasy, sci-fi, horror… it didn’t matter what genre or style, I wanted to to tell tales.
It wasn’t an easy road and it took a lot longer than I thought, but every time I get a hard copy of my book in my hands and slip it on a bookshelf, I know that I followed my dream and I’m lucky that it worked out.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
When I started writing, I dreamed of writing fantasy and sci-fi, and even more, comics for Marvel. I grew up on comics, more specifically, the X-Men. I loved the characters, the stories, the powerful emotional arcs that resonated with me for being a poor queer Latinx kid growing up in 80’s and 90’s rural Texas.

For 15 years, I lived in NYC, working in editorial at dream jobs like Marvel, DC Comics, Scholastic, and LBYR. The entire time, I would come home after a long day’s work and write young adult fantasy and comics pitches. But everything I wrote was rejected… until I wrote a memoir called Free Lunch. Librarians loved it and gave me an order, and everything took off pretty quickly after that.

What sets me apart from other writers is my diversity of storytelling. I write in prose, verse, and graphic novels. I write non-fiction, fiction, contemporary, and fantasy. I also write for middle grade, young adult, and adult. So yeah, I don’t know any other authors that can say that… I also write 5 books a year, which I’m told is insane. But I’ve been stockpiling ideas since I was a kid. Which is probably why I also write under the pen name Rey Terciero, under whom I take classic books and re-imagine them as modern day teen stories in the graphic novel format.

I always thought writers got to hide being their typewriters and laptops. It turns out, I really have to hustle out there doing book tours, publicity, school and library visits and so on. But I’m really proud that my books resonate with so many people and young readers. It’s truly an honor to see my name on books on bookshelvbes.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I have friends come visit often, and I love showing them around Los Angeles. First there’s all the great restaurants. Homestate and Sogo Roll are two of my absolute faves, and it doesn’t hurt that both are located write next to a wine bar called Covell.

Depending on the friend, I’ll take them to local bars, like Hi-Tops or the Eagle, or to museums, the Broad being my favorite. But if they’re a hiker, I love going up to the Los Angeles National Forest. There’s nothing quite like getting out into nature.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I was born in Abilene, Texas, but my dad’s air force career moved me and my mom to Guam and then Okinawa. So I didn’t really get to know my family until I returned at age 5. And no sooner had I met my abuela, then she started to encourage me to go to school, stay out of trouble, and follow my dreams. Having come from extreme poverty in Mexico, she urged me toward an education that would lead me to college and a job. She never pressured me, and I suspect would have been happy whether I was a teacher or an astrophysicist. I wasn’t good at science, so I followed my dream of being an author.

My parents weren’t capable of encouragement, but my Abuela always had my back. She supporting me physically with food and sometimes shelter, and emotionally, with her constant support and compassion.

When I moved to New York City to pursue a job in editorial (so I could better understand the book industry), she never once said, “You barely make enough money to get by, you made a mistake.” Instead, she said, “Keep working hard, you’ll get there.”

Website: https://www.rexogle.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thirdrex

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/thirdrex/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rexthethird

Other: https://substack.com/@thirdrex

Image Credits
Four Eyes cover by Tad Carpenter. Four Eyes cover by Dave Valeza.

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