A lil’ ‘bout me
REX OGLE is an award-winning author of more than a hundred books, comics, graphic novels, and memoirs—most notably Free Lunch (winner of the ALA/YALSA award for Excellence in Non-Fiction), Abuela Don’t Forget Me (ALA/YALSA award for Excellence in Non-Fiction finalist), Road Home (a Micheal Printz Honor and Stonewall Honor book), and middle grade graphic novels Four Eyes and Pizza Face.
Under his pseudonym REY TERCIERO, he also re-imagines classics as modern and diverse graphic novels, including Meg, Jo, Beth, & Amy, Northranger (nominated for both Harvey and GLAAD Media Awards), and Dan in Green Gables (nominated for a GLAAD Media Award).
Born and raised in Texas, Rex now lives in Los Angeles where he writes every day—when he’s not reading X-Men, gaming with friends, or chasing his dog, Toby, trying to score a hug.
weird/dumb/silly things about me
#1. I recently learned I am not only a leo but a DOUBLE LEO. Be afraid. Be very afraid.
I don’t really follow astrology all that close, but it’s pretty accurate: Ambitious (yay!) Bossy (100%.) Confident (fake it ‘til you make it.) Determined (always.) Generous (when I can be.) Honest (I say what’s on my mind which people can find abrasive, but life is short, why waste time when it’s so much easier to just say exactly what I’m thinking.) Loyal (800%.) Dramatic (not as much as I used to be, LOL.) Possessive (like, not at all.)(Hey! That’s MY donut!!) Self-centered (no comment.) Natural Leader (I did say I was bossy, didn’t I?) Arrogant (only because I’m always right. Duh.) Energetic and creative (I think this one speaks for itself.)
#2. I’ve always wanted a dog. Toby is my first. Turns out I didn’t know I could love another creature this much. He’s so cool! I thought a dog would be like, totally cuddly and obsessed with me, but instead Toby is aloof and independent—which I respect. He’s a street dog—just like me. LOL. But beware! He’s also a killer. His murder list includes rats, lizards, squirrels, birds, spiders, flies, a very cute groundhog (or gopher? I don’t know the difference), and a monarch butterfly—which I reprimanded him for because they are endangered. Bad Toby! Bad!
#3. When I do school visits, the #1 question I get is, “How is your brother these days?” Honestly? He’s really awesome. We talk all the time, usually when he’s driving to the hospital where he is a nurse practitioner and saves lives on a regular basis. I couldn’t be more proud of this dude. Also, he has two kids, and I spoil them rotten.
#4. Folks often ask about my favorite authors and books. That’s such a hard one to answer, but I can answer by identifying phases in literary tastes as I was growing up: Dr. Seuss. Maurice Sendak. Hardy Boys. Chronicles of Narnia. Calvin & Hobbes. X-Men. Stephen King. X-Men. Anne Rice. X-Men. Chuck Palahniuk. X-Men. Faust. X-Men…
#5. I’m so down for the color pink. Barbie Pink to be specific. It makes me happy every time I see it. I think it’s because I was not supposed to like Barbie’s as a boy, but secretly, I loved them. I thought it was cool to dress them up as international spies, or make little tears and burn the edges as if they’d survived an explosion, and sometimes I’d use paint and glue and scissors to make them into zombies. They were my stepsisters and she was so into it. Her mom and my dad—not so much. They said it was a waste of money, but I thought being creative was how you played with dolls.
One day, I will track down a pink Barbie jeep, buy it, and put it on my bookshelf. What? Jeeps are cool!
#6. Okay, let’s not argue about this cuz I don’t want to fight (cuz I already know I’m right), but for the record: A HOTDOG IS A SANDWICH.
#7. What’s the highest (altitude) I’ve ever been? Not including being in planes? 11,709 feet while backpacking into the Kearsarge Pass in the Inyo National Forest in the Sierras. It was a truly spiritual experience where I finally grieved my abuela a year after her passing. She’s been whispering in my ear ever since telling me to be of service to others. She was an incredible woman.
#8. I’ve always been immature and childish. I like pranking people, I like board games, I like playing with toys. But recently, I developed a terrifying addiction… to Living Dead Dolls. Yes, I am a grown man with a (growing) horror doll collection—though they only crawl out of their graves (my garage) for Halloween. Checkout my insta for pics.
#9. My favorite anime and cartoons (in no particular order):
Read or Die
Ranma 1/2
Attack on Titan
Titan A.E.
Neon Evangelion
Castlevania: Nocturne
Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Avatar: the Last Airbender
Dungeons & Dragons (1983)
Scavenger’s Reign
Common Side Effects
Aeon Flux
Dandadan (season 1 was awesome, season 2…. not so much)
#10. When it comes to music, I have pretty wide-ranging tastes. I like pop, country, hip-hop, 80’s, and more…. but my favorite is alt rock. I listen every day to Sirius XM’s Alt Nation hosted by a DJ named Madison. Have you listened to Madison? She’s insane in the best possible way. Total laugh-riot. Current fave bands:
Bad Bunny
21 Pilots
Dasha
Sam Fender
Sabrina Carpenter
#11. I’ve been skipping haircuts for the better part of 5 years. It’s such a racket when they charge a person $50 to get a buzzcut that takes 15 minutes at most. So instead, once a month, I donate to a new charity or good cause. Then I get to buy one hat… but my hat collection has grown substantially. I love hats. Blame my redneck upbringing.
#12. A lot of people have a favorite number (see below). Me? I also have a favorite letter: X. Turns out I love lots of things with an “x'“ in the title. X-Men. Texas. Aeon Flux. Chex Mix. I love chex mix. Like, love love love LOVE chex mix. But not the store bought kind. It’s gotta be homemade. (*Same with rice krispie treats). The key to good Chex Mix? Follow the recipe on the back of the Chex box…. but double the butter, triple the seasoning, and sub almonds for mixed nuts. You’re welcome.
#13. I love the number 13. It’s so fun. Not unlucky for me.
#14. I probably have more tattoos than you. Most of them, you’ll never see cuz I don’t post them. But if you think you can guess how many I have right now, send me a DM on Insta with your guess. You get it right—I’ll send you a book. (One guess per person.)
#15. There’s nothing quite like an Excel Spreadsheet. Oh, man. I love Excel so much. I’ve been using it since I was required to learn it in high school, and figured out how to redirect all of my OCD anxieties and energy into becoming insanely organized. I have literally hundreds of book ideas and I keep track of all of them through Excel. Thanks, Microsoft!
Rex-ommendations
CURRENT READS:
X-Men - bet ya didn’t see that one coming. In 2025, I started reading from the very first issue in 1963. I plan to read every issue up to around Uncanny X-Men #281 /X-Men (vol.2) #1…
The Dungeon Crawler Carl series (by Matt Dinniman) - This is LitRPG at its finest: Hunger Games meets Dungeons & Dragons meets MMPOG’s meets Ready Player One meets intergalactic reality TV… It’s sooooooo f***ing good. I’m currently finishing book 5.
CURRENT TV WATCHES:
Honestly, I haven’t been watching much TV cuz I’ve been spending moretime outdoors with friends. But every night before bed I like to watch one hour of sci-fi TV. Right now, it’s the original 1966 Star Trek (which is amazingly bad, but so ahead of its time and fun).
FAVORITE MOVIES OF ALL TIME:
Cabin in the Woods - my horror fave.
Trick ‘R Treat - a Halloween classic.
Jupiter’s Ascending - which folks don’t like, but I love cuz it’s gorgeous to look at and it’s world-building is fantastic.
Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die - if you haven’t seen it, go watch it today.