First, we’d like to thank you for taking the time to visit and get to know us a little better.  We are a trio of aspiring authors, family members and coconspirators consisting of my mother, Nancy, my brother Eric and myself.  We are writing under two separate pen names.  We will be using Renna Olsen for our horror and paranormal thriller novels and H.R. Olsen for our science fiction offerings.  This blog is intended to keep you informed of our journey from avid readers of books to successful self-published authors. 

A little background on how the Litzophreniacs came into being ~ We’re all complete and utter bibliophiles and after many years of sharing books, comparing notes and giving our opinions on just about every topic, during one of our rare moments when we were all geographically located near each other, we decided to start a book club with just the three of us.   Why just us and not open the club to others?  We wanted to be able to choose books that appealed to us and we wanted to keep it small.  We made it through exactly one book before coming to the conclusion that what we should really be doing is writing our own books!

My mother, the trailblazer, had already written a book some years before.  Our first joint project was a rewrite and edit of that first book, The Safe Harbor.  The Safe Harbor is horror, a really well written novel that just needed some dusting and polishing to make it publication ready.  As soon as we finished with the first one, we jumped in to help her finish her next horror novel, Creekhouse.  Those two books are set in the fictional town of Riverside, Oregon and in the style of Stephen King, we hope to add more to the Riverside books. 

After Creekhouse, my mother informed us that it was time to stop riding her coattails and get to writing our own new material.  My brother and I, in true collaborative style, began writing our science fiction novel, Exiles of Gaia.  The whole process took us two years, and with the creative and editorial help from our mother, we managed to finish. 

This month, we’ve added a fourth book.  I managed to take on the challenge and succeed at National Novel Writing Month.  That book, crapped out over thirty days, is currently being mercilessly torn apart by my writing partners but in the end, it will be much better for it. 

Meanwhile, we continue to write and collaborate on new material.  We have three books in the works and are about to start a fourth, the second book in the Gaia series.  Distance proves a challenge, with our collaboration being done over Skype and email but it has proved to be effective and I know we will continue to make great stories.  With an eye to the future, we have decided to eschew the traditional publishing houses and try and make a go of it ourselves by self-publishing. 

We are inordinately proud of all our work.  We hope you’ll take the time to read and enjoy them as they become available on Amazon.  Wish us luck!

Anne