An Oz where dreams change the world

With the announcement of a fourth Oz-inspired TV series, there are a lot of people on the interwebs that are justifiably annoyed. Why take a classic tale and re-spin it again and again? Simple answer – it’s the 75th Anniversary of the MGM Wizard of Oz movie (1939) and Warner Bros. owns the rights.

With all of these versions of Oz done wrong, where are the versions of Oz done right? Where is the land that Baum built?

Take a peek into The Hidden History of Oz. Brush aside the cobwebs of whimsy to peer into the shadows in the past that defined the Land of Oz. L. Frank Baum, in his own words, wanted to create a fairy tale, “where the heartaches and nightmares are left out.” By so doing, he crafted half a story.

Oz is a magical land powered by human dreams. What happens here affects what happens over there. The issue then becomes history. When was Oz? When was Dorothy? Establish 1900 (the year of publication of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz) as the year Dorothy entered the Emerald City. Postulate backwards to when the Wizard was a young man, and you have a timeline. Now look at the history that happened during those years, say 1852 – 1900. There were a lot of tumultuous events. Doubtless they affected the dreams of people in our world. That would also affect the Land of Oz.

Oscar Diggs is a dreamer. He went up in a balloon in our world, fell asleep, and then came down in the middle of a battle in the West. He joined with a young red-haired sorceress named Glinda, and together they stood against the Wicked Witches. Oscar’s dreams begin to change the Land of Oz. You see, nobody in Oz dreams. All of the human dreams pass through a filter before they become magic. Oscar Diggs is the Wonderful Wizard because he can do something that nobody else in Oz can – dream.

The Hidden History of Oz novels breathe life into the amazing world created by L. Frank Baum. True to the original vision Baum dictated, these stories explore the characters and events that defined Oz in the time of Dorothy. This is not a reimagining, but a peeling back of the layers of whimsy to see that beneath the surface, the history of Oz is like the history of every other land – defined by people and their passion for power.

Drawing on Oz history, real-world history, and the mysterious power of dreams, The Hidden History of Oz paints a world at once recognizable and wonderful, then unlocks the chapters that Baum could not write. There are heartaches and nightmares in Oz, and they change the world.

The Hidden History of Oz, Book One: The Witch Queens, and Book Two: Crown of the Dreamer, are available now on Kindle and in paperback. Find out for yourself how one dreamer can change the world.