Writing The Glinda Letters
The Glinda Letters is published and available for purchase on Amazon, Smashwords, or wherever you purchase ebooks. If you are more of a traditionalist, and prefer hard copies, you can buy a paperback copy from Amazon.
Why are The Glinda Letters important to Oz? They span the time between The Witch Queens trilogy and L. Frank Baum’s original classic, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. I believe Glinda to be the most important character in modern Oz, with the Wizard second, and Dorothy third. Ozma, the Child Queen, comes in fourth. Why do I believe this? These four characters changed everything. However, there was only one that stood the entire time and lasted through the Wicked Witches, through the lifetime of the Emerald City, and continually worked for good. Remember that the Wizard was in his humbug hiding place, Dorothy came to Oz, destroyed the Witches, and then went back home, and Ozma didn’t show up for a while, so she’s still got a lot to prove as far as living true to her principles.
The Glinda Letters is an epistolary novel, which means it is a story told in letters (or epistles). This type of novel is not common anymore. Perhaps the most famous in modern times is The Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis. That story served as an inspiration for my title.
As I was plotting out The Hidden History of Oz series, I found a big complication–there was a 40+ year gap in between the stories that I wanted to tell. Of course, I could always just skip those decades and pretend nothing important happened, but that didn’t sit right with me. I started out with a few snippets of stories that I stuck at the end of the draft of Book Two. Then Book Two was divided into two parts, and those pieces got pushed aside.
I wrote The Glinda Letters in Spring and Summer of 2014. That was long before Book Three was finished. This allowed me to add tidbits and pieces into Emerald Spectacles that strengthened the foundation of the Hidden History. It also opened up ideas for stories and characters.
Writing one letter a year from Glinda to Oscar allowed me to explore the fifty years of time spent between the time Oscar went into self-imposed exile, and the time he left (in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, 1900), to the time he returned to Oz in Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz (1908). The Glinda Letters broadly links The Hidden History of Oz stories with L. Frank Baum’s original Oz stories.
Additionally, peering inside Glinda’s mind is a fascinating journey as she grows from a strong-willed and rebellious teenager into the cool and powerful sorceress sworn to protect Oz against all enemies. Glinda doesn’t have all of the answers, and she makes some choices that drastically affect the entire Land of Oz. Is she perfect? Not by a long shot. Is she interesting? Yes. And depending on your point of view, Glinda may just turn out to be the committed antihero of this entire Hidden History of Oz story.
The Glinda Letters is on sale now at Amazon, or wherever ebooks are sold.
The Hidden History of Oz 
I want to see some form of aithenticity relating these letters to Baum and the actual original creator s. There are alot of. Spinoff writers I have noticed.
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January 16, 2016 at 1:14 AM
Melody, thank you for your comment. In this age of information, it is wise and healthy to want proof and authenticity in your stories. In order to understand your question correctly, I need some additional information from you. Lacking that, I will do my best to provide the information that you asked for. With regard to the authenticity of The Glinda Letters, do you need proof that they were actually written by Glinda? Or do you need proof that they were written by L. Frank Baum? I can assure you, the letters were most definitely written by Glinda, to Oscar, in between the time that The Hidden History of Oz stories (specifically, The Witch Queen trilogy) and the Baum stories of Oz. This is original content, adding to the broad library of Oz stories.
Glinda lived through tumultuous times. She told Oscar the things that she believed were important for him to hear. Did she relate everything that happened in Oz in 50 years? No. Was her opinion free of bias? No. She is as real a person as the Wizard. Between the two of the, they changed Oz forever.
Is this Baum’s Oz? Not exactly. Did he write these letters or make mention of them? No. Are The Glinda Letters an attempt to bridge the gap of time between the Hidden History of Oz stories written by (me) Tarl Telford and the Oz stories written by L. Frank Baum? Yes.
Each of these books is done with respect for the original creation of L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. His subsequent novels contain information that is sometimes contradictory and out of continuity. Therefore, The Hidden History of Oz series uses the original novel (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz) as canon, and the rest of Baum’s work as guidelines.
Again, thank you for your comment. I hope that this information has provided enough authenticity to answer your questions. If not, please write back, and we can engage in meaningful dialogue.
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February 10, 2016 at 9:41 PM