New Changes Coming
This site has been woefully abandoned for the better part of three to five years. Life has not worked out the way that I thought it would, but I have a new path that I’m following and good things are coming.
The good news is that I have several books that I have written in both The Hidden History of Oz series, and a tie-in series taking place in The Kingdom of Dreams. More information and images coming soon.
As I update my life, this site will also be updated with a new look and great new content.
Epistolary Novels – letter by letter
An Epistolary Story is one told through letters.
What is an epistolary novel? Simply put, it is a story told through letters. The most well-known (to me) is The Screwtape Letters, written by C.S. Lewis.
The Glinda Letters creates a bridge of history between The Hidden History of Oz stories (specifically The Witch Queens trilogy) and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, written by L. Frank Baum.
Dive into personal thoughts
Glinda writes to Oscar Diggs while he is in his self-imposed exile in Emerald City. She gives her deepest thoughts to her dear friend in messages that only they will see. There is an honesty conveyed in these letters that does not appear whens he is with other people. She conveys a sense of her own worldview that she simply cannot share with other people, due to her position as the Sorceress Queen of the South. She is responsible for protecting Oz, and that means duty comes first. There is no question that Glinda was fulfill her duty. The questions in her letters reveal a vulnerability that she cannot show to others.
See how they see themselves
The amazing thing about these letters is that Glinda sees the world in a very specific way. She believes in liberty and freedom, just like Oscar, but she does not believe that he can do it simply by being good. She has to gain power and protect him so that he can do what he believes in. Everything depends on her.
Glinda has a stilted view of the world that becomes apparent as you compare her words in private letters to her actions and words to others.
The Glinda Letters fills in the gaps between several stories in The Hidden History of Oz series. It is the backbone of history upon which to hang the sinews of story. It is one perspective drawn over a lifetime of experience waiting for love to open the door and step again into the light.
The Glinda Letters is available now on Amazon, or wherever ebooks are sold. Order your copy today and discover the Hidden History that sets the stage for Baum’s classic stories.
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 (more…)
The Glinda Letters – Cover Reveal
The Glinda Letters is nearing the moment of publication. I wanted all of you to be the first to see the new cover design.
The Glinda Letters is an epistolary novel composed of letters written by Glinda and sent to the Wizard, Oscar Diggs, while he is in a self-imposed exile in Emerald City.
Glinda writes a letter to the Wizard each year on her birthday, and also when events in Oz deem it necessary. Each letter details significant information that Glinda is learning and that she believes is important for the Wizard to know.
Through these letters, Glinda reveals her true soul to Oscar, bathed in tears, scorched in anger, and tempered with the fine fury of decades of wisdom. She grows from the angry child into the fearless sorceress sworn to protect Oz from all enemies.
All the while, Glinda urges Oscar to come into the light and leave the darkness behind. The throne of Emerald City is his for the taking. With political unrest growing, the urgency in Glinda’s letters grows. Then it subsides as time moves on and the Wonderful Wizard becomes a legend, and then a fairy tale. He has become a story. Then his throne is threatened by another. The Crown Princess is born, and then she disappears mysteriously. Then a powerful young sorceress named Dorothy lands in Oz. After the Wizard escapes his exile and returns to the land of his birth, Glinda waits for his return, so that she can finally have her happy ending.
This book bridges the gap between The Witch Queens trilogy and Baum’s original Oz books, ending shortly before the events of Baum’s fourth Oz novel, Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz (1908).
The Witch Queens Trilogy Now Has Updated Covers
I’m excited to show off the new covers designed for The Witch Queens trilogy.
These books are available in ebook or paperback. Find them where you buy your ebooks, or in paperback on Amazon.
How a misprinted copy of “A Wrinkle In Time” taught me to believe, despite imperfection
“Believing takes practice.” – Madeleine L’Engle
In readying my fingers for this post, I had only one thought, “Find a Madeleine L’Engle quote.” She is right next to C.S. Lewis as one of my favorite authors. Her book, A Wrinkle In Time, is my favorite book, going back all the way to fourth grade.
It wasn’t the very first book that I had purchased at a book fair, even though I had not bought very many. Buying books takes money, and money was in short supply in those days. A Wrinkle In Time was a book that interested me in a way that the Star Wars: Return of the Jedi activity books did not.
The first cover I ever saw for A Wrinkle In Time.
On the cover, there was a flying centaur-like creature, and a mysterious face with red eyes. The entire color palette of dark-neutrals and slate grays captivated my imagination. I purchased the book with the few dollars I was given, and I began reading immediately. I read through page 100 or so before I realized that I had read this before – not the book, but the section. I flipped back a few pages, and then a few more. There was a section in the center of the book that repeated a previous section. It was a misprint.
I was shocked and terribly disappointed. I had spent good money on a book that was broken. Now I didn’t know what would happen in the middle of the story. I found the place where the repeated section ended, and I continued reading. I finished the book, and then I immediately checked out another copy of the book from the school library and flipped to the section that I missed. I finished the book, and I was satisfied.
That book had a lasting effect on me. It was the first book I read that was not perfect. I had no idea that such a thing was even possible. I learned through experience traumatic to me that some things that we take for granted are subject to human error.
This book has the distinction of opening my eyes to imperfection. I’m certain I had plenty of other opportunities to see things gone wrong, but this one was all mine. I had lived in a world filled with books. Each one had a complete story. Each one was perfect – not just in its own way, but in all ways that I could see. Each one was complete and whole…until this one.
The simple misprint troubled me. It troubled me more than I wanted to admit. I had spent good money on this book, and now the book fair was over, and there was no way that I could get my money back. Even if I had gotten my money back, it was – in some ways – the end of my world. I had never had to leave a story like this before. I had never seen a book that was broken when it was new.
Fast-forward quite a few years to today. I am an author. I realize my own imperfections. In my writer friends, and their budding works-in-progress that they entrusted to me as a test reader, I see imperfection. I look further to see what is beneath that imperfection. What causes a writer to write? Or an artist to make art? Or a musician to make music? What causes us to do what we do in the pursuit of truth?
Belief.
Believing takes practice. So said Madeleine L’Engle. So say I. I seek after perfection – all artists do it, to varying degrees. However, it is not perfection that is achieved. It is, rather, a string of failures – a patchwork of persistence – that combine together to create a version of truth singular to its creator, author, artist, musician, or organizer.
Belief that the story needs to be told, the truth needs to find a face, and the image needs to find a voice – and then realizing that I am the imperfect tool that this story needs to find its way into the world – that takes a lot of faith. Believing takes practice.
Each one of us has something to do each day. Each one of us will have thoughts that come into our mind of things that we should do in the course of our daily work, whatever it may be. Give room to let those thoughts through. Now substitute whatever thoughts might come to you for the term “book” in this final quote.
“A book comes and says ‘Write me.’ My job is to try to serve it to the best of my ability, which is never good enough, but all I can do is listen to it, do what it tells me, and collaborate.” – Madeleine L’Engle
So where do we go from here? I speak these works that I, myself, need to hear. Believe in yourself, in your work, in the truth. Despite imperfections in the instruments of its creation, truth wants to be heard. There is no one that sees things exactly like you. There is no one that can do exactly what you do. So each day becomes a process of working, listening, adjusting, collaborating, and moving forward. In short, believing. Believing takes work.
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Exhibit in Grapevine, Texas
This afternoon I visited The Wonderful Wizard of Oz exhibit in Grapevine, Texas. There were reproductions of character art by original Oz artist W.W. Denslow. The exhibit included educational stations to learn about the brain, heart, courage, tornadoes, and more.
Entrance to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz exhibit.
At the entrance, we were greeted by some old friends.
Entrance to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz exhibit.
Scarecrow exhibit and brain learning center.
The Scarecrow brain learning center had a matching game. There were six plastic brains and six possible choices for which animal (or person) the brain belonged to. In the case of the human brain, the small door had a mirror on it instead of a picture. My lovely wife got all six brains correct. Nice job.
There was a model scarecrow just lying on the floor. He had velcro on his joints to help him stay together. However, we came at the end of the day, and he looked like he had been through a lot with the kids coming through, so we let him rest.
This dapper fellow’s station contained information about the heart. Unfortunately, one of the experiments wasn’t working, so we couldn’t see the pump in action.
While I was there, I met a very enthusiastic Oz fan, and I got to talk with her about some of the great Oz books she is reading. There are many Oz spin-offs and reimaginings, of which The Hidden History is only one universe. She is a collector and always keeps her eye open for new Oz memorabilia.
It was nice to meet another fan, and to see the lasting impact that L. Frank Baum’s original American fairy tale has, even more than a century after publication.
Interviewing a Fictional Character
Do your characters hide when you come knocking at the door? Try asking these questions instead to get to know them better.
We’ve all been through the get-to-know-you stage in meeting new people. Whether it is at work, or at school, or just moving to a new place, getting to know new people is difficult. It is made more difficult by the walls erected to keep our own personality and quirks obscured. Each person has their own walls around their persona, and they only let trusted people get to know the “real person” inside.
How do you get to truly know a person? You ask the deeper, thoughtful questions beyond name, job, school, sports teams, movies, etc. One suggested question for getting inside a person’s head might be: What is your most treasured possession? Or, How would you like to die?
However, you must be careful with such emotionally-charged queries, and use these questions with discretion, as they may be greeted with suspicion (or restraining orders) by one unfamiliar with your get-to-know-you questions.
In the late 19th century, an author named Marcel Proust penned a list of 35 questions to get to know a person better. (more…)
Can Subtlety Work in Action Tropes?
Orangutan thinks about action tropes and writing exciting stories. Image swiped from HuffPo.
On Storymonger’s blog, I read a thought-provoking post: Four Action Tropes that Need to be Revolutionized in fiction. Could I come up with a subtle blend of tropes that revolutionized the action sequences in question? There’s only one way to find out. (more…)
A Noctuary for Your Thoughts
The Gates of Dream, by Xeeming on deviantart.com
Noc´tu`a`ry
n.1. A record of what passes in the night; a nightly journal; – distinguished from diary.
If you could see the future, would you write it down to remember? If you could see the past, would it be important to record it? If you saw honestly, would you want it inscribed, so it would last forever? If you could record your dreams, would you?
The answer, for me, is a resounding yes to all of these questions. But then comes the next question, why? Why would you want to record your dreams? (more…)
Fixed Points in Time (an Oz perspective)
If the TARDIS had landed, instead of Dorothy’s house, would that have been worthy of writing? Would it have become a fixed point in time? (Image courtesy Rampaged Reality, via google image search)
I had a facebook conversation with a friend of mine the other day. He is also an Oz author. We were talking about the Great Book of Records and the role that it plays in our individual stories. Here is what I shared: (more…)
The Perils of a Dangerbread House
On a path lined with cookies, beware of what lies at the end of that magical journey. – Illustration by Tarl Telford
A Dangerbread House is a strange thing of wild magic. You’ve seen it before – a house in the woods made of gingerbread, sweets, and candies. It is usually inhabited by a witch, who uses it to lure unsuspecting children into her clutches. This house is different though. In the new illustrated chapter book, Tabby Abacus and the Dangerbread House (more…)
Oz author working on adoption
Tarl and Aimee – hopeful adoptive parents
This is a personal posting, not specifically Oz-related. My family is pursuing adoption. We are reaching out to our social networks and asking friends and family to share our information with their trusted friends and family. The wider the network we grow, the greater the chance that expectant parents who are considering adoption will see our profile and hopefully consider us.
Frequent visitors to The Hidden History of Oz blog have come to expect interesting information about this prequel series to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and info about Witches…mostly Witches. This is more personal, but I believe that you readers can work a little bit of magic for my family. In Oz, dreams are the greatest magic of all. Perhaps your combined efforts to share can make my family’s dreams of adopting a baby come true.
We have a facebook page that contains details and a link to our profile on adoption.com. We will also be launching a crowdfunding campaign soon. Details forthcoming on the facebook page. If you can help, or you know of someone who can, please share. We believe that dreams can come true.
Mapping the Hidden History of Oz
“Oz-and-surrounding-countrie” by L. Frank Baum (illustrated by John R. Neill) – Tik-Tok of Oz, first published in the United States in 1914. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.
Creating a map is an interesting process. I like to have things accurate, so that I can trust the facts. When it came time to update my map for the Hidden History of Oz stories, I had my work cut out for me. I did a lot of research on the Cartographer’s Guild to understand how good maps work. The Cartographer’s Guild has a great website with a lot of knowledgeable folks providing comments, critiques, and advice for creating accurate maps. I looked at the original map of Oz, and I saw some features that needed more explanation. Let’s take a look.
Emerald Spectacles (Hidden History of Oz, Book Three) – Available Now
Available on Amazon, Smashwords, and wherever digital books are sold.
Emerald Spectacles is the third book in the Hidden History of Oz series. This intense, imaginative story spans the magical land of Oz and delves into the mysterious conjoined dreamlands. To save the Wizard, and to preserve the Land of Oz, Glinda must join forces with her mortal enemy, Kalinya, the Wicked Witch of the East, forge a coalition of dangerous Witches (including Mombi and Locasta), battle those that she once considered friends, and challenge the immutable forces of time and magic.
In this spellbinding conclusion to the Glinda Trilogy, time is running out for the Wizard. If he dies with his soul in the dreamlands, the Land of Oz will be host to his nightmares forever. However, success only guarantees survival, not a happy ending.
Emerald Spectacles is available on Amazon (in paperback and kindle versions) and on Smashwords, in your favorite digital format.
The Benefits of Being Painted Into a Corner
Painted into a corner via Google image search.
As a reader, I love to see how the characters are going to get out of difficult situations. When the odds are stacked against the hero, and escape appears impossible, those are the moments where creativity pays off. The process of going through the adventure, getting stuck, and then emerging victorious, provides great satisfaction. But what about authors that paint themselves into a corner? (Yes, I’m looking right back at myself.)
My own creative process actually requires that I paint myself into corners. What do I mean by that? (more…)
50% off Hidden History of Oz Books at Smashwords
Coupons available at checkout on Smashwords, now through March 7, 2015.
March 1 – 7 is Read an eBook Week at Smashwords.com. To celebrate this event, you can pick up The Witch Queens (HH1:WQ) and Crown of the Dreamer (HH2:CotD) for just $2.00 each. That’s 50% off the regular price.
Plus, as part of the soft launch of Book Three: Emerald Spectacles, you can pick up the exciting conclusion to the Glinda Trilogy for 25% off.
- The Witch Queens – 50% off
- Crown of the Dreamer – 50% off
- Emerald Spectacles – 25% off
Pick up your copy of Emerald Spectacles before anyone else. Go to Smashwords.com now.
Looking through Emerald Spectacles
Emerald Spectacles (The Hidden History of Oz, Book Three) cover
Emerald Spectacles prevented Dorothy and her friends from seeing the Emerald City as it really was. In a sense, the Emerald Spectacles are a form of of humbug – a deception. However, this exciting novel gives the real power of the magic glasses – they prevent the wearer from seeing magic. The Emerald Spectacles that Dorothy and her friends wore were to protect them from any dark magic they might see in the Emerald City.
Why would they see dark magic? Ah, that’s an excellent question. It goes back to the foundation of the Hidden History of Oz series:
Oz is a magical land powered by human dreams. What is dreamed on Earth is filtered through the Emerald Engine to become magic in Oz. When a dreamer from Earth came to Oz, his dreams changed the land around him. One such dreamer was given the title of Wizard. (more…)
Wickedness in Oz
Dr. Doofenshmirtz as the Wicked Warlock
Oz is a world more innocent and wondrous than the world we currently live in. The original author of Oz, L. Frank Baum, wanted to create a modern fairy tale, where the heartaches and nightmares are left out. This creates a whimsical world where good is the order of the day and the adversaries are either misguided or wicked.
So what, exactly, does it mean to be wicked? (more…)
Dorothy’s first trip to Oz
If you are interested in a day-by-day view of Dorothy’s first trip to Oz (found in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz novel), click over to Dorothy’s Timeline.
You can also find it in the menu above: About > Timeline > Dorothy’s Timeline.
Cabbages and Cyclones: The untold story behind Dorothy’s story
How do cabbages verify the hidden history behind Dorothy’s trip to Oz? If the author thinks it is important enough to put into the novel, it must be significant, right? Of course. As I did some research, I discovered some very interesting historical facts that bear out L. Frank Baum’s classic story, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
Dorothy’s journey perfectly matches with the mentions of cabbages in the original text. Follow along, and we’ll explore the facts together after the jump.
The Hidden History of Oz 