Magician of Oz: September 2012

Magician of Oz Trilogy

Volume 1: Magician of Oz:

New characters and creatures abound in the old Land of Oz while many of the old characters we know and love make their own appearances in this newest tale of fantasy, adventure, truth and friendship in a familiar, yet not so familiar world of Oz.

There's the Leader of the Sycamores, the Gnarled Scrub Oak, the Flowering Plum Tree and the Council of Trees. All of these magical and strange characters prove quite the challenge for a young magician who finds himself in a strange and wonderful land.

Of course, we also get to meet Dorothy and Ozma, Glinda and the Tin Woodman, as well as Toto, Bungle the Glass Cat, Billina the Hen and numerous other beloved characters from L.Frank Baums' original tale of wonder and magic.

Volume 2: Shadow Demon of Oz

It was in the early month of Spring when the old humpback trunk of O.Z. Diggs, the original Wizard of Oz was opened by his great grandson, Jamie Diggs, revealing a magical heritage lurking within.
Following in the footsteps of his great grandfather, a young boy named Jamie pursued the ways of magic and soon found himself transported to the magical Land of Oz where, alongside Dorothy, he faced his greatest fears and the fearsome Army of Trees in defense of the Tin Woodman.
Now the young magician is called to return to the Land of Oz to take his place as the new Royal Magician of Princess Ozma; Ruler and Sovereign of Oz.
And for his first Royal Command, Princess Ozma sends her Royal Magician and his best friend Buddy off to battle the Evil Shadow Demon and save the Hyups of Mount Munch.

Volume 3: Family of Oz

It has been nearly 6 months since young Jamie Diggs returned from the Land of Oz with his best friend Buddy after defeating an ancient Evil while serving as Princess Ozma's new Royal Magician.
Now, he is called to return once more and take his rightful place alongside Her Majesty; Princess Ozma and Glinda; Good Witch and Ruler of the South Quadling Country, as well as Princess Dorothy.
Before the Royal Magician can return to Oz however, he finds himself on a fantastic journey down the Wabash River and a stop in Huntington, West Virginia for a taste of the legendary Stewart's Original Hot Dogs and Root Beer. Then it’s on to attend the annual gathering of their fellow magicians, known as the Magi-Fest and a tumultuous Close-Up Magic Competition. Soon, the Family Diggs, Hank and Buddy find themselves transported back to Oz by way of The Duke's Magic Box. The only problem they find is that each one of them now find themselves somewhere in Oz... but alone!
As the Family Diggs, Hank and Buddy journey along the roadways, riverways and even above the Land of Oz alone, each one struggles to discover what Love and family means to them and each learns along the way that Love and family have been with them all along. Aided by Her Majesty, the Queen of the Field Mice and Jamie's wayward, living decks of playing cards, as well as Buddy and the Cowardly Lion, the Royal Magician of Oz soon teaches Princess Ozma the true meaning of family and Love.
In a final and most fantastical battle alongside the Munchkin River, Jamie Diggs and his new army of friends battle Cobbler the Dog, a new and most mechanical pet of Tik-Tok, the Mechanical Army of Oz and an Unwilling Villain in an epic struggle of Good against Evil.

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Chesterton Wizard of Oz Festival 2012: Part 1

Several weeks ago, I attended the 2012 Wizard of Oz festival in Chesterton, Indiana. This was my 4th year and I'm pleased to report that I had a wonderful time!

As always, it starts with a pre-sunrise journey north from my home in Terre Haute, Indiana.

About halfway there, I always come across the Pinwheel Fields, a lovely place that has inspired me in the past to write about them.

Before long, I'm back in Oz, as anyone with an ounce of sense can tell...

I'm fairly certain that the Good Witch in purple is Tattypoo, Good Witch of the North.
As always, I find myself in the morning parade, which always finds the most unusual citizens of Oz milling about.

As usual, the festival was packed... and this year, the weather was very cooperative!!!

The trains though, as usual, were not!!!

It was good to see Michelle Russel in attendance with her newest book, A Cat Named Toto!

As well as Rick Ewigleben and Joe Shipbaugh, both of whom I consider friends and for whom I have the utmost respect.

And best of all, I found myself next to Roger Baum, great grandson of L. Frank Baum, the original author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1899). He and his lovely wife Charlene have more kind to me than I could have ever hoped for. Both Roger and Charlene epitomize all that is good, kind and loving in the Land of Oz!!!

He was very busy that day, not only with his newest book, Enigma of Oz, but with the new movie, Dorothy of Oz, which comes out next year!

The rest of the day saw good sales, despite not having my newest book, The Ozian Adventure of Pickleless & Blu on hand, thanks to Createspace and the idiots that run it! They seem incapable of fulfilling a simple print request on time!!!

Nonetheless, I had a good day and was just grateful I was upwind of the facilities!!!

That evening, I found myself, once more, serving as Guest Auctioneer at the Oz Exchange and Auction.

It was good to see John Fricke in attendance...

As well as Her Majesty, Princess Ozma!

She has also been very kind to me, especially since she is also a fellow teacher. She once gave me the best article on old weather folklore and language, which I turned into one of my favorite lectures! I can't begin to thank her enough for this!!!

Next time, I'll talk about day two of the festival and a wonderful puppet show and some great people of Oz, all of whom make attending very enjoyable.

Totus vos postulo est Amor!!!

James C. Wallace II

Royal Liaison to Princess Ozma

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

The Ozian Adventure & the Chesterton Wizard of Oz Festival

This weekend, I'll be attending the 2012 Chesterton Wizard of Oz Festival. It's a wonderful festival and this will be my 4th year of attendance.

This year, I'll be premiering my newest book, The Ozian Adventure of Pickleless & Blu for all the wonderful Wizard of Oz fans of Chesterton.

Of particular interest to any fan of Oz and the Chesterton festival is the fact that this book contains a wonderfully funny pun all about Chesterton. The chapter title is Chester Town and if you wanna know more, well... you're just gonna have to ask me at the festival and perhaps even purchase a copy, autographed by the Royal Liaison to Princess Ozma himself!

Anyone who has been attending the Chesterton Wizard of Oz festival will immediately recognize Chester Town! I think they'll be quite pleased!!!

James C. Wallace II
Royal Liaison to Princess Ozma

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Inspiration for The Emerald Slippers of Oz

Recently, I attended the local auction house that once served as inspiration for Shadow Demon of Oz. Although it is called Shadow Auction Barn, I renamed it the Umbra Auction Barn for the story and I have been very pleased with the results.

Now, the Shadow Auction barn has provided yet another item which now serves as inspiration for our newest story, The Emerald Slippers of Oz.

The story idea came from my wife, Amanda, was is also the inspiration for Magician of Oz with her legendary Potato Soup. Now, she is the co-author and is turning out to be a fine writer.

This newest story of Oz involves a couple of witches and a couple of magicians who long to regain their magical powers.

For those of you who are not well versed in the lore of Oz, one of the witches is Blinkie, who appeared in L. Frank Baum's ninth book, The Scarecrow of Oz. The lesser known magician is Ugu the Shoemaker, who made his mark in The Lost Princess of Oz, which is Baum's eleventh book about the Land of Oz.

The other witch is the well known witch, 'Ol Mombi, who you may remember from the 1985 Walt Disney film, Return to Oz. She was actually first introduced by Baum in his second book, The Marvelous Land of Oz.

The other magician in this story is Dr. Pipt, the legendary creator of the Powder of Life, who makes his debut in Oz in Baum's seventh book, The Patchwork Girl of Oz.

Now, all four former conjurers of magic battle for possession of the Emerald Slippers, which were intended as a gift to Her Majesty, Princess Ozma.

We are about halfway through the story and it's looking to be a fine story, worthy of the world of Oz. Me thinks L. Frank Baum would be very pleased.

James C. Wallace II
Royal Liaison to Princess Ozma

Who is the Royal Liaison of Oz

My name is James C. Wallace II and I am the Royal Liaison of Oz.

I was born one day short of the 41st anniversary of the passing of Lyman Frank Baum, the kind gentleman who wrote The Wizard of Oz over a hundred years ago.

I grew up in a loving household where my parents read to me on a daily basis and taught me the joy of reading. Many a night I recall sitting in our front room as my mother would read from the many books of Oz and my father would act out some of the odd scenes pictured within.

As I grew up, my love for reading never diminished and my parents support for my love of reading never wavered. In addition, I was fortunate enough to encounter a number of mentors who would shape my view of the world and how I would find my way in it.

In particular was Captain Kangaroo, otherwise known as Bob Keeshan. His unique program was instrumental in shaping my mind towards the joy of learning.

Another was Clyde Crashcup, an odd cartoon character who inspired me to become a scientist and educator. Despite what many psychologists would have you believe, television did not rot my brain. In fact, my fondest memories of childhood were of Saturday mornings in front of the TV machine watching the Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Hour and eating Captain Crunch with Crunchberries cereal.

Another mentor was a NASA scientist; Gene Shoemaker, who, by correspondence inspired me to be an astronomer. This was during the late 60's and early 70's when NASA was king of the hill, so to speak.

The most important mentor was my father, who inspired me to try everything and learn from those experiences. He got me involved in Toastmasters International and the International Brotherhood of Magicians. Those two organizations were directly responsible for much of my success as a public speaker and educator.

Fast forward to the mid-80's and my love of reading is now manifested in the lives of my 5 children as I read countless books to them, including the 14 books of Oz written by L. Frank Baum.

During this time, I am also completing my college education in Physics and running a public observatory teaching children about the night sky. This time is where the seeds of working for children's issues began for me.

Following my tenure at Indiana State University, I took a position as Planetarium Educator for The Children's Museum of Indianapolis.

By the way, if I haven't mentioned it before, The Children's Museum of Indianapolis is the finest children's museum anywhere in the world. If you've visited there, you'll certainly agree. If you haven't, please make the time to do so. You'll not be disappointed. Be sure to visit SpaceQuest Planetarium at the museum. It's the best part of the museum.

Anyway, during my time there, I made it a point to be a mentor to youth volunteers and thus found my calling. To impact the lives of children in a positive manner is one of the greatest accomplishments of my life. It was during this period that I became involved with junior high school children in the inner city region of Indianapolis.

One day, while engaged in testing some educational software about Geography for 6th graders, I encountered quite a number of children who could not read, literally. It's one thing to suggest that there are kids in America who cannot read. It's quite another to come face-to-face with them.
I found myself at the end of the day sitting in my car in the parking lot shaking with remorse and resolving to do something about what I had just witnessed.
I then spent the next year in various teachers lounges having lunch with teachers and trying to understand how they could allow a child to go through school without mastering the art of reading.
Although some teachers cared deeply about their students, many cared only for their paycheck and thought little of the impact their negligence and disregard for the future of the next generation caused. This was reinforced by a school administration hamstrung by budget concerns and state-mandated test scores.

As a result, today's child has lost the art of reading. No longer do children sit down to read a book, to linger within the world of fiction and fantasy. Nowadays, kids are glued to the computer screen and read in snippets. In fact, with the advent of text messages, most kids now understand a truncated language that would have Daniel Webster spinning in his grave.

Only in the last few years has the Harry Potter effect taken hold and inspired kids to pick up the traditional book and immerse themselves in another world.
Despite this momentary reawakening, most kids still reach for the cel phone and communicate with their thumbs. Most kids would have trouble taking the time to sit down with a good book and giving themselves over to the realm of fantasy. They prefer the instant gratification that comes with a world overflowing with technology.

The book has become a lost art, and with that thought in mind, I chose to reinvigorate the original dream of L. Frank Baum.

In writing about young Jamie Diggs, the great grandson of O.Z. Diggs, the original Wizard of Oz, my most sincere desire is that children will pick up my book and rediscover the joy of reading.
If only a single child comes to understand and appreciate the joy of reading, then I have achieved my dream.
If, by writing about this wonderful land and all of its unique characters, I can inspire children and introduce them to the joy of reading, even if it be only a single child, I will have made an impact that reaches far beyond my own lifetime.

To this end, I have committed all my efforts towards creating an environment where kids will want to pick up that book and put aside that cel phone for a few moments. If I can serve as a mentor promoting Literacy to our youth, then I will have realized my dream.

The First Witches of Oz

Nomes of Oz

Even More Tails of Oz

Tails of Oz

The Emerald Slippers of Oz

Magician of Oz

Shadow Demon of Oz

Family of Oz

The Ozian Adventure of Pickleless & Blu

The Wonderful World of Oz

Followers

Magician of Oz Trilogy

The Royal Liaison of Oz

The Archives of Ozma's Royal Liaison

NanoWrimo 2014

NanoWrimo 2013

Nanowrimo 2012

Nanowrimo2011

Nanowrimo 2010

Nanowrimo 2009

Shadow of Oz 2015