Oziana 2014 is coming!

Another year, another Oziana. The International Wizard of Oz Club's next issue of their magazine of original Oz-based fiction, art and poetry will be available in late November from Lulu.com. However, contributors already have early copies and being one of them, editor Marcus Mebes gave me the go-ahead to do an early review to let you know what you can expect in this issue.

The issue features covers by newcomer Oziana artist David Bishop. His front cover offers a very nice, peaceful picture in the Emerald City. The back cover is just about a polar opposite, though it's still in the Emerald City. It illustrates one of the stories, but I won't spoil which!

The issue opens and closes with stories that follow up on Baum's Dot and Tot of Merryland, two years shy of its 115th anniversary. The first, "Lost and Never Found," is by David Tai and myself (though I worked on it so long ago I have absolutely forgotten exactly what my input was). Trot and Betsy Bobbin wind up in the Valley of Lost Things and make a few discoveries as they meet the Queen of Merryland. Illustrated by Dennis Anfuso.

The last story is my new version of "Roselawn." It's 1919, and Evangeline "Dot" Freeland is going home to Roselawn to meet her old friend Matthew "Tot" Thompson, who has come home from serving in World War I. However, Matthew has changed, and while Eva cannot fix him, she might be able to help him heal. Illustrated by David Baker.

So, I've told you about the wrapper and the bread, now what comes between them?

First up is "Labor of Love" by Kim McFarland. The Scarecrow and Scraps decide to take their relationship a little further. And while it might require more from Scraps than anything before, she decides that she is up to any challenge.

"Theresa's Pink Road" is a poem by Theresa McMillan, expressing her own life's road and her appreciation of Oz in it. Illustrated by Arthur Clippe.

"The New Fellow" by J.L. Bell takes the viewpoint of Hank the Mule as Kabumpo comes to stay for awhile in the Emerald City and how he acts with the other animals in Ozma's stables. Illustrated by David Bishop.

Then is the oddball but extremely fun "Rob Zombie in Oz" by Aaron Adelman. In a slightly different version of Oz where elements from the Magic Land series were in the past and elements from the Patchwork Girl of Oz silent film are canon, Jinjur is keeping an eye on Dr. Pipt's daughter Jeseeva when she realizes that the girl has been initiated to become a Yookoohoo! But can Jinjur use this information to her advantage? Illustrated by John Troutman.

This is another issue of excellent artwork and stories for a truly Ozzy treat!

The price of Oziana should be about $10 a copy. You can start planning a Lulu.com order to add it to your collection (do you have Sky Pyrates Over Oz or Outsiders from Oz or previous years' Oziana yet?) and keep an eye here for coupon codes!