The Royal Explorers of Oz: The Voyage of 'The Crescent Moon' — Now on sale!

As promised, the first Oz book of 2012 is now on sale!

Prince Bobo of Boboland is on a mighty quest: to unify the Nonestic nations against such threats as the Phanfasms and the Mimics! But with his ego, can he successfully carry it out?

Captain Salt is exploring the Nonestic Ocean once more with his faithful crew, Ato, Tandy, Roger the Read Bird, and Nikobo the hippopotamus. They soon gain a few extra members for their crew in Arko and Orpa the mer-folk couple, and Sally the Sea Fairy.

Little do any of them realize that they are setting out for an adventure that will change all of them forever.

The Royal Explorers of Oz is a trilogy based on the fantasies of L. Frank Baum and Ruth Plumly Thompson.

THE ROYAL EXPLORERS OF OZ

The Voyage of The Crescent Moon

by Marcus Mebes, Jared Davis, and Jeff Rester

Illustrations by John Troutman and Alejandro Garcia

Available now

Paperback

Hardcover

Order before January 7th and use the coupon code ONEMORETHING for 25% off

Coming soon

The Outsiders from Oz

by Jared Davis

Illustrations by S.P. Maldonado with decorations by Sam Milazzo

THE ROYAL EXPLORERS OF OZ
 The Crescent Moon Over Tarara

and

 The Scourge of The Crescent Moon

by Marcus Mebes, Jared Davis, and Jeff Rester

Illustrations by John Troutman and Alejandro Garcia

Royal Explorers of Oz Update!

Last night, I got to see the first proof of The Royal Explorers of Oz: The Voyage of The Crescent Moon. It was still in need of work and two illustrations had yet to be included. And you might think, "We've heard that before..." But they arrived today!

So, right now, Marcus is getting the layout completed. The book will be a bit taller than regular Oz books to show the detail of the wonderful artwork.

We have two illustrators. John Troutman has properly illustrated the book while Alejandro Garcia has drawn poster-like art. What this is used for, I'll let you find out on the title page. The idea is set up in Captain Salt in Oz, though.

The book, the first in a trilogy, isn't very long at about 74 pages. The next two books, however, is where it gets deep. This first volume more or less sets up the last two.

About timing, Marcus could get it out before year's end, but I had a different suggestion: release it on January 1st. There will be a new Oz book for a new year!

So, I hope you all will join us as we set sail for a new adventure on the Nonestic Ocean!

A peek at Outsiders

While Shawn finished the illustrations on The Outsiders From Oz (you know, I called it Outsiders for short so much, I forgot there was a "The" in the title), here's a teeny peek.

This is a map that will appear in the book. Almost every location in the story is on the map; a couple were too far west to be shown. (I had to pinpoint which river in Mo was the river of needles.)

And here's a tiny excerpt:

The Quadling Country is not the easiest place to travel in Oz. The country is rough and filled with dangerous peoples. With the Red Wagon and the Sawhorse, it was easy, but on foot the walking was rough and tiring.

The Wizard was, at heart, a very practical man when needed. However, his knowledge of magic helped him create shortcuts. If a stream crossed their path, he now had his buoyancy solution made from the Voe leaves to help him cross. So, being very careful to not exhaust their strength too soon, he and Button-Bright were making good time on foot.

Updates!

Oziana 2011 is now available for ordering! This year we've gotten three issues of Oziana, spanning 2008, 2009, 2010, and finally 2011 as the International Wizard of Oz Club's creative magazine is finally back on track! The 2012 issue is in the works now and will definitely be released on time.

I didn't contribute to this issue, but I did receive a review copy, so expect a review soon.

And speaking of Oz stories, co-blogger Nathan DeHoff is the first to put his Oz fan writings on our website! Check them out and write your own! Maybe you can even be in Oziana soon!

And speaking of reading Oz stuff online (which you're doing right now), the New York Public Library's blog is doing a series of blogs about the very first adaptation of The Wizard of Oz: the 1903 stage production. The first is online now, and with it is a goodie: the script of the play. (Which was followed loosely with various songs and jokes being added and changed.)

Also, it says "In the coming days several Oz scholars and fans will be contributing blogs about the history of this particular text," so keep an eye on the blog there. I have a feeling I'll be seeing some familiar names... (You don't read the first 34 years of The Baum Bugle and not learn anything...)

"Outsiders From Oz" update

I'm very sorry to announce that my first Oz book, Outsiders From Oz, will not be available until early next year. The reason being that we're still awaiting the rest of the illustrations. Shawn's been a busy guy, and given our arrangements, other projects he's been tied to have taken dominance.

Even if Shawn got the remaining illustrations to me right now, we'd still need to layout the book. I've already decided I want a classic Oz book layout to it.

Don't think I've been slacking on the writing. The book has been written since June. I have revised the introduction and gone back through and fixed a few errors here and there, as well as added a dedication and acknowledgements.

I could release it text-only or with the illustrations we have so far, but a few chapters would be completely without illustration.

Shawn isn't the only artist on the book, though. An additional artist did a table of contents and chapter heading image for the book.

That's just a sample. Not saying who that is, though.

The irritating part is that I know people want to read my story, and I want to get it out to them. And yes, I do plan on sending out some review copies. (My budget restricts me from just handing them out, though.) Not to be self-laudatory, but I think it's a good story. (Of course, that's obvious, I wouldn't knowingly release a bad story, especially for sale.)

It's an awful thing, sitting on a good story like this...

Royal Explorers of Oz

Announcing Royal Explorers of Oz, a trilogy combining elements from the works of L. Frank Baum and the fantasies of Ruth Plumly Thompson.

Prince Bobo of Boboland is on a mighty quest: to unify the Nonestic nations against such threats as the Phanfasms and the Mimics! But with his ego, can he successfully carry it out?

Captain Salt is exploring the Nonestic Ocean once more with his faithful crew, Ato, Tandy, Roger the Read Bird, and Nikobo the hippopotamus. They soon gain a few extra members for their crew in Arko and Orpa the mer-folk couple, and Sally the Sea Fairy.

Little do any of them realize that they are setting out for an adventure that will change all of them forever.

ROYAL EXPLORERS OF OZ

The Voyage of the Crescent Moon

by Marcus Mebes, Jeff Rester, and Jared Davis

Illustrations by Alejandro Garcia and John Troutman

Coming early 2012

To be followed by

Crescent Moon Over Tarara

&

The Scourge of the Crescent Moon

(And for anyone wondering, all three books have had their first drafts completed.)