As a kid growing up, I was always drawn to the stories that pulled the main character away from home, and the battle was finding a way back home. Stories like Quantum Leap, where Sam is leaping between places and times, hoping for a leap home. Sliders was about 4 (give or take) adventurers sliding between different Earth dimensions, hoping to leap home on the next slide. The Dungeons and Dragons animated series was a group of kids pulled into another realm and doing adventures to try and get home.
Which leads me to the big 2 – The Chronicles of Narnia and The Wizard of Oz.
I will say that every time I am in a thrift store, and I see an old wardrobe, I will open it and check the back to make sure I can’t get into Narnia through it. On a side note, whenever I see a lamp I always rub it as well… But back to this story – Those two series have always sparked a huge curiosity within myself. I have read all of the Narnia books multiple times and have seen the animated and BBC (1980’s) series as well as the bigger budget Hollywood movies.
Read more: The Emerald Signal of OzI am lucky to live within an hour’s drive of Chittenango, NY, which is the birthplace of L. Frank Baum. There is an amazing Oz museum in Chittenango that gives amazing tours. I did one of these tours a couple of years ago, and one thing that stood out was that L. Frank Baum wanted the legacy of The Wizard of Oz to live on, and he (and his family) encouraged people to continue writing stories based in the world of Oz.
So that brings us to today. I wanted a chance to take my enjoyment of the series, doubled with my love of technology, and make my own Oz story. I started this around a year ago and invested a bunch of time into it, and then life got in the way, and I pushed it off to the side. But with the Wicked movies plastered all over the stores and TV, I thought that I should get back to it. Plus, I have a bunch of spare time on my hands, so I decided to be productive with it.
So without further ado, I bring you my Oz creation: The Emerald Signal of Oz.
This is a classic adventure of a couple that are pulled into Oz, to fix the world in only a way that the 2 of them can fix it.
The book is available on Kindle and Paperback exclusively with Amazon for the first 3 months, amd then I intend to branch out. I would love to get some out at the All Things Oz museum in Chittenango, NY as well.
So, for less than $10, I would encourage you to grab a copy and get lost in one of those stories where you can find out if the heroes make it home, or not!
Full Description from Amazon:
The Emerald Signal of Oz is a mythic, atmospheric reimagining of Oz—one where memory is a map, technology hums with intention, and the boundary between worlds thins with every pulse of static. In the quiet lakeside town of Maple Hollow, strange glitches ripple through hallways, murals, and dreams. Eli Granger, a reserved tech specialist who sees patterns where others see coincidence, begins noticing signals buried in the school’s nervous system—fractals, spirals, and a pulse that feels almost alive. When the anomalies spread into students’ dreams and the air itself seems to listen, Eli realizes the world is shifting around him.
Mara, a counselor with a gift for sensing emotional resonance, becomes Eli’s anchor as the two uncover a hidden thread connecting their pasts. Their memories echo with shared moments they never lived, and dreams that feel like warnings. When an impossible balloon appears in the forest—alive, waiting—they cross into Oz_Alpha, a breathtaking but fractured world built from memory, circuitry, and myth.
Guided by TKTK‑7, a damaged Archivist who remembers more than he should, Eli and Mara navigate forests that rearrange themselves, cities that loop their fears, and Nodes haunted by corrupted echoes of themselves. At the center of the unraveling lies the Witch of Unmaking, a being woven from static and forgotten stories, determined to overwrite both worlds.
To save Maple Hollow—and Oz itself—Eli must become the Weaver, Mara the Bloom, and together they must restore the Emerald Thread before the Witch crosses fully into their reality. But every step forward demands a memory, a truth, or a piece of themselves.
The Emerald Signal of Oz is a cinematic blend of wonder and dread, where nostalgia becomes prophecy, and every heartbeat is a choice between remembering and being rewritten.
