by Roderick T. Long
[1972, age 8, San Diego]
[This 186-page (though it works out to just 25 typed pages), four-“book” series (profusely illustrated in crayon – I may scan and post the pics at some point) was the biggest creative project I’d yet attempted at that time. The chief inspiration was L. Frank Baum’s Oz books, though Narnia, Middle Earth, Wonderland, and Puddleby-on-the-Marsh probably played a part too, and at one point there’s clear evidence of influence from Dunsany’s Charwoman’s Shadow as well. There are also references to the play-mythology that I developed with my friends Brian Eichenlaub and Jamie Lau (“Kwox”) as part of the “Magic Trio.” For many years I thought these stories were lost, until they happily surfaced in a misleadingly labeled old trunk of mine on 11 August 2010.]
1. The Sword of Oscarville2. The Birds of Oscarville
3. The Rubber Tiger of Oscarville
4. Tales From Oscarville
