BONUS CONTENT: Hazel Gaynor on Writing Facts, Fiction, and Oz

The bestselling author on her new novel, "Before Dorothy," and her recommendations of things to watch, read, listen to, and do.

Hazel Gaynor, photo by Fran Veale

I had such a wonderful time chatting with Hazel Gaynor about her new novel, Before Dorothy. It blew my mind that she read L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, realized Emily (aka Auntie Em) only had a few mentions, and conjured up an entire book about Em’s past—sprinkling factual information about events from the 1920s and ’30s throughout. It’s a wonderful, beautifully written book, and I highly recommend reading it.

Because we covered so much in our interview, there were a few questions that didn’t make it into the final piece. I’m sharing the outtakes here, along with Hazel’s recommendations of things to watch, read, listen to, and do!

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Interview Extras

On the process of weaving facts, fiction, and bits of Baum’s Oz together to make an entirely new novel…

“This comes from a place of real love and nostalgia for me. This story has been in me since I was a little girl—it was a Christmas Day TV staple growing up in England—and I think once you have that core love of something, it’s just in you. I would write something like, ‘She clicked her heels’ or ‘Auntie Em gives Dorothy a stuffed toy lion.’ Another gift being an hourglass, a little nod to the hourglass in the witch’s castle.