Oz was one of the most formidable formative forces (ahh, alliteration!) in my own childhood, right up there with Doc Smith in somewhat later years. The thought of doing this felt ... almost like sacrilege in a way. However, the story didn't give me any choice in the matter. If I didn't write a chapter or two of Polychrome, I couldn't write anything else. I know, I tried. It would sit there and take over my brain.