I’m very excited to be here at Fresh Fiction. I have been a part of the FF community for a long time. Probably since my first Harlequin Nocturne was published way back in 2006, under my penname Vivi Anna. I’ve been away for a while, so it’s nice to be back and share the things that influenced me to write LIONS AND TIGERS AND BOYS. The Wizard of Oz: Which I imagine you gathered from the title alone. My book isn’t a retelling, but more of an alternate reality Wizard of Oz, with some elements in place and others absent. I liked the premise of an all-powerful Wizard, but wanted to play on how he traveled to Oz and why. Throughout the book, you’ll see sprinkles and tidbits from the original tale, like flying monkeys and magic and red ruby slippers, but others I made my own, like a shapeshifting lion and tiger, and a girl named Dani Gale. Harry Potter: One of the greatest series of books written, it’s hard not to draw from its brilliance, especially when you have a school populated with gifted students. In my case that school is the Oswald Zinzendorf School of Circus Arts,…