THE LOST CROWN - A New Novel by Sarah Miller.

[Sarushka]

Before you had explained all the double-meaning things, I had thought it was only that. It's sort of like poetry. You must have really thought all of it out! Every single simile and metaphor. Amazing.

It's not often that I get to squeeze in a double-whammy like that one with Tatiana and Nagorny, but it sure is fun when it works out that way.

Excellent question, BTW.

[Sunny]

I was impressed by your use of metaphors, sarah, just like OlgaBernice has been; i have to admit that, as a wannabe writer, i love to use them too. I perfectly understand you when you say that they are useful to explain emotions. I've a very emotional and passionate carachter and i can say i live through my emotions; but it's hard to explain emotions&sensations using words, because in my mind they are made of images and feelings. One could use stream of counsciousness to explain it - but i'm not a Virginia Woolf or a Jame Joyce, i'm not good enough to make something likle this. I've always found metaphors the best thing to sort it out. Even if im not poetical as, i'm sure, you are, Sarah, i like using metaphors too, even speaking in everyday life. My collegues, in the shop, mock me gently about it. When i was at High School, my classmates (in Italy we don't move from a techer class to another with multiple courses: a class i made of the same people for 5 years and has its own schoolroom; teacher go to their classes, not the contrary, so you are always with the same people)had made a sort of "register" when they wrote down my metaphors - to mock me, but i liked it!
BTW, thanks for sharing this thoughts with us, Sarah.

[Alixz]

I am glad that someone finally mentioned the use of simile and metaphor.  I found it a little repetitious - no actually a lot repetitious.

I got to the point in the final chapters where I turned a page and thought, OK what will we be comparing this to now?

I think it has its uses but that it can be overused just as everything can be over used.  For me, it actually took away the inner feeling and left me with only the wait to see what was going to be used to compare something to this time  Was there anything that didn't remind one of the girls of something else?  Did they have an original thought or were they stuck in a time warp and never experienced anything as new?  Were they incapable of experiencing anything without using old learned comparisons?  Did nothing, even before their imprisonment, ever just "take their breath away"?  As in, "I have never experienced or seen anything like it in my life?"

I was wondering if it was the way that Young Adult fiction is written when it is considered to be well written.  I guess I just didn't get the - now - obvious reason for it.

[Olga Bernice]

Oh, yes, Sarushka, thanky uo very much for the wonderful answers!

Before you had explained all the double-meaning things, I had thought it was only that. It's sort of like poetry. You must have really thought all of it out! Every single simile and metaphor. Amazing.

It's not often that I get to squeeze in a double-whammy like that one with Tatiana and Nagorny, but it sure is fun when it works out that way.

Excellent question, BTW.

Oh, thaaannnks. Every so often I'll have one of them 

[TimM]

It's nice to have the author of this great book as part of our board

[Romanov_History_Buff]

I second that! another word to go with what Tim just said is "awesome" so not only is it wonderful to have Sarah here but it's also awesome... definitely awesome! 

[Olga Bernice]

It's nice to have the author of this great book as part of our board

I guess I'll have to third that! It's really fantastic to have you, Sarushka. Thanks again for all your great answers!

[TimM]

This book is a great way to introduce a friend to OTMA.

[Romanov_fan]

 Correct, Robert, re "self publish."  If I'm not mistaken, these would be the so-called "Vanity Press" publications, and quite obviously, one has to agree to a specific number of copies to be printed at the initial run, absorbing ALL the involved costs!  
  If you can't sell them, then you are stuck with boxes of copies (unless one wishes to give VERY personalized holiday presents). An expensive alternative indeed!                                                          Regards,  AP.

Also, unfortunately most libraries and book stores don't look that kindly on Vanity Press books... They are immediately suspicious of them, even if they may be good... The way they see it, the book much be a "reject" if no one else wanted to publish it but you yourself! It's unfair but that's how it is... I know that our library won't even except Vanity Press into our catalog, even when the authors offer us copies for free... I think the best way to go if you want to self publish may be ebook self publication. It's a lot cheaper from what I understand and you just get royalties as you go along... and you have the control you want, and don't need to get it into bookstores or libraries. And eventually it may be successful enough to get published for "real". I would be very careful about self publishing though...

Interesting that your library won't accept even donations of self published books, I bet libraries would around where I live, but I live in the very rural midwest..I can understand libraries/ bookstores not having self published books though.True, a lot of self published stuff needs a LOT of editing, if not more help, even in e-book form.I know rather a lot about self publishing.I have a friend who wrote a book that was autobiographical fiction of his life, and he knew it wasn't good enough or a topic of wide enough interest perhaps (it's about his interest in cemeteries/ local history) to get it published except self publishing, he just wanted it get it out there.Even then, he admitted it needed a lot of editing.I love the book, since it is by my friend, it's my favorite book, but it does need a lot of editing/ help, even for self publishing.He was going to turn it into an e-book recently, but then he realized it needed more editing than he could do for that, so he decided not to do it, last I heard at least.I think self publishing is something that's okay if you just want your work read mostly by people who know you, or you just want to get out there even if you realize it's not good enough for commercial publishing, but yeah, if you want to be a serious author, it's best to not do that.The friend I mention above, he's a photographer too, and a really good one, he's a much better photographer than he is a writer.Me and he self published two books of his photography and my poetry earlier this year, just because we wanted to get it out there, and we did it for us as much as anyone else(and for the models in the pictures), and for people who know us.That's all we wanted out of doing it, those books are fine in my opinion, his photography is great, and my writing is fine and matches the pictures.Those two books really are beautiful, but unconventional(poetry about cemeteries).Self publishing is okay if you are just doing it for yourself as a hobby like we did, but most people want more than that out of doing a book.I guess there should really be a topic on the forum about this..I'm very off topic, but just wanted to put my 2 cents in as someone who knows about self publishing..

[ImperialxTwilight]

After reading about this book for a while here, I've been watching it every so often. The first time I read about it, it was only available from one website - was it the Vanity Press site? All I can remember is that it was only available there. Now it's available on the Chapters site, which is the local bookstore here (and is owned by Indigo, so there are Chapters and Coles stores all over the country). Now that it's easy to walk into a store and buy it if I so desire, I'm actually considering it - I love novels about my favourite historical figures, OTMA being among them (if not the most favourite, since I began researching them at eleven and I'm now going on twenty-one). Just wanted to let you know, as soon as I have money that can be spared, I think I may be purchasing this book.

[Olga Bernice]

After reading about this book for a while here, I've been watching it every so often. The first time I read about it, it was only available from one website - was it the Vanity Press site? All I can remember is that it was only available there. Now it's available on the Chapters site, which is the local bookstore here (and is owned by Indigo, so there are Chapters and Coles stores all over the country). Now that it's easy to walk into a store and buy it if I so desire, I'm actually considering it - I love novels about my favourite historical figures, OTMA being among them (if not the most favourite, since I began researching them at eleven and I'm now going on twenty-one). Just wanted to let you know, as soon as I have money that can be spared, I think I may be purchasing this book.

Well, trust me, it is TOTALLY worth the money. Totally. I just got it on June 13th (and I even remember the date - hehe!), and since then I've read it 4 times. Yeah. I love it, and if you've been researching them for 10 years, you'll love it too. Rest assured.

[historyfan]

After reading about this book for a while here, I've been watching it every so often. The first time I read about it, it was only available from one website - was it the Vanity Press site? All I can remember is that it was only available there. Now it's available on the Chapters site, which is the local bookstore here (and is owned by Indigo, so there are Chapters and Coles stores all over the country). Now that it's easy to walk into a store and buy it if I so desire, I'm actually considering it - I love novels about my favourite historical figures, OTMA being among them (if not the most favourite, since I began researching them at eleven and I'm now going on twenty-one). Just wanted to let you know, as soon as I have money that can be spared, I think I may be purchasing this book.

You're in Canada?  So am I.  : )  I got my copy at Indigo. 

[Sarushka]

After reading about this book for a while here, I've been watching it every so often. The first time I read about it, it was only available from one website - was it the Vanity Press site? All I can remember is that it was only available there.

You may be thinking of this OTMA book. Unfortunately their site seems to have disappeared, so I don't know whether that book is still slated to be published.

The Lost Crown is published by Simon & Schuster, and is available at both independent and chain bookstores. It never had its own website.

[ImperialxTwilight]

After reading about this book for a while here, I've been watching it every so often. The first time I read about it, it was only available from one website - was it the Vanity Press site? All I can remember is that it was only available there.

You may be thinking of this OTMA book. Unfortunately their site seems to have disappeared, so I don't know whether that book is still slated to be published.

The Lost Crown is published by Simon & Schuster, and is available at both independent and chain bookstores. It never had its own website.

It never had it's own website? Are you certain? Because I saw a website about this book before - I definitely wasn't thinking of that other book, it was the cover and the title to your book. I was thinking Vanity Press because I saw someone mention that in this thread, I guess I don't skim things very well, but I know for certain that the one I had looked at before was yours. I'm not sure if the site was selling it, or if perhaps you have a site where the book was mentioned? I just know that when I first saw the book on the other site, I had checked Chapters and Amazon and it wasn't there, and when I checked more recently on both, it was.

[Sunny]

You may be thinking of this OTMA book. Unfortunately their site seems to have disappeared, so I don't know whether that book is still slated to be published.

I was wondering the same about this book and thought the same: maybe it won't be published in Sept. I'm glad to know someone else noticed it.