The Return of King Lillian

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Pub Date 09 Jul 2019 | Archive Date 31 Oct 2019

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Description

Fans of such novels as The Once and Future King, Gulliver’s Travels, The Princess Bride, Stardust, The Last Unicorn, and The Alchemist will be captivated by The Return of King Lillian, a new hero’s journey for dreamers of all ages. This offbeat debut novel, written and narrated by multi-media artist Suzie Plakson, is an allegorical saga rich with vivid world-building, comedy, calamity, and unforgettable characters.

When Lillian, the one and only heir to the throne, is cast out of her kingdom by malevolent forces, she accidentally wanders into the Forest of Forgetfullness, where she is rescued by wolves and raised by an eccentric old wise woman. When Lillian comes of age, she is called by Destiny to return Home. The trouble is, when she steps out of the Forest, she has no memory of who she is or from whence she hails. Undaunted, the spirited, self-reliant young woman sets off into the unknown, determined to rediscover her long lost self and to reclaim her stolen birthright. Most of the tale is told by Lillian herself, as she chronicles her extraordinary adventures.

Fans of such novels as The Once and Future King, Gulliver’s Travels, The Princess Bride, Stardust, The Last Unicorn, and The Alchemist will be captivated by The Return of King Lillian, a new hero’s...


A Note From the Publisher

Requests from Librarians, Booksellers, and Educators will be automatically approved.

Please Note: This title is also available as an audiobook read by the author (ISBN 978-0-9884993-8-6), and as an e-book (ISBN 978-0-9884993-3-1)

Requests from Librarians, Booksellers, and Educators will be automatically approved.

Please Note: This title is also available as an audiobook read by the author (ISBN 978-0-9884993-8-6), and as...


Advance Praise

2019 Independent Authors Book of the Year Award Winner

2019 Readers' Favorite Award Winner

2019 Pinnacle Book Achievement Award Winner

"The Return of King Lillian is a basket of magic. Echoing Joseph Campbell's feeling that the world needs new storytellers and new myths to help us greet the coming age, I'll say that Suzie Plakson is one of those storytellers, and King Lillian is one of those myths."

—Jacob Nordby, author, Blessed Are the Weird: A Manifesto for Creatives


"To say that King Lillian thoroughly enchanted me and left me spellbound would be the understatement of the century. I’ve listened to hundreds of audiobooks, and King Lillian is my favorite of all. Suzie Plakson’s voice is velvet mixed with grit mixed with enchantment. It takes you into another realm—into the mystic.”

—Kelly Sullivan Walden,  author, It’s All In Your Dreams


"King Lillian is entrancing, audacious, and addictive in the very best way. A splendidly creative allegory told by Suzie Plakson with flair, wit, and passion."

—Marianne de Pierres, author, Parrish Plessis and The Peacemaker series

2019 Independent Authors Book of the Year Award Winner

2019 Readers' Favorite Award Winner

2019 Pinnacle Book Achievement Award Winner

"The Return of King Lillian is a basket of magic. Echoing Joseph...


Marketing Plan

Publicity contact: James Conklin, Pilmsthistle & Co.
admin@kinglillian.com

--Targeted outreach for review and feature attention in print, radio, and online media

--Extensive publicity campaign for author appearances on podcasts

--Author events at bookstores on the West Coast and in other major markets

--Social media promotion

--Targeted advertising campaign

--Reading Group Guide available

--Librarian outreach

Publicity contact: James Conklin, Pilmsthistle & Co.
admin@kinglillian.com

--Targeted outreach for review and feature attention in print, radio, and online media

--Extensive publicity campaign for...


Available Editions

EDITION Paperback
ISBN 9780988499317
PRICE $18.99 (USD)

Average rating from 46 members


Featured Reviews

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with this book, in exchange for my honest opinion.

Simply put, this book was marvelous. I loved every single word. It is told in Lillian’s own words, written in her Book (I capitalize it because she did in the story). It’s the hero’s journey, of course, but told in a new and original way.

Having grown up in the Forest of Forgetfulness, Lillian naturally remembers nothing about who she really is or where she came from. One day Destiny calls and Lillian answers, traveling into the wide Whirld to find answers. But Destiny is a funny thing, and she finds much, much more than she expected.

Lillian is the best protagonist I’ve read in a very long time. She’s spunky and has a habit of speaking her mind- whether she should or not. I love that sometimes it gets her in trouble, but in other times it’s just what’s needed. The language used in her narration is absolutely charming and natural-feeling.


Another wonderful thing about this book are the life lessons Lillian (and the reader) learn along the way. They’re beautifully disguised as different adventures, and not as heavy-handed as lessons are in a book like Little Women. For example, there’s the Narcissus, the vicious creature that attempts to defeat Lillian by telling her all her “many faults”. The way Lillian wins this encounter is nothing short of brilliant- and a perfect, subtle lesson about appearances and self-esteem.

This book is at once sweet, funny, and empowering, and I couldn’t put it down. It’s perfect for older kids navigating that hard time between childhood and everything else, fantasy lovers, or anyone who just wants a good book. I highly recommend this one.

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An excellent selection for lovers of Narnia and Hogwarts. Also those who love allegorical works such as those of Yann Martel and Paulo Coelho will find something beautiful and touching in King Lilian’s story. Good for young adult readers and those who are young at heart.

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E-ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review

I LOVED this book so much! It's magical and moving and OMG! SO GOOD!
The cover designed is what at first caught my eyes and I was hoping that the content was as good if not even better.
It did not disappoint at all! 5 stars read.

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Have you ever wondered what happened after the child declared that the Emperor wore no clothes when no one else dared? Who was this brave child, and what happened to the Emperor and his Kingdom? King Lillian answers all those questions and more. A multi-layered fairy tale with a depth that can easily be overlooked; it reminds me of other classics such as The Little Prince that are similar in style and tone as well as providing lessons to learn and discuss.

What I liked:

The tone and style of writing -- diary style that was part prose and part poetry. It took some getting used to, but by the end, I appreciated that an aspiring poet would write this way in their journal - trying out some poetic verses and then going back to the more comfortable prose.

King Lillian comes with a big message; the message of doing what’s right rather than what’s easy. Lillian travels the whirld (world) and is faced time after time with hard decisions. Just as with her decision to tell the King he wasn’t wearing any clothes, she always picks the less popular path of doing and saying the right thing. In a society that likes to shame people into following their world view, this is a critical lesson and one that should be discussed with kids today.

In typical fairy tale fashion, the story left you with the hope that things will be different. As the reader gets closer to the end, it isn’t certain that it will end with hope for a better tomorrow, but ultimately, King Lillian delivers. As the title suggests, Lillian is no ordinary ruler in a less than ordinary land. The fact that she takes in the title “king” rather than the traditional title feminized, piques interest and stimulates the imagination.

What I Wish:

I wish I had been better prepared when I began the book for the journey I was about to embark. There is so much to savor and enjoy about this novel, and I feel like I did not get the full appreciation as I struggled to figure out how to label this book - what category to place it. The fact that the title is King Lillian should have told me to sit back and enjoy the ride as this was not a book that was going to fit into any preconceived category.

I also wish that parents will read this to younger kids and have discussions about Lillian’s choices. This story is a perfect read-aloud book with important lessons to learn - lessons that should start earlier than the books intended audience.

To Read or Not to Read:

This book is worth reading for all - adults and young adults - and I would recommend it to parents as a read-aloud book for younger children along with discussion. It’s a classic fairy tale for the modern age and should not be overlooked! Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

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I have spent a great deal of time trying to figure out how to describe this book and this is what I have come up with: "The Return of King Lillian" is as if Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland" careened into AA Milne's "Winnie the Pooh," Stephen Leacock's "Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town," and John Locke's "An Essay Concerning Human Understanding."

The premise of "The Return of King Lillian," is that Lillian must find her way home-- but she does not know what or where home is. The book is comprised primarily of journal entries but also has some spectacular verse. The story follows Lillian and all the people she meets and is both incredibly charming as well as insightful (Lillian is horrified when Hank the horse tells her that he is a slave-- she staunchly believes no one should own another living creature).

The only potential downside of this book is that it is not one to be read all in one sitting. The language of the book is so fantastical (in the best sense) that it can only be truly appreciated if it is read in bits and pieces. This is not the sort of book you read in its entirety in a few consecutive hours. I made the mistake of reading this in a Starbucks and had to be very careful to try to hold in my laughter.

This is an incredibly fun read that I highly recommend even if you do not enjoy stories like "Alice in Wonderland" (I could not finish Alice but am so enthralled by this!)

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This is probably one of my favorite retellings ever now. I do have a soft spot for retellings in general but Plakson just knocks it out of the park for creativity. Lillian is such a bright, enigmatic, and innocent character with a heart so full and pure that I cheered her on from page one. This has a bit of a 'Princess Bride' meets 'Wizard of Oz'/'Alice in Wonderland' feel. It's whimsical in all the best ways and though beautiful and lush with some darker moments it can fit a wide range of ages as far as reader audience goes.

Honestly, this was an incredible read.

Lillian writes in her book, and to her book, so as you read it's as if she's reading to you. She writes as she speaks so that makes from some creative spelling and word choice and it's a lot of fun in that way. Also, this has a feel of the old fantasies and tales, there's a character going on a long quest with a bunch of adventures along the way and a great slew of companions and character interactions.I'll expand on this more when I write up a review on my blog but needless to say I completely love this book.

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This is one of the most uniquely written stories I have ever read. Lillian is a superb character and I cannot get enough of her. The way she sees the world, the way she talks, everything about her is utterly captivating. This story is full of whimsy and is wonderfully insightful while also being hauntingly tragic at other times. Every adventure that Lillian undertook proved that the Journey is truly more important than the destination. The way This story was written from Lillian's point of view as She writes the events in Book, her journal is very well done. This enchanting story will sit with me for a long long time to come and I am grateful to have experienced Lillian's delightful story.

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