Category: News

Check out what’s up with Whimsical!

Good, better, and something only a little sad.

Published on by Micheline RyckmanLeave a comment

What’s been going on with me at Whimsical:
Writing

Lots of projects are in the works. I’m still plucking away at Toff’s TMS spin-off, Charting Stars 2, and the Sleeping Beauty retelling I’m co-authoring with my lovely friend Bryn Shutt. I love writing, but at the same time, sometimes I wish I could just snap my fingers and have a complete storyin your hand now! Just know there are a lot of fun things in progess.

Illustrating

I’m still dealing with a relapse of my arm injury, so illustrating isn’t happening as much as I’d like right now. I do have some commissions from a while back that I’m able to share now so be on the lookout for those on social media. And attached here is a little sneaky peek, one you won’t see on social media, it’s a detail of a work-in-progress fan art that I was painting of Harper and Rhen from Brigid Kemmerer’s ACSDAL before my arm relapsed. I look forward to finishing it once I’m finally better!

Publishing

Just a few more days until the release of WE COULD BE VILLAINS! I’m so excited for this book to be out in the world. It’s such a fun adventure. In addition to that, we’re also hard at work behind the scenes with Hayley Reese Chow’s Sci-fi action romance that I’m just bursting to share more details about soon!

This is a small up close detail of a fan art that I can’t wait to finish once I’m healed again of Brigid Kemmerer’s Rhen and Harper from ACSDAL. Hope you find this sneak peek fun!

 

WE COULD BE VILLAINS
kindle sale!

We Could Be Villains by Megan McCullough in ONE WEEK! Are you as excited as I am?! To celebrate, the Kindle version is on sale for only 99 cents on Amazon! But hurry, this deal is only valid until the book releases on October 3rd.

And don’t forget you can still pre-order a paperback copy from my website, which is the only way to get the pre-order goodies, including a signed bookplate designed by Megan herself!

We Could Be Villains
Read-a-Long

To celebrate the launch of Megan’s WCBV, @literaryfaery will be hosting a read-a-long on Instagram beginning on October 7th. Be sure to watch her Instagram for details coming very soon. There will be weekly check-ins and there might even be prizes involved. 😉

I will be going LIVE with Megan Mccullough on Instagram on October 1, 2022 at 5pm PST. We’ll be chatting about writing, publishing, and all things
We Could be Villains!
I hope you’ll join us!

Discontinuing merch is still on sale!

As a reminder, I’m no longer going to be stocking headbands, totes, or mugs in the shop, so whatever’s still there is all there is! If you’ve been eying something, you better hurry over and grab it now!

Stock of these items is ALMOST GONE. At the time of this newsletter, there are only (3) Maiden Ship Compass tote bags, (3) Scarlett headbands, (5) Maiden Ship compass headbands, and (2) Charting Stars mugs!

These products are 50% OFF the lowest listed price. Use code CLEAROUT at checkout.

Charting Stars Rebrand will be delayed

This is the “little sad” part. We’re still planning to re-launch Charting Stars with an exciting new cover, but plans have been slightly altered and it’s a better fit to re-release it later. We will keep the Street Team sign-ups open, however, so if it’s something you are interested in, please complete this Google Forms questionnaire. All street team members will receive a Kindle edition of the book for free!

BIG NEWS & BIG SAVINGS!

Published on by Micheline RyckmanLeave a comment

On a daily basis, I receive messages about shipping costs, and it’s always been disheartening to know there are those who would buy from the shop if shipping costs were more affordable. Living in such a rural area of Canada, my shipping options are severely limited and I offer everything I can, but the costs to send my products to the US and international customers are extremely expensive. Until now, there hasn’t been anything within my control that I could do about shipping.

But now….

I am now able to offer significantly reduced shipping costs (with tracking!) for all international customers, US included! 

Not long ago, I introduced you to my assistant Christina. I’m delighted to announce that she will be my distributor for ALL international orders!

What does this mean? It means your orders will get to you faster AND will be much more affordable! If you have questions, please check the FAQs below, and if your question isn’t answered, please reply to this email! I hope you’re all as excited by this as we are!

Frequently Asked Questions
How much is it?
Pricing will still vary depending on what products you order and where they will be shipped, but I can guarantee shipping is now significantly less expensive for any customer outside Canada!
Remember that even though we have new shipping rates for international and US customers, ALL shipping costs are displayed in CAD, not USD, but because the CAD is much lower than US and euro, you will see savings when the exchange is process via Paypal.

Does this include tracking?
Yes! All international (including US) orders will include tracking now. The only untracked shipping option will be for orders within Canada.

US has media mail shipping – what’s that?
Media mail is a specialty shipping rate exclusively for things like books, DVDs, newsprint, etc. It is drastically discounted from regular mail costs, but it can ONLY be used for books! If you’re ordering other items in addition to the books, it’s more cost-effective for you to order the book(s) with media mail and order the other items using first-class shipping. You’re also welcome to order everything together – just select Priority Mail at checkout.

What about the pretty tissue paper and other personal touches?
Not to worry! Even though I now have a distributor, it’s not a warehouse. Christina will be packing all US & international orders with care. Books will still be wrapped, signed bookplates will still be included, and all the extras you’ve come to expect from my shop.

August Wrap Up!

Published on by Micheline RyckmanLeave a comment

(Read on for details about our 50% closeout merch sale!)

What’s been going on at Whimsical with Micheline Ryckman? Well…

Writing

I’m still working on the Maiden Ship spinoff featuring Old Toff when he wasn’t so old! Also announced this month – I have a super secret project I’ve been working on with fellow author and friend Bryn Shutt! There’s not much I can share just yet, but I can tell you it’s a Sleeping Beauty retelling and we’ve teased some art of two characters on Instagram so far. Go check them out here and here.

Illustrating

I haven’t been able to do a lot of illustrating lately but that’s just par for the course when you live with chronic illness. Some days/weeks/months are better than others. I’m hopeful my arms will begin to feel better soon and I can get back to creating lots of fun character art for you all!

Publishing

We’re hard at work editing the upcoming book from our third author, Hayley Reese Chow. Still no details that can be revealed yet, only if you love sci-fi, keep your eyes peeled for updates because this is a book you will not want to miss! We Could be Villains by Megan McCullough is releasing in a little over a month, so don’t delay if you plan to preorder! It will be here before we know it!

Have you joined our Facebook group?

Are you in the FB group yet? If you’re not, you’re missing out on some fun things! This past month, we gave away ten sets of seconds/oopsies postcards. There will definitely be more in the future, so hurry on over and join us! We’ll also offer exclusive first looks and sneak peeks there that won’t be seen anywhere else.

JOIN HERE!

Reminder: WE COULD BE VILLAINS

We Could Be Villains by Megan McCullough releases in just 5 short weeks!! I can’t believe how quickly time has flown since we announced this fun superhero story back in the spring, but suddenly it’s almost here. If you haven’t preordered yet, time is running out!

Currently, only Kindle (e-book) format is available from Amazon, but after release day (Oct 3rd) you’ll be able to buy it in hardcover and paperback wordlwide. If you order from our shop website, the only option is paperback, BUT only orders from the shop include all the fun bonus items seen below, including a signed bookplate designed by Megan! Remember the shop prices are shown in CAD, not USD, and be sure to use a rep code to save yourself a little bit more! A link to all the current reps can be found a little further down in this newsletter.

Current W.I.P.
Anyone recognize these characters? This is my current Work In Progress, it’s a bit delayed because of my arm/health issues at the moment, but as soon as I am better again I’ll be finishing it!

Welcome, Fall Reps!
We just announced our 2022 Fall Rep team so go check out the new additions on Instagram and give them a warm whimsical welcome! Keep an eye out for their rep codes too!

Miscellaneous Merch Closeout!

There is a VERY limited stock left of the four products shown in the photos below. Since Whimsical Publishing is growing, we need to clear out this stock to make room for new, exciting products from our authors.

As an impromptu Labor Day weekend sale, these products are 50% OFF the lowest listed price. These will NOT be restocked once they’re gone, so if you’ve had your eye on something, get it quickly! Each item has less than 10 left in stock.

Use code CLEAROUT at checkout.

Hoping your Wednesday is full of goodness all!!!

July Wrap UP!

Published on by Micheline RyckmanLeave a comment

What’s been going on at Whimsical:
Writing

If you follow me on social media, you may have seen my teasers about my current work in progress – a spin-off story about Toff Parley from The Maiden Ship trilogy. This story will focus on all the wild adventures Toff had in his younger years!

Illustrating

With my backlog of commissions being finished, I’ve been able to make some progress on more fun pieces! I recently shared a piece from Curious Beginnings by Deanna Raybourn, a book recommended to me by my dear friend Caryn. 

Publishing

Whimsical Publishing has signed its third author! We are delighted to welcome Hayley Reese Chow to our family of indie authors! I can’t give many details about her book just yet, but I can tell you it’s SUCH a fun engaging read. It’s a story that I think will appeal to fans of The Hunger Games and The Scorpio Races. Hayley’s Instagram is a great place to check out what she’s up to and what she has published before!

New Author!

Join me in welcoming our newest author:
Hayley Reese Chow!
We are so, so, so excited to welcome Hayley into our Whimsical family. I’m absolutely bursting at the seams because I want to share more about her book, but all in good time! Until then, check out Hayley at the link below to learn more about her and give her a warm Whimsie welcome!

 

New Admin Assistant!
I’m delighted to introduce you to my new admin assistant, Christina! She helps keep my business organized and has been a tremendous help with a lot of behind-the-scenes work. You may get a reply from her if you email us, so I wanted to make sure you had a face to put with a name! The adorable dog next to her is an illustration I did of her furbaby, Goose.

Have you joined our Facebook group yet?

That’s right! We now have an exclusive Facebook group just for my Whimsies!
As a Facebook Whimsie, you’ll occasionally get exclusive early sneak peeks at works in progress, new art, or snippets from upcoming books.
We will occasionally host giveaways and offer exclusive discount codes for group members, so click HERE to join now!

Remember this WIP from last month?? Well, for those who guessed Percy and Annabeth from the Percy Jackson novels, you were right! I can’t sell this design, but for a limited time, it will be included as a FREE postcard with all orders $10 and over. There are a limited number available, so hurry hurry! SHOP HERE!

Also, if ya missed it on socials, there is new artwork up in the shop!
This Veronica Speedwell fanart and this Legend depiction from Caraval are now available!

Low Stock Alert!
Unplugged Book Box has a very limited supply left of the exclusive edition of A Daughter of the Trolls by McKenzie Catron. These won’t last long so if you haven’t gotten yours yet, hurry over and grab one HERE!

HAPPENING NOW!

Whimsical Summer Sale!
USE the coupon code: ‘summer’ in our shop at checkout for 20% off!

Charting Stars is getting a re-brand!

Charting Stars, book one of the Nine Realms Tales, is being re-released this autumn! We are looking for active, enthusiastic people to join our Street Team to help promote the book’s re-release and hype it up as much as possible! If you’re interested, please complete this Google Forms questionnaire.

If you haven’t read it yet, now is the perfect opportunity! All street team members will receive a Kindle edition of the book for free!

Seen above is the old cover of Charting Stars. This cover will only be available until the end of October, so if you don’t have this one and you want it, act now because soon it will be gone forever!