Tag: canadian author

Charting Stars Has a BRAND NEW Cover! (and an old GIVEAWAY)

Published on by Hannah GreentreeLeave a comment

Welcome to the Nine Realms!

We are delighted to announce that Charting Stars has been re-released!! Not only is there a brand new cover, but the story itself has been lightly revised (don’t fret if you loved the first edition – it just has an added chapter and been slightly tweaked).

To answer the big question? Why did we do this?

We won’t sugarcoat things. Charting Stars has had a pretty rough time. For those who may not know, it began as a graphic novel… but those are extremely labor-intensive to create and with her chronic illness, Micheline couldn’t continue with the illustrations required.

There were also some other challenges behind the scenes so, Charting Stars became a regular novel. Unfortunately, its worldwide debut in the midst of The Maiden Ship trilogy didn’t get it the undivided attention we feel it deserves.

So what to do? Well, at Whimsical, we don’t quit. We may postpone and reschedule and delay because life happens. But Micheline was determined for her feel-good fantasy story to have every opportunity to reach the right readers. And we hope that means you!

Charting Stars is available from our website in paperback, hardcover, or the exclusive dust jacketed edition! The dust jacket edition includes an exclusive design on the hardcase, interior illustrations, and a bonus chapter!

If you prefer eBook, you may also order the Kindle format from Amazon.

PLUS! The first 50 orders from the shop will receive the goodies pictured below (two art postcards and one double-sided bookmark) free with their order!

This is NOT a preorder! We have these books in hand ready to ship to you as soon as you order!

To celebrate this re-launch, we’re giving away a copy of the discontinued graphic novel that started it all, along with a stack of Charting Stars postcards! To enter, click HERE!

Some reminders before you go…

Jane Austen fans! The next installment of our collection is Sense and Sensibility! Preorders will begin in mid-June, so keep your eyes open for that announcement on our Instagram and in a newsletter!

We Will Be Heroes (Book 2 in the We Could Be Villains series) is still available for preorder but the preorder incentives are running low! So if you were waiting to grab your copy, don’t wait much longer!

Thank you, our readers, for always being amazing!

XOXO,
Micheline

Charting Stars COVER REVEAL!!!

Published on by Hannah GreentreeLeave a comment

Charting Stars is the first book in a spirited, heartfelt young adult fantasy series by Micheline Ryckman that will appeal to the minds of those who’ve always felt, well, ordinary. Talia’s adventures prove that even an average everyday girl can have skills enough to be a hero. And she’s joined on her journey by a lovable cast of characters—some human, some furry, some covered in ivy vines—who will steal your heart away. Book releases May 21, 2021.

Talia Benson would consider herself fairly ordinary. Anyone would. Diligent student, only child to a single mother, protector of three cats—nothing crazy has ever happened to her. And Talia wants it to stay that way: stable. Her knack for making friends, along with her obsession with the stars and her love for skirt pockets, coffee, and art, is more than enough to keep Talia happy for the rest of her days—that is, until a single evening in front of a blank canvas becomes the adventure she never dreamed she wanted.

Now, Talia finds herself lost in a world completely unlike her own, a land where monsters roam and magic thrives, where wars are born then die at the wave of a hand, and where strange entities decide the fate of those who live among the Nine Realms. The guardians of these foreign lands have seen a great shift in the heavens. Something has changed, a prophecy has been spoken—a darkness is coming. But maybe, just maybe, an ordinary girl thrown between worlds could be the key to saving it all.

This book is now available for preorder via Whimsicalpublishing.ca or Amazon.com.

The Lion of the Sea COVER REVEAL!

Published on by Hannah GreentreeLeave a comment

“Perhaps the present, no matter how messy, is the perfect time to live.”

Family is not always blood, and home is where the heart is. It took Dain Alloway years to understand these foundational truths. Now the captain of The Maiden, surrounded by the found family he loves, Dain sets out to end a centuries-old genocide and prevent an oncoming war. But when the girl he loves is torn from his arms, Dain might be forced to choose between saving just her, or saving them all.

Can we all just bow to the greatness that is @gabriella.bujdoso please?!?! 😱  I’m just unbelievably grateful for her talent on this cover art! 😭👌🏻

I cannot wait for you all to read the second book in my The Maiden Ship trilogy! 🙌🙈🙌 Release date for The Lion of the Sea is February 7, 2021! You can PREORDER the paperback through my website/shop , the ebook on Amazon, or the exclusive hardcover edition through Faecrate.  (Preorder incentives pictured here are only available with the paperback through our Whimsical shop and are not included with Amazon or Faecrate orders.)

Vision vs Execution

Published on by Hannah GreentreeLeave a comment

“After a few months of practice, David lamented to his teacher, “But I can hear the music so much better in my head than I can get it out of my fingers.”

To which the Master replied, “What makes you think that ever changes?” “ ~ Art & Fear by David Bayles & Ted Orland

Yesterday I posted a portrait of my character, Sable, on IG and I hated it. I tried hard to convince myself to like it, but I couldn’t do it. She just did not look the same way she did in my head. It maddened me. I deleted it. And then today I started all over again. The portrait you see here is my fourth attempt at Sable. That’s right, yesterday was my third. She has been down right obstinate, and nearly impossible to capture.

If you are a creator, then I bet you too have faced this kind of frustration. Our vision rarely fits our execution. It’s like the image in our mind’s eye gets twisted, mucked up, and lost in translation. On rare occasions it manages to work out, but for the most part it’s much like Picasso said, “I begin with an idea, and then it becomes something else.”

Now, we can do one of three things with this experience; we can simply give up, we can try again (and again, and again in my case), or we can just accept what Picasso calls “something else” and move onto the next creation. Nowadays, option two and three is where I usually land, but in the past I have given up. I don’t recommend it. It’s important to realize that our vision (the picture in our head) is, as the Master said to his student above, always going to exceed our abilities. And, in the end, this is NOT a bad thing. Without this vision we would never improve. The vision pushes us beyond ourselves. It asks greater things of us each time we create. While we strive to reach it, we grow. And growth is good.

Am I completely satisfied with how Sable came out today? That’s a good question. Maybe… She’s a bit better, I think… Either way, she’s taught me a lot. 😉

Sable is an original character from my up coming novel, The Maiden Ship.