Tag: whimsical illustration

Touching Base for the New Year!

Published on by Micheline RyckmanLeave a comment

I can’t even believe it’s already 2023! For this first post of the new year, I wanted to highlight some of the exciting things that will be coming to Whimsical this year.

If all goes according to plan, Whimsical Publishing will release, at minimum, two new books! Hayley Reese Chow’s is the first, it’s an action packed, sci-fi romance INTO THE CHURN will be releasing on April 4th (preorders are open now – also be sure to check out the endorsement reviews I’ve attached at the bottom of this post!)

One exciting new feature that Whimsical’s editions of INTO THE CHURN will have is a jacketed hardcover option! This will have an EXCLUSIVE design on the hard case. You won’t be able to get this edition anywhere else but on Whimsical! Plus, remember every pre-order from my shop (hardcover or paperback) will include the pre-order incentives that you also won’t get anywhere else!

The second book we’re launching this year will be the much-anticipated sequel to A Daughter of the Trolls by McKenzie Catron! We’re hoping for a late fall / early winter release… with plenty of excitement leading up to it. Title and Cover reveal to come soon, along with ARCs and a preorder campaign. Be sure to check to watch my social media for updates!

Whimsical is also hoping to have the Sleeping Beauty retelling that I’m co-authoring with Bryn Shutt released in 2023, but Bryn and I are both slow writers, mostly because we want to give you all a story worth waiting for!

There are also some exciting things for 2023 that I can’t share just yet, but the year ahead is full and I’m so so excited and blessed to have these opportunities. I’m looking forward to each and every one!

We still have some leftover fine art prints from the old manufacturer! These are 50% off (price already reduced and cannot be combined with any discount code). These are limited and many have only 1 or 2 left in stock.

The artwork itself is not being discontinued, so don’t panic! We’re just clearing out the old paper style since we have a new manufacturer in the US for fine art prints.

We are also now offering slightly imperfect books for sale at a discount in the shop! These are perfectly readable copies that might have incorrect finishes or minor dings/scratches on the cover or spine.

Commission and Endorsement Requests

When I receive requests for commissions or endorsement reviews, often I’m not able to accept for a variety of reasons… but one of those is sometimes that I just don’t have enough information to provide an informed answer. To help with that, I’ve created a few request forms for interested parties to fill out.

Please note that completing a form does not guarantee I will accept your request. This is purely for me to prioritize requests that I feel confident and inspired to complete.

For commission requests, please use THIS LINK. This will allow me to review your request and determine if I am able to take on a commission depending on your specific needs.

If you are requesting an endorsement review from any of the Whimsical Publishing authors, fill out the form at THIS LINK. This does not guarantee a review.

Did you know Whimsical has a growing database of human artists? To help combat the rise of AI art, we’ve created a database of human artists, which is accessible via my website.

Due to my unpredictable health and busy schedule, I’m not always able to accept commission requests. This database also serves as a great place to find alternate artists if I am unable to fulfill your needs for a commission. Or if you’re not looking to commission custom artwork, these talented people also have portfolios and shops for you to browse! Take a look!

Click HERE to view the list, or fill out the form to join if you’re an artist.

If you’re an indie author, we’re also creating a database for you to join as well! AI presents a problem for everyone in the arts, not just artists. Please consider joining our network of indie authors by clicking HERE and completing the form!

Are you a reader looking for your next great read? Check out the list of amazing indie authors. I’m sure you’ll find something to spark your interest!

Are you an author seeking publication from Whimsical Publishing?

View our current submission criteria and submit your manuscript HERE!

BEFORE YOU GO!!!
The reviews are coming in for ITC and I wanted to share these two with you today!

 

“Hayley Reese Chow’s Into the Churn is a romantic Science Fiction thrill ride with brains and heart. Ezren and Foster have chemistry to spare, and the world of Belethea and its killer storms is just giddy-making good. I can’t wait to read what she does next!”

—Alaya Dawn Johnson, Nebula Award-winning author of The Summer Prince

“Into the Churn is a whirlwind of a book that will sweep you up into its stormy world and won’t let you go.”

—Bridget Tyler, author of the Pioneer duology

 

 

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!

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!