Micheline Ryckman's Blog, page 6
March 12, 2024
Queen of Shifting Sands Publication Day & Trailer!
To celebrate the release of Queen of Shifting Sands, we discounted the Kindle version to 99 cents but hurry! This deal is only good for one week from tomorrow – March 19th.
Kaitlyn will be at the Tempe, AZ Barnes and Noble located at 2000 East Rio Salado Pkwy, Suite 1032 on April 14th from 2-5 pm. And she won’t be alone!! McKenzie Catron will also be there signing copies of A Daughter of The Trolls and A Goblin of the Glade! Our admin assistant Christina will also be handing out some freebies, so be sure to stop by if you can!
Haven’t gotten your copy yet? No worries! There’s still time to order a copy from our shop OR you can buy a copy the day of the signing. There will be a few copies in store for purchase.
Queen of Shifting Sands Publication Day!!
To celebrate the release of Queen of Shifting Sands, we discounted the Kindle version to 99 cents but hurry! This deal is only good for one week from tomorrow – March 19th.
Kaitlyn will be at the Tempe, AZ Barnes and Noble located at 2000 East Rio Salado Pkwy, Suite 1032 on April 14th from 2-5 pm. And she won’t be alone!! McKenzie Catron will also be there signing copies of A Daughter of The Trolls and A Goblin of the Glade! Our admin assistant Christina will also be handing out some freebies, so be sure to stop by if you can!
Haven’t gotten your copy yet? No worries! There’s still time to order a copy from our shop OR you can buy a copy the day of the signing. There will be a few copies in store for purchase.
March 7, 2024
Read Chapter 1 of Queen of Shifting Sands!
The great gates of Instanolde’s palace rumbled back with a stone-shattering thud. The sound startled Prince Elerek, upsetting the open book in his lap, the tome tumbling beneath the wheels on his chair. He leaned down to retrieve it, his hand outstretched, when a tingling chill that had no place during high summer took hold of his fingers—a numbness that felt like death.
Something dreadful had happened, he knew it, and the deep, resounding blast of rams’ horns confirmed it. One long note strained across the palace’s stonework and up to the highest golden spire, announcing the arrival of royalty, of the king.
The king who ought not to be there.
Lifting his eyes, Elerek looked across the library, its gallery gilded in elegant arches, toward the window. Sunlight cast a pattern of equal parts light and darkness through the wood lattice. A second note, a third, and a fourth followed, their bellows ringing urgency.
A lump emerged in his throat, strangling his voice. “No, they can’t be back.”
Only four days, long and hot, had passed. Not nearly enough time to travel across the vast Sancen Desert with a company of soldiers.
Elerek had watched them leave in a clamor of chain mail and belts strapped with scimitars. Men in polished hauberks, with bright orange turbans encircling their sallet helmets. Formidable soldiers of Instanolde, the strength of a people bold enough to make a life here among the sands at the edge of the desert.
And none stood taller than King Cormek, fierce in his countenance and bold in his young rule.
“Alert the prince—now!” A guard’s cry echoed.
Elerek’s heartbeat droned in his ears, one pensive beat after another. He gripped the rims of his wheeled chair, avoiding the fallen tome and wheeling himself out of the library and into the corridors beyond. Many of the passages he took belonged to servants and soldiers, and he’d memorized the routes where the floors were smoother and his chair rolled freely.
Before the steps of the palace, beneath the relentless noonday sun, a handful of men assembled alongside three cardants. The sides of the great lizards heaved from exertion beneath their leather saddles and they lowered their heads, encircled with long horns, to the sun-scorched stones.
Three—out of the fifty cardants and their riders that had ridden with the king.
Elerek caught his breath, searching the Sancen-scorched faces of the men. Sand, grime, and blood streaked their clothes.
Cormek. “Wh-where is my brother?” His hands trembled.
Two of the soldiers turned to the cardant at the back of their company. With tentative, almost reverent motions, they lifted a wrapped bundle from the saddle, blood soaking through the fabric, and laid it on the mosaic stonework before Elerek’s feet.
Silence fell across the courtyard.
Elerek blinked, tears falling down his face. A cold, dark void consumed him. An echo rattled in his ears of raised voices and harsh words. What had now become their last words.
An assembly gathered, pouring down the steps of the palace. Guards in stern severity, wide-eyed servants, and robed advisers with stunned expressions. Whispers of an ambush, an attack, buzzed through the air like insects.
“Were there no other survivors?” someone asked, desperate sorrow in their voice.
“Only Torra Lystra. We escorted her to her family home.”
Lystra of House Arghan. Cormek’s betrothed, the future queen of Instanolde.
She survived. Elerek closed his eyes, releasing a long exhale.
She’d ridden with Cormek to the desert, her skill with the cardants and knowledge of the Sancen enough to rival any soldier’s. Elerek remembered seeing her on the glittering morning of their departure, watching as she flung herself into Cormek’s waiting arms, her long ebony hair flying behind her. The ring of Cormek’s laughter as he swept her off her feet filled the courtyard. When they kissed, the intensity of their passion rivaled the dawn.
And now, Cormek was dead.
The soldiers who had laid out the body dropped to their knees, heads bowed. One by one, the rest of the crowd mirrored their motions.
A shiver crept up Elerek’s spine, his head elevated above the entire assembly.
“Your Highness.” A soldier spoke. “Gem of the Gungole.”
“Fire of the Sancen.” Another took up the refrain.
“Fierce as the dawn.”
“Mighty as the constellations.”
Elerek couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t think. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.
As one voice, the chant filled the air. “Long may you reign—king of Instanolde.”
I can’t.
Want to read more? Purchase Queen of Shifting Sands HERE!
Live Chat!Join on Instagram with authors Micheline Ryckman and Kaitlyn Carter BrownMarch 11, 2024 at 5pm MST.
February 20, 2024
Preorders are OPEN for Into the Fire!
We are SO excited to share this brand new cover design with you all! Into the Fire, the fast-paced romantic adventure continues where Into the Churn left off and will be released on May 21, 2024!
You may preorder from Amazon or our website!
Jacketed hardcovers are exclusively available from Whimsical’s online shop and include extra interior illustrations, a bonus scene, and a secret exclusive cover beneath the dust jacket.
The first 75 preorders from our shop will come with a complimentary bookmark and three art postcards (shown above). All copies purchased from our website will include a signed bookplate from the author.
Preorder incentives are only offered on purchases from Whimsical Publishing’s website.
THE BOOK BLURB:
The finish line was only the beginning.
Champion race royalers Ezren Hart and Foster Sterling, never dreamed winning the Belethea Race Royale and solving their teammate’s murder would only be the start of their troubles. With legal proceedings taking an unfortunate turn, accusations of a sham race, and a divided Belethea of warring ideals, they find themselves in the middle of a storm once again.
However, when a mysterious private investigator shows up at their doorstep with news that Ezren’s long-missing father’s life hangs in the balance, she doesn’t hesitate to chart their course to the incendiary moon of Otho despite Foster’s misgivings. But after political violence separates the pair before they even get off the ground, Foster scrapes together a crew to go after her.
While Ezren and Foster race toward Otho, the growing ripples of corruption bring the system to the brink of war with the two of them balanced on the tipping point. As they run, drive, and fight across an explosive land scarred with bullets and death, they’ll have to decide what sacrifices they’re willing to make for a dangerous discovery in a world prepared to silence their voices forever.
Because on Otho, there are no winners—only survivors.
Want to be one of the first ones to read Into the Fire and provide a review for other readers? Request an ARC of Into the Fire!
And that’s not all!We’re not just authors and publishers, we’re also readers. And as readers, we want books in a series to match! That’s why we redesigned the cover of Into the Churn!
But we didn’t stop there…
The exclusive jacketed edition features a matching cover for Into the Fire so you don’t have to rebuy Into the Churn in order for your books to match! However…
If you wanted to go one step further, we have an anniversary edition of Into the Churn available for preorder as well! This will include the original cover design hidden on the underside of the dust jacket plus brand new interior illustrations and a bonus scene written by Hayley!
The original cover is now retired and the stock we have available is extremely low! If you want an original cover, don’t hesitate to grab them! Once they’re gone, the shop will only stock the new covers!
Okay, ONE more look at the two of them side by side because I just LOVE how they look together!
I hope you’re just as excited about this upcoming release as we are! This book is truly phenomenal and I can’t wait until we can send it out into the world! Thank you, our readers, for always being amazing!
XOXO,
Micheline
February 8, 2024
Romance is in the air…
That’s right! Everything in our Contemporary Romance category is 30% off this week! All the Jane Austen artwork is also included in this sale!
Use code ROMANCE at checkout. This will make postcards, which are already discounted, less than $1 each!
Just a few more days until our Whimsical exclusive edition of Emma is out in the world! Have you snagged your copy yet?? If not, you have until February 14th to order if you want your copy to come with the bookmark featured above!
Our edition will also come with exclusive artwork on the hard case beneath the dust jacket (pictured above to the right of the bookmark) PLUS interior illustrations. If you’re a Jane Austen fan, this is truly an edition you don’t want to miss!
Micheline has been hard at work creating artwork for our amazing books! Check out some of the amazing new designs coming soon to the shop!
I hope you all know how absolutely LOVED you are! You, yes each and every single one of YOU, are why we do what we do. We wouldn’t be Whimsical without you and we are so grateful you’re here with us!
XOXO,
Micheline
January 18, 2024
Caraval Postcards are less than $1 this week!
But hurry! This sale is only for one week! Use code CARAVAL at checkout to get 30% off. This applies to all products in the Caraval category, including postcards, which are already reduced! After the CAD to USD/GBP conversion, this makes postcards less than ¢.80 each!!
This includes artwork pertaining to Once Upon a Broken Heart.
As a reminder, ALL postcards have been discounted to $1.50 CAD. No code needed! If your currency is USD, this makes them $1.12 each! And GBP is even cheaper!
Once they’re gone, stock will not be replenished. Instead, they will be available as matte fine art prints. Still the same size so if you’re collecting, there will be no change in the sizing!
There’s still time to preorder Queen of Shifting Sands and Emma!
Queen of Shifting Sands releases on March 12, 2024Queen of Shifting Sands is a debut desert fantasy romance by Kaitlyn Carter Brown and is NOT one to miss!
Emma releases on February 14, 2024Emma is Whimsical’s exclusive edition of Jane Austen’s classic tale.
Preorder goodies shown above are only available during the preorder period!
Can you believe Whimsical is planning to have SEVEN books releasing this year?! We are so excited! We wanted to share this tentative list with you for those who want to plan ahead and add any to your TBR.
Coming Soon from Whimsical Publishing:
Emma – February
Queen of Shifting Sands – March
Into the Fire – May
We Could Be Villains 2 (Title reveal to come) – July
Charting Stars rebrand – September
ADOTT 3 (title to come) – October
Toff’s Origin Story (title to come) – November
***Please be advised this list is TENTATIVE and plans can change unexpectedly, especially for a small press like Whimsical. This is especially important to remember for our authors with chronic illness.
We have so much happening this year and we cannot wait to share it with you! Which Whimsical book are you most excited about? Reply to this email to let us know! We are so blessed to have you join us on this amazing journey.
Much love,
Micheline
January 5, 2024
New Year, New Giveaways!!
Our second giveaway: A paperback ARC of Queen of Shifting Sands
This is one of only two paperback ARCs we are giving away for this title! To enter, head to our Instagram and follow the directions in the post.
Psst. For the other ARC giveaway, click here!
IMPORTANT UPDATE & SALE!Postcards in their current format are being DISCONTINUED! Don’t panic though! The artwork itself will still be available, just as a 4×5″ fine art print.
We know this may be disappointing to some, but this was just the best option moving forward for us as a company and we hope you’ll understand.
For the glossy postcards still in our on-hand inventory, they have been discounted to $1.50 CAD (which currently is $1.12 USD). No code needed! Once they’re gone, stock will not be replenished. Instead, they will be available as matte fine art prints. Still the same size so if you’re collecting, there will be no change in the sizing!
Also moving forward, we will be running monthly sales on fandom artwork until all remaining inventory is cleared out so be on the lookout for those!
I hope you all had a magical holiday season and a blessed new year! I’m SO excited to share all the amazing things Whimsical has planned for 2024.
Much love,
Micheline
December 26, 2023
BOXING WEEK SALE!
This code will give you 25% off regularly priced items,
and up to 50% off existing sale items. SHOP NOW!
ALSO NOTE: UNTIL DECEMBER 30TH, INTO THE CHURN IS ONLY 99¢ WHERE ALL eBOOKS ARE SOLD!
December 14, 2023
Christmas Giveaway & What’s New in 2024!
First and foremost – a total brand redesign!
We wanted things to be a bit more cohesive, so we went for a total redesign of the Whimsical brand! The logo was designed by my daughter Hannah and we couldn’t be happier with the end result!
This means a minor change in how books are shipped. In the past whenever a book was purchased, we’ve included a bookmark or postcard that featured artwork directly related to the book. By the grace of God, Whimsical continues to grow and add new authors to our publishing house, so we came up with something a little different moving forward.
Now, we think a physical book should always have a bookmark (no dog-earing pages here! And if you do… shhh, don’t tell me!). So whenever you order a book from Whimsical Publishing directly, you’ll receive a beautiful double-sided bookmark featuring the design pictured below. 
Speaking of rebranding, I also wanted to let you all know that TWO Whimsical titles will be getting a rebrand in 2024!
There will be a redesigned cover, interior, plus content revisions and additional chapters as well. We are NOT restocking the old cover before this redesign. Stock numbers of each format are extremely limited (less than 5 of each), so if you have your heart set on this cover, order NOW! The Kindle version will still be available until the new version is released.
The second rebrand for 2024 is our grumpy-sunshine sci-fi romance Into the Churn
Nobody panic! I love Into the Churn (and its current cover) sooo much… BUT, the cover design for book two (INTO THE FIRE) is going in a much different direction and we know how much book lovers like things to match aesthetically. So we made the difficult decision to rebrand the cover of book 1 to match book 2!
We also know that many people already bought the first book and it’s unfair to them for the covers to change halfway through a series. (Hey, we get it, we’re readers too!) So, to balance things out, the design underneath the dust jacket of the Whimsical exclusive edition of INTO THE FIRE will match the original design of Into the Churn.
We will be phasing out the current stock of ITC so if you want one with the current cover design as shown above, we recommend ordering now!
Stock is limited!
PHEW! That was a lot. Everyone still following me? Good! Because if you made it this far into the newsletter, then we have a treat for you!
To close this year out with a bang…Let’s have a Christmas GIVEAWAY!
Whimsical is giving a BOX of goodies to one lucky winner this Christmas, the box will include all the paperbacks you see featured here, along with the two featured bookmarks, PLUS some special little personalized gifts from each and every one of Whimsical’s authors!!!
Don’t forget we have 2 ongoing preorders available! There are still a few sets of preorder incentives left for Queen of Shifting Sands, but they’re going fast! And remember that the free bookmark for Emma will only be available with preorders. (Once this book releases, on Feb 14th 2024, you’ll no longer be able to get it.)
Hey YOU! Yes, you. You are a gift! 
I’m so grateful that you’ve stuck with my little company this year! There’s no way Whimsical would be here without your support and love. 
It been busy though, (in all the best ways), so we’re a little pooped over here and we’re going be taking some time off until Boxing Day to enjoy home, family, and the holidays. 
The shop will still be open for orders, but nothing will ship out until after Christmas now.
That said, I’m REALLY looking forward to all that’s in store in 2024!!! Wooooohooooo!!! Stay tuned!!!
PLEASE HAVE THE MERRIEST CHRISTMAS!!!
See you on the flip side!!! 
Much love,
Micheline Ryckman
November 28, 2023
Celebrating Release Day with an Official Goblin Trailer!!!
A Goblin of the Glade
To celebrate, we’ve created an official trailer for the book! We hope you enjoy!
FULL BLURB:Ten years have passed, but neither Primrose nor her sisters, Poppy and Posy, can shake the belladonna-soaked trauma of their childhood. Though the triplets have grown and are no longer captive, the memory of Black Annis’s iron talons and needle teeth still linger.
While Posy finds reprieve in studying with the Elder Mother and Poppy drowns her mental wounds in song and service, Primrose copes by traveling wherever the wind takes her. Much like her beloved half-brother Rush used to, she finds solace in seeking new havens. However, news of Sparrow’s dying mother draws Primrose home again, and she resolves to stay in the glade to spend one last Christmastide with the only woman she’s ever called mother.
That is until a shadowy Pooka appears with a message tangled in Fate’s red thread: a prophecy from the fabled Numina that threatens to upend the family all over again.
With only the suspicious, dark Pooka as their guide, the triplets must follow the Numina’s destined trail to a perilous mountain haunted by trickster spirits. But when their dubious quest delivers them into the claws of the infamous witch Baba Yaga, the goblin sisters are forced to face their childhood nightmares or let the world, and those they love, be forever consumed by darkness.
A Goblin of the Glade, the second book in McKenzie Catron’s “A Numina Parable” series, returns to all the beloved characters of the first book, and then some. Embark on a journey filled with sisterly love and unique companionship in this new high-stakes fantasy adventure reminiscent of Grimm Brothers’ fairy tales and European folklore.
GRAB GOBLIN & BOOK ONE HERE!
