is available now!
Available at participating bookstore locations worldwide!
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#PinkWillows
WAIT!
I recommend that you read the story before scrolling further, there are spoilers below!
Explore
Willow Country
Learn more about the Characters
See Early Concept Art
Check the Author
F.A.Q.!
Welcome to the world of Pink Willows!
Explore the map of the country of Willow! Hover over the circles below to see more!
An assassin guild hidden deep within the mountains of Willow. It is run by a strict old man only known as Gramps. It is also where Gale was raised.
A wealthy major city covered in gold, known as the sun lion's city. The Leonne family has governed it for generations. It's where Kairo was born and raised.
The home of Leila Willows. Features the largest city in the country, with the tallest pink willow tree at the center. At the base of the tree sits the Willows Castle.
A trading city focused primarily on mushroom trades. They grow medicinal, practical, and edible varieties! It's quite humid here, but also a tourist hotspot!
Meet The Characters
Leila Willows
Overview: The second princess of the Willow country, who's also a magical girl.
Age: 21 years
Height: 5'0"
Birthday: January 26th
Her magic is vast; she can use all sorts of spells. She can heal non-fatal wounds, attack enemies at long and close range, create strange creatures to aid her, even alter the memories of anyone who is unaware of her magical ability! She lacks full control of her magic, and using any magic makes her very tired. She can often be found napping to regain energy or studying flora and botanicals. She hates violence and cannot stand anyone being injured. She's got a bit of a childish and spoiled personality, but she has a kind heart and wants to help everyone she can.
Gale Rouge
Overview: An ex-assassin who becomes an unlikely bodyguard.
Age: 22 years
Height: 5'11"
Birthday: November 15th
He was an abandoned child from a poor town in the mountains. At age 6, he was adopted into a dojo run by the 'Red Herring', an assassin guild. He lovingly refers to the dojo master as "gramps", though they aren't blood-related. He is trained to fight with dual poison daggers, swords, a bow and arrows, and in hand-to-hand combat. Despite being an assassin for hire, he only ever took jobs to eliminate the filthy rich, criminals, and other bad actors. He has exceptional speed and agility, a strong protective side, and great acting skills. He is laid-back, smug, witty, and snarky.
Kairo Leonne
Overview: The personal advisor and knight of Princess Leila Willows.
Age: 23 years
Height: 5'10"
Birthday: August 4th
He is the 4th son of Lord Leonne of Grandeur, a well-respected war general known as the "lion of the sun". He was raised to be a proper knight his entire life, and thus is a master swordsman with high intellect. He has impeccable physical strength with a muscular build, and an analytical mindset. He was hired by Prince Aubin Willows to become Leila's primary guard at age 16. Now, he often creates convoluted plans to hide Leila's magic from the world and keep her out of trouble. He is very dependable, loyal, thoughtful, and caring. Despite his icy glare, he's actually quite an anxious person.
Aubin & Cordelia Willows
Overview: The first prince and first princess of the Willow country.
Age: 29(Aubin) & 28(Cordelia) years
Height: 5'10"(Aubin) & 5'6"(Cordelia)
Birthdays: February 14th (Aubin) & February 28th (Cordelia)
The two eldest siblings of their family. While they are not the acting king or queen yet, they both run large parts of the country, and are often extremely busy attending to a variety of duties. They also work very well together, consulting each other on important decisions and splitting workloads evenly. It's important to them that their baby sister, Leila, can live a more carefree life, so they have never been eager to load work onto her. They are both very beautiful and have great reputations amongst their countrymen. Aubin is charming and extroverted, while Cordelia is reserved and gentle.
Maki Paige
The head-maid of
the North Tower
The eldest daughter of the Paiges, a family in multi-generational service to the Willow family. She's been in charge of Leila's wing for years, and finds her to be adorable- often giving her sweets.
Melissa Chapelle
A maid stationed in the castle library.
The only daughter of the Chappelle Printing company, she adores books. She achieved her dream job of working in the capitol castle's main library and declines promotions.
Raine Fortier
Princess Cordelia's personal knight.
Lord Fortier's eldest daughter, she was a prodigy with a sword and in combat. However, she's not very good with paperwork. She is the favorite of both Aubin and Cordelia.
Regis Monet
The head-knight of the North Tower.
The third son of the Monet family, a wealthy influential trade company in the capitol. He trained in the same knight group as Kairo, so they have been friends for many years.
Jean Voclaine
The devout current Lord of Durand
A cold and callus man to most, he lords over Durand with a strict hand and abides by tradition. That said, he has a daughter whom he adores and dotes on to the highest extent.
Early Concept Art
This story was originally conceptualized on January 26th, 2022, with this being the very first sketch of the characters. At this time, the story wasn't fully written; just Chapters 1 and 5 were conceptualized.
Author's Note: "You can tell just how far my art style has come since then, right? Especially for the guys!"
Later on, in December of 2022, the character mockup drawings looked like this. This was during the storyboarding process, so they are still early concepts.
Author's Note: "They look so young here... though I don't think it looked that way to me at the time."
Some page mockups from July and August of 2022; created as a way to test screen-tone brushes and layouts. Originally, the story revolved around a concept of Leila communicating with youkai-like spirits, but this idea changed shortly after with the creation of Chapter 5's plotline.
Author's Note: "This early concept included a dragon/wyvern instead of the apple spirits, which I quickly scrapped after realizing how hard it was to draw dragons."
The first full-body drawing of Leila, from when her magical girl outfit was designed in June 2022.
Author's Note: "I wanted to make her look princessy but still magical-girl-core, I imagine her dress is made of beautiful silky satin that looks expensive."
The storyboards were complete in May of 2023. Though there were plenty of alterations since then, this was when the story was actually written in its entirety! The chapters were written out of order, though, with 1 first, then 5, 2, 4, then 3. This was primarily because the storyline for the ones worked on last wasn't as solidified as the first ones.
Author's Note: "For the storyboards, I colored blobs behind the sketches so my beta readers would know who was who. Leila was pink, of course, and Gale was purple, but for some reason I made Kairo green- red or blue would have suited him more in retrospect."
This was the initial design for the front cover of the book from January of 2023. It was redrawn into the current version in January of 2026.
Author's Note: "I still think this drawing is super cute, but I knew the style was dated, and I felt like I could color it prettier nowadays!"
Leila's ballgown design mockup from the end of the book.
Author's Note: "The caged birds used to be more relevent in a metaphorical sense, but now they are just pretty decorations. The flowers are also supposed to be large kanzashi flowers!"
Leila's final design mockup, from October 2024.
Author's Note: "She is the embodiment of softness... I feel like we would be great friends."
The first colored mockup of Willow Country's design, from July of 2024.
Author's Note: "The proportions feel off, but atleast the vibes are good!"
Early designs for acrylic merchandise from 2023.
Author's Note: "It feels a bit like wasted effort since I didn't end up using these, so I might as well share this now!"
The original design for the bonus bookmark from February 2022 (left), and the final design from June 2026 (right).
Author's Note: "I knew I wanted to include a bookmark when I sold the final book from the start, but I'm happy I ended up including Gale in it, too!"
The illustration for the postcard bonus merch from 2026.
Author's Note: "This one was a last-minute addition, but she turned out cute! I think it's nice to show her love for botany a bit too."
The design mockup for Gale's old home, The Red Herring assassin guild.
Author's Note: "I imagine this place is only accessible by knowing a specific route, and probably requires some intense climbing and jumping to get there. In a secluded mountainous forest south of Petal, run by a kind but tough old man. Even though they are assassins, I feel like it would have a very homey familial vibe!"
The design mockup for Kairo's old home, the city of Grandeur.
Author's Note: "Grandeur is like... the rich people's and noble's pride in a city. Golden leaved trees, white stone and marble statues, rigid but detailed architecture. I feel like it would smell really nice here! It's the type of city that doesn't have a stone out of place, and has a pretty competitive vibe and stiff atmosphere."
Author F.A.Q.:
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Where can I read this manga?
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The first chapter can be read for free on my Webtoon!
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The full book can be purchased at/through any bookstore location in the following countries: America, Canada, the UK, Japan, South Korea, Sweden, Germany, France, Spain, Indonesia, India, and Malaysia. (Keep in mind! You may have to request it to be ordered into the store by an employee. This is because I am self-published, so it may not be automatically stocked in-store! The ISBN is 9798234106513, which may help you!)​
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You can pre-order the signed version of the book, bundled with merchandise, from me directly on my shop for a limited time!
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Will there be a second book?
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I have plans for a second book, however, whether and when it will be produced relies primarily on how high the demand is for a continuation. If you are interested in seeing more, tell your friends about the series to help me make it happen! Thank you so much!
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Is it okay to create/sell fanwork?
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Absolutely, please do! Cosplay, drawings, fan comics, fan merch, etc, are all encouraged. Feel free to create and profit however you please, as long as you do not republish the actual series! You can use the hashtag #PinkWillows so I might see it :) Additionally, please do not run my work or characters through any generative AI. Thank you!​
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Will there be translated versions?
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As of now, there are no plans for any official translations to other languages beyond English. That being said, I would be open to publishing translated versions should there be a demand for it! Feel free to leave comments on socials asking for specific translations if you are interested.​
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​What are the specifications of this manga?
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The book is perfect-bound, 5.5" x 7.5"(inches), and 200 pages in length. (5 chapters) It's perfect bound. For reference, this is among the standard for manga books, so it should fit right in with your existing collections!​
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If you have any other questions, feel free to ask them on socials, in my livestreams, or contact me!