Tag: A Study of Ash & Smoke
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A Writing Update
So, I mean, we all know there was supposed to be another book by now. The crickets that used to hang around A Curse of Venom & Scales have either died or moved along to chirp in some other tardy writer’s office. 😅 And I’m lucky to have a really supportive group of readers, who […]
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Signs of Life
Okay, you guys. This is not a drill. I’m glad to announce I’m officially back on the blog. I dropped off of the face of the planet without much of an explanation, and I’m sorry about that. My Patreon tribe still saw posts, art, and heard my chancing accent via podcast episodes, but I just […]
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Point of View (Podcast Episode #5)
I’m super excited to be back with another podcast. In this one, I chat about why I write in deep third point of view and how I choose characters for each scene. I hope you enjoy it! Links mentioned in this one: A Study of Ash & Smoke purchase links: https://yolandiehorak.com/books/a-study-of-ash-smoke A Trial of Sparks […]
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Pretty, Pretty Books
Honestly, there’s no other point to this post than to show off my pretty book babies. A Trial of Sparks & Kindling came in the mail a week or two ago, and I pulled out the props for a quick photoshoot. I just love the way the two books look together, and am once again […]
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Bookish News
Folks, it’s been a long while since I’ve had any news to share with you, but I have a few things I want to let you know about today. 🙂 A Trial of Sparks & Kindling is officially available in paperback! The new cover edition of ATOSAK has me swooning all over the place. The […]
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July in Photos
The month of July was heatwave upon heatwave, with the odd smoggy day thrown in the mix due to many raging wildfires in North America. You’ll clearly see the effect of those in the final handful of photos, though the photos do look worse than it was IRL. The air smelled of smoke for a […]
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Writing During a Pandemic
After writing for over a year, I finally finished A Curse of Venom & Scales on the 6th of May. Once I’ve finished a book, I’m usually a bundle of excitement. I almost immediately start plotting the next book in the series, and I gush to everyone who will listen about my upcoming novel. This […]
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Cover Reveal
If you read Friday’s blog or noticed my Facebook post on Saturday, you knew this was coming. Fall of the Mantle got some brand new covers. Now, I know the old covers have a cult following (there’s like 5 of you, so it’s definitely a cult 🤣) but I’d like to assure you this wasn’t […]
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Look At My Babies
As one does, I had a photoshoot with my books sometime last year. I was just so excited about the paperback of A Trial of Sparks & Kindling that I couldn’t not take photos of the two books together, but then the self-doubt set in, which is why I haven’t shared the photos. Until now. […]
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What Can You Tell Us About A Curse of Venom & Scales?
There’s more sex and swearing in this book. The general idea was that Cara is really innocent in book 1, and the adult themes will multiply as she gains experience.
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Down the Rabbit Hole, We Go
As a writer, I have to know about writing, tropes, self-editing, working with professional editors, and that kind of thing. The obvious stuff. What they don’t tell you when you enter this rabbit hole, is you also have to know about cover trends, blurbs, sensitivity readers, trigger warnings, marketing, and how to unravel the algorithms […]
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An Update
Friends, it’s been a hot minute. My mental state has been especially low, and I’ve just not had the capacity to put myself anywhere online. Both my Instagram accounts have been abandoned, my Facebook page gathered cobwebs, and though I’ve made a lot of little tweaks to the website, I’ve basically ghosted the blog. But […]
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Have a Free Colouring Book
A Trial of Sparks & Kindling is set to land in July! The first ARC’s have gone out and are already being read. Eek. This part of the publishing process is both my favourite and what freaks me out most. Like, the book is done. Out there. It’s out of my hands now, and that’s […]
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I’ve Been Busy
Friends, I think a great many of us vote to have 2020 struck from the record. It’s only June, and most of us feel aged by ten years, never mind six months. It’s been strange in my house, too. To summarise, my mental state hasn’t been what it should be, and I’ve been beyond tired. […]
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Giveaway Winner!
Last week, A Study of Ash & Smoke turned one. I still can’t believe it’s been a year, but here we are. To celebrate, I ran a little giveaway. The grand prize was a signed paperback copy of A Study of Ash & Smoke, with some added merch. I also gave away 10 electronic copies […]
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Birthday Giveaway
A Study of Ash & Smoke is one today! One year ago, this debut of mine first entered the world. I can hardly believe how the time has flown. Can you? Anyway, to celebrate, I’ve put together a little giveaway. You can check out the rules and terms and all the details on this giveaway […]
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Face Claims – Fall of the Mantle
This post is brought to you by random discussions. A bunch of my writer friends and I were talking about whether we base our character descriptions on real-life people and actors, and it got me thinking about where I got inspiration for my characters. Now, though I do have a Pinterest mood board for A […]
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Sexuality — Fall of the Mantle
Someone asked me the other day if the Fall of the Mantle series is LGBTQIA friendly, and if any of the viewpoint characters are a part of the community. The answer to both questions is yes. Before I get into this post, however, I want to make it clear that members of the LGBTQIA community […]
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Hello From the Inside
This weekend, we went for a drive. We didn’t get out of the car, we just drove. It had been so long since I’d been out of the house, I almost felt weird leaving. Which got me thinking. (In my head, I hear Lefou singing it’s a dangerous pastime.) But I’ve realised I’m one of […]
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Growing Out a Pixie Cut & Other Random Tales
Hey, I’m growing out my pixie. My hair is now at that awful stage where it’s really thick in the back and not yet long enough to make a ponytail–which, by the way, it the only reason I’m growing it out. I love the pixie cut, make no mistake, but short hair is a lot […]
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Fangirling
You know the writing is at that intense stage when I can’t sleep in on a weekend. For the third morning in a row, I was up at 5. On Friday and Saturday, I tried (in vain) to fall asleep again, and finally got up at 7. This morning, I held out until 6, then […]
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Rot – An Illness Based on the Bubonic Plague
A major plot arc in A Study of Ash & Smoke is about a mysterious plague that breaks out in the kingdom of Aelland. Under normal circumstances, it shouldn’t be strange that an unknown illness spreads to a new kingdom, except Aelland is closed off from the rest of the world by an impenetrable forcefield, […]
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A Study of Ash & Smoke – 7th Annual WD Self-Pub e-Book Awards
Sometime around September last year, I got an email about the Writer’s Digest Self-Published e-Book Awards (I’m subscribed to WD’s newsletters). I made the mistake of opening this email in front of my husband, who was immediately of the opinion that I should enter. I didn’t want to. My feelings of inadequacy make these kinds […]
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It’s Happening Again (A Life Update)
I guess you all know by now that when I disappear from cyberspace, it’s because I’m up to my eyeballs in either A) a new manuscript, B) revisions, or C) obsessed with reading. For the past few weeks, it’s been C. I’ve reread the Harry Potter series, and spent every moment not reading working on […]
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A Trial of Sparks & Kindling Cover Reveal
I should probably have waited with this until a bit closer to publishing day, but hey, who cares. I can haz cover, and it is glorious. That glorious, BTW, sounds in my head as Varvatos Vex would say it. For the design of this cover, I once again teamed up with the endlessly talented and […]
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We Want Spoilers! A Trial of Sparks & Kindling Edition
So, recently, quite a few folks have been asking me for anything I can tell them about my upcoming novel, A Trial of Sparks & Kindling. Anything at all. And this is where it gets super tricky, because there are literally spoilers from the first chapter. Now, since I don’t want to put a bullet […]
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Spot the Differences – Writer vs Main Character
I posted an excerpt from A Study of Ash & Smoke over on Instagram yesterday, and wrote a bit about the anxieties that Cara and I share. Which got me thinking. People often assume that authors base protagonists on their own personalities. While I suspect there are loads of authors out there who do just […]
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November Life Update
The last time I wrote a life update, I had a wrist injury. Guess what. Funny story, but I tend to fall a lot. I’m a pretty clumsy human, which means I spend way too much crashing to my butt or knees. Yay me. So, the other day, I eye this set of stairs, decide […]
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How AHA moments changed A Study of Ash & Smoke
We all have little aha moments while writing. Those moments come to us either through brainstorming, talking to others about our work, feedback from betas or editors–heck, even the most random of places–but those aha moments spark the changes in the story that pull everything together. You could probably guess I had plenty of aha […]
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Inktober 2019
I want to start by saying I don’t feel like a failure this time. But that makes no sense, so I’ll elaborate. 🙂 Whenever I take part in something online, something with deadlines and prompts and goals, I get totally crazy. I have to reach each goal and tick them off as done. It’s an […]
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Published!
People of the world, it’s finally here. After five (official) drafts, almost five years, two titles, all the sweat and tears, extreme keyboard bashing, lots of swearing, squeezing in moments to write while also being a mother, general anxiety, crying because none of it worked, celebrating because it wasn’t so bad, threatening to toss the […]
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A Study of Ash & Smoke Book Trailer
Friends, I had something else planned for today, but then this happened. My incredibly epic best friend Liani and her husband Franco took some time out of their hectic schedules to make this little video montage for Ash & Smoke. Can we just take a moment to appreciate how fabulous they are? I could sit […]
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Meet the Characters
I don’t know if you know this, but A Study of Ash & Smoke is officially available for pre-order. Can you even? I can’t even. Everything is happening so quickly now, it’s almost unreal after all the time I’ve spent working on this book. And let me tell you, it’s looking good. I’ve been assisted […]
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Cover Reveal
I was supposed to do this tomorrow, but who can wait until tomorrow when today is still here? I’m out of my mind with excitement, if you couldn’t tell. The incredible Tallulah from Covers by Tallulah joined forces with Cat Hellisen, a magician of endless talents, to make this lovely work of art. I wanted […]
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A New Title
It’s no secret that I have no idea what I’m doing. I know zero about writing movements, picking a trendy title, or putting something on a novel’s cover that will attract the right audience. Luckily I know people who know these things. 🙂 I had a Skype session with my wonderful editor and mentor, Nerine […]
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What’s Up With Your Writing?
Cross-country move aside, this has been at the top of the FAQ pile in my life lately. So let’s talk about if and what I’ve been writing today. The Physician’s Apprentice is in the later stages of production. It had initially been scheduled for release somewhere around September, but life happens, and it’s been delayed […]
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Book Talk – The Physician’s Apprentice
EDIT – This Book’s title has changed since I wrote this post. The story is still the same, but the swanky new title is A Study of Ash & Smoke. I’ve never done a post discussing what this book is actually about, and I honestly don’t know how that’s happened. So, considering I’ve completed the […]
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Just Publish it Already
We’re back to reality today, after a week-long break (if it can be called that, considering we were so sick we could barely move). Kayla’s been dropped off at school, which means it’s back to work for me too after a mini-break from writing. Well, writing The Physician’s Apprentice anyway – I’ve been sporadically working […]
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Looking for Sympathy.
One of those things people forget to tell you about immigration is how often you’re going to be sick in the first while. We’re thoroughly submerged in the murky waters that involves getting all the known bugs through our systems. Along with some unknown bugs. I’d forgotten all about this phase, to be honest. We […]
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December/January Writing Update
The last few weeks of my life have been intense. Not in the way you’d probably picture intense, because most of my time was spent in front of the screen, typing and reading aloud what I’ve typed, over and over and over. To my neighbour on the left, despite the number of times you’ve seen me […]
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Hello 2018
Welcome back! I lost touch with the blog for a moment there – totally unplanned – and it’s great to be typing something especially for you again. I’m a creature of routine, so being back in routine is a relief. Here’s a little catch-up post. My parents visited us for 5 weeks. It was good […]
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A December Update
It’s been one of those weeks. My parents arrived from South Africa on Monday, so you can imagine emotions were all over the place at our reunion. We’ve been catching up, exploring and just being together. Then on Tuesday, Kayla’s school called me to come and fetch her. A stomach bug is running through (punny) […]
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Neekerbreekers
I love Tolkien. I’ve loved his work since I first discovered his stories when I was about fourteen. After that first time I broke the spine of The Fellowship of the Ring, I’ve read LOTR every year (sometimes more than once a year) until around 2013 when Kayla was born. Which reminds me, you know. […]
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August Writing Update
It’s already September, I know. I’ve had a lot on my mind lately. 🙂 I certainly didn’t think I’d be doing this with all the insanity going on in my life right now, but I’m happy to report that I’ve been writing something amid the chaos! My good friend Tallulah and I just finished a […]
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Three Steps to Deep Point of View
I’m by no means an expert on the topic, just a noob who’s learned a thing or two from writers much more experienced than me, willing to share their knowledge. These are three little things any writer could use to hone their craft – some so obvious, it’s blinding. Who felt like an idiot after […]
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Writing Update
You were supposed to see this post at the end of July, I know. Apologies. I’m more scatterbrained than usual lately and I forgot. But better late than never, right? The writing has been going exceptionally well. After The Great Word Draught of 2017, I never imagined I’d be writing so much, especially now that The […]
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Düsseldorf Kirmis 2017
Another weekend, another fair. Let me tell you something about this one, though – it was huge. Everything is bigger and better in Düsseldorf, right? I almost felt bad for the Saarner Kirmes we’d visited the weekend before. On a cloudy Sunday, we headed to the city to see the fair. Loud music, delicious food […]
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Simple City Map
If you’ve ever wanted to draw a map, this is the post for you. But please don’t go if you’ve never considered map-making! This is one of those things anyone can draw. Plus, it’s pretty therapeutic. I’ve developed a strange obsession with cartography over the years and I thought I’d show you how I draw […]
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My Writing Process
Writing about writing is tricky. People will often try to sell their way as the only way, but no art is as black and white as that. I’m not talking about the rules of grammar and style, I’ve seen firsthand how those will make or break a novel. Leave out the rules, and your story […]
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How’s the Writing Going?
Everything is quiet again. Back to normal. It’s been a month since our visitors left (I can’t even) and, with the vacation posts out of the way, I can’t ignore the elephant in the room anymore. Too many people have been asking.
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Revising x 3 (Mini Q&A)
At this stage, I’m unable to think straight, but I’ve had some questions from friends and family and I want to answer them. Question 1 – How’s it going, Yolandie? *nervous laughter* Added to the fact that I’m revising like a madwoman, it’s been an icky week on the sleep scale. AKA, I’m not getting […]
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Hello February
Wel, lookie here. A brand new month. I’ve been gone for a week, I know. A mini-plague descended on my house and we’ve been recovering. Meanwhile, I’ve also been up to my eyebrows in edits. Even sick, obsessive nature won’t let me go. It’s a blessing and a curse. This is going to be a […]
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The Things That Repeat in my Mind
It’s been ages since I updated you on any of my obsessions. Today, I’m going to fix that. As many of you know, I’m currently revising The Physician’s Apprentice. My editor‘s advice was to flesh out some scenes, so I’m adding words. This means a particular kind of madness has come over me. You know […]
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Approach With Caution…
You’re wondering where I am. I can hear you think it like a shout off a mountaintop. 🙂 This image below about sums it up. In my world, ‘lunch’ can be replaced by coffee. Because, you know, coffee has replaced blood in my veins.
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It’s Chaotic
First of all, I’d like to thank everyone for their condolences and beautiful words concerning my grandmother. If you missed it, my gran passed away last week. It wasn’t a surprise, because she was sick for a long time before she passed. It still hurts though. I wrote a tribute to my grandma here. Since […]
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Current Chaos – The Editing Game
So, it’s finally happened. I got the notes back from my editor a while ago and since then, only writing has been on my mind. Let me first fill you in. I went through a bit of a bad patch last year with an editor. Not because of bad critique, but because of the complete […]
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Confessions of a Writing Addict
I’m obsessive. Very, very obsessive. It’s just the way I’m wired. If you’ve read this blog for a while, you’ll probably recall other instances where I’ve admitted to this flaw in my personality. Maybe it isn’t always a flaw, but still. Just the other day, I told you that my new novel is done. I […]