Tag: A Study of Ash & Smoke
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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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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,…
Yolandie Horak 