Tag: Books
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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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A 2021 Writing Update
This is a bit weird, I’ll concede. It’s mid-August and I’m posting a writing update that will cover all of 2021 so far. The timing is wonky, but it’s been a wonky kind of year. For the greater part of 2021, I was unable to write. There were moments in between, a week here and […]
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Dedications (Podcast Episode #3)
In this episode, I talk about the wonderful women who inspired the dedications of my books. I hope you enjoy it! The links mentioned in the podcast: https://yolandiehorak.com/2019/06/13/ideas-for-writers-of-instagram/ https://yolandiehorak.com/2016/02/24/a-tribute/ https://yolandiehorak.com/2019/07/15/we-had-more-time/ In case you’d prefer to read the episode, here you go: *Music* Hello, and welcome to Book Talk with Yolandie. This is the place where […]
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May in Photos
I did a photo a day challenge in May, and I’m happy to say I actually stuck with it! Up until the last few days, anyway. Still, I did better than I imagined I would, and I’m proud of that. Most of these photos were featured on my Instagram as part of the challenge, though […]
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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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I Fell, And Other Life Stories
This post will come to you in four parts. Part One – I Fell People who know me well know I’m super clumsy. I can trip on air (and I have). I’m hasty by nature. Everything has to be done quickly, so it’s quickly this, quickly that, and scurrying in between. Ents would hate me. […]
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Do You See Books?
One of my writer friends shared this meme on Facebook, and it’s been swimming in my head since. Which one of these are you? People often ask me if I see the things I write, and the answer is no. With the exception of single scenes here and there, I don’t visualise. I don’t know […]
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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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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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A Trial of Sparks & Kindling Trailer
Folks of the world, I’m super excited to share the book trailer for A Trial of Sparks & Kindling with you! Do be advised that the video contains a minor spoiler. I had so much fun putting this together. I used a lot of stock videos from Pixabay and Pexels (sources attributed below) and made […]
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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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Why Does Fandom Forget Ron Weasley?
These are the kinds of questions flitting about in my brain when I’m awake at 3am. Riveting stuff, am I right? Do note that this post contains major spoilers, and is basically one long opinionated ranty rant. Anyway. The backstory. I don’t really read a lot of fanfiction, except if it concerns Dragon Age. And […]
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An Enchantment of Ravens – Book Review
Okay, so I’ve been flipping out over this book alone for too long now. It’s time to grow the fandom. Did I just reveal my evil plan in the first paragraph of this post? Oops. Before we begin, check out An Enchantment of Ravens on Goodreads, and this will be a spoiler free review. The […]
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The Book was Better – My Thoughts on Adaptations
I recently reread the Harry Potter series, and watched the movies available on Netflix at the time (from The Goblet of Fire and on). Of course this started a debate. Wherever I expressed my love for the series, people from ‘the books were better’ camp collided with people from ‘the movies were great’ camp. The […]
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Daughter of Smoke & Bone Trilogy – Book review
It’s only because of my fabulous book-recommending genius of a friend, Tallulah, that I even glanced in the direction of Daughter of Smoke & Bone. The Smoke & Bone covers do nothing for me. In fact, if I’m being totally honest, I despise these covers. Tallulah compares the different covers over on her blog, if […]
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SA Bookswap – December 2019
I was lucky enough to take part in another South African Bookswap as 2019 ended. This time, the theme was Baby it’s (not) Cold Outside. It’s summer in South Africa, but this theme also allowed participants to do a Christmas themed box if they chose to. Since the two of us who participate in this […]
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Warcross – Book Review
About a year ago, my cousin sent me a series of texts telling me I have to read this book NOW. She knows the kinds of books I like, so I knew I’d read anything that came with her recommendation. Only, I didn’t read the book last year. We were amid another big move (yes, […]
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The Lie Tree – Book Review
I’ve been sharing many reviews from those books randomly picked at the library. I’ve honestly had pretty fabulous luck when it comes to choosing a book by its cover. Which is great, you know? It means exposure to authors I wouldn’t have discovered otherwise. The Lie Tree is one of those books by one of […]
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Fawkes – Book Review
I’ve heard only good things about Nadine Brandes‘s writing, so I bought a copy of Fawkes when I found it on sale. This isn’t my usual genre–I don’t typically read historical fantasy. Yet, something about the familiarity of the story of Guy Fawkes appealed to me. I call it historical fantasy because this book includes […]
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Rise – Book Review
This was probably one of my most anticipated sequels of 2019. I picked up Rule from the library earlier this year, and really loved getting to know Zofi, Akeylah, and Ren. I couldn’t wait to read how their stories ended. The Blurb Sisters Akeylah, Ren, and Zofi are all a step closer to their dying […]
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SA Bookswap
The South African Bookswap, organised by Tams, or Bibliobookwolf on Instagram, is one of the coolest bookswaps ever, and I wanted in. Of course, South African as I may be, I don’t live in the country. Or even on the African continent. With shipping costs as high as they are, pairing me with a bookswapper […]
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Book Review – Furyborn
Furyborn by Claire Legrand was one of those random books I picked from the library, based solely on its cover (and what a cover it is). I wasn’t disappointed. Lovers of YA and Sarah J. Maas’s writing style will probably adore this book. It’s action-packed features female characters who take no prisoners, and a delicious […]
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Books That Inspire Me – The Black Magician Trilogy
I’ve never really talked about those books that inspire me, which is sad since there’s a lot of them. The obvious answer is Lord of the Rings. Tolkien is king, and the worlds created by the master are incredible. But to say I read and write fantasy because of Tolkien is wrong. First, before anything […]
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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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Review – Six of Crows Duology
I have an intense book hangover and I’m struggling to get over it. Let me tell you why (and this might spoil my entire review in the second sentence) but Six of Crows was wonderful, then Crooked Kingdom was next level epic. The problem with Crooked Kingdom is that every book you pick up to […]
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Rule – Book Review
Here’s the story. To spice up my reading life, I try to pick a random book by an author I’d never heard of whenever I’m at the library. I usually aim for two or three from a to be read list I keep on my phone, but let fate decide the last book. That’s how […]
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Book Review – A Court of Frost and Starlight
I was pretty excited to find this one at the library, since I’d read some mixed reviews and didn’t want to buy it until I knew for sure if I liked it or not. Especially not at around $18 a copy. I’m glad I did that. This will be a spoiler free review, except where […]
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Book Review – Clouds and Earth
I was excited to get lost in the pages of this book. The protagonist of Sayde Scarlett‘s Clouds and Earth is a former military operative, tech-wiz, and all round bad-arse. The book is delivered in third omniscient, is 242 pages long, and follows multiple point of view characters. ***DISCLAIMER – I was gifted a review […]
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Calgary Library
If you, like me, love books, this is the place for you. If you don’t particularly like books–shame on you–but you love beautiful spaces, architecture, and design, this is the place for you. Holy cow, this library is gorgeous. We went Downtown with friends to check it out. I honestly can’t wait to go back. […]
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Review – Shadow & Bone Trilogy
I’d never heard of Tsarpunk before a friend recommended this series and asked me if I’d ever heard of Tsarpunk. Which I hadn’t. 🙂 Now that I have, I’m glad to know the term. There will be spoilers in this post. This is your stop here warning if you’d like to read these books spoiler […]
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Book Review – Twelve Kings in Sharakhai
I picked up this book in hardcover for $7–what a steal. I’d never heard of Bradley P. Beaulieu before this, but I’m really glad a book on sale introduced me to his work. Twelve Kings in Sharakhai is the first instalment in The Song of Shattered Sands trilogy. The story is set in the desert, […]
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My Thoughts – A Court of Thorns & Roses Trilogy
It’s been a long while since I devoured books like I devoured these ones. The series has been recommended to me a few times, but I never got around to reading them. Last week, Amazon had a special. And, well. Here we are. It doesn’t hurt that this series is New Adult (it certainly isn’t […]
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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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Book Review – The Strange
Now, by this time you know how I feel about this series. I’ve reviewed both The Babylon Eye and The Real, and I’ve been waiting for this book. The wait has paid off. You know that feeling when the first book in a series is ALL CAPS FANTASTIC, but the second is just meh and […]
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Book Review – Hard in Hightown
My little obsession with Dragon Age and the world of Thedas has never been a secret, nor has my adoration for the roguish dwarf, Varric. Maybe I love him the most because Varric and I are both storytellers, super loyal, and empaths. It’s likely just the chest hair though. 😛 If you’ve ever played Dragon […]
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First Impression – Dragon Age, The World of Thedas Vol 2
If you know me at all, you know what an enormous geek I am. And just the slightest bit addicted to the Dragon Age games and the world of Thedas. So you can imagine the euphoric and awed state I entered when my husband gave me this book for my birthday. “A book about a […]
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Book Review – Ready Player One
Not to give away my thoughts on the novel in the opening sentence of the blog post or anything, but wow, what a read this was. Having said that, I didn’t understand the hype around this novel until I’d read over a hundred pages. Before we get to that, though, a quick summary of the […]
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Book Review – Turtles all the way Down
It’s been a while since I wrote one of these. 🙂 If you know me at all, you know that I’m a huge fan of John Green. He inspires me in many ways, because he manages to be a thoughtful and giving human being, despite living with a crippling mental illness. I’ve been a nerdfighter for a […]
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When Parkruns Rain Out
Well, I’m sure some of the other runners still had their fun, but by the time we reached Düsseldorf, it was coming down in buckets. So much so that my water resistant jacket (and shirt underneath) were drenched and we had to stop to buy something dry and warm to wear. Jan and Mario would have […]