Artist • Author • Blogger
The other day, I asked you what you want to see on the blog. The answer was pretty strong in the art-direction. (By the way, if you have more suggestions for the blog, don’t be afraid to share them. 🙂 ) I thought I’d kick this off by sharing some of the artists that inspire […]
Read More…
Some days, it’s difficult to get inspired. I’m having one of those days. I talked about this problem on Friday too, so you’ll know about my predicament if you’ve been around the blog. The recap version? Today, I have no idea what to blog about and I don’t have the drive to put in any real effort. […]
Read More…
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.
Read More…
Since the last bunch of posts were all travel-related (you missed it? Start here), I figured I’d share some of the tips we’ve learned in our travels. I realise the internet is chock-full of travel tips, but this is a roundup of the things that work for us.
Read More…
A while ago, a friend suggested that I write something on this topic. Yea, I’ve been trying. Do I have a nice, glowy outcome planned for this post? No. Not at all. #idontknowwhatimdoing All I know is that this is something I struggle with immensely, especially when I’m obsessing. As in now. Being in the […]
Read More…
For me, it started way back when with Red Alert 2 and Age of Empires – still one of the best strategy games out there. Actually, that might be inaccurate. The first game I tirelessly played was Frogger, when I was a wee tadpole myself, then it moved to Tetris and Super Mario. Red Alert and […]
Read More…
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 […]
Read More…
It’s a well-known fact (at least if you’ve hung around the blog) that I really admire my editor, Nerine Dorman. She’s taught me so much about writing that I barely recognise my old work these days, and I’m hopefully still improving. A while back, I grabbed a compilation four of her stories on Amazon. No, […]
Read More…
Because February wasn’t hectic enough to start with, you know. That’s why I figured I’d do this thing. Like with Inktober, the idea was to make art every day of February, sticking to the fandoms you love. In the end, I failed to draw every day, but at least I had fun making those artworks […]
Read More…
I’ve been watching Tessa Violet for around two years now and she’s become one of my favourite YouTubers. Why? Well, she’s what I’m not. 🙂 She shares, openly, all of her thoughts and fears, and even rethinks some of her older video topics. If she’s evolved, she’ll explain how she’s learned to accept parts of […]
Read More…
Hi there. I know Mondays are supposed to be for Weekends in Pictures, but this weekend didn’t go down in that kind of way. While I do have a few photos, they’re just of stolen moments in between, and I want to keep them for our personal records. So, this is another update post, to […]
Read More…
Nothing feels real in my life anymore until I share it here. ◄ That’s healthy. 😛 I had some awesome news this week and I want to share it with you. You know, so it becomes real. I belong to a writer’s group and they’re releasing an anthology later this year. Submissions opened November 2016, […]
Read More…
I haven’t blogged about an artist who inspires me in way too long. Considering Wednesday’s post was such a serious topic, I figured I’d share some beautiful art with you today. I discovered CaptainNutmeg‘s art when one of his/her artworks were featured on DeviantArt’s daily deviations. I totally fell in love with the style, especially […]
Read More…
We entered 2017 to a chorus of whistles, glittery explosions, pops and sizzles. Fireworks. Hours and hours worth of fireworks. Just to keep you in the know – in South Africa, fireworks are pretty much illegal. The minority of people still shoot these pretties to celebrate the new year, but on the whole, it’s a […]
Read More…
Hello there. Right, by now, I’ve missed 3 posts. I’ve finished the revision of the Physician’s Apprentice, a statement which demanded many late nights, a too stiff neck and constantly fidgeting fingers. Because I worked so hard on this thing, I missed more than a few other things, including blogging on schedule. Sorry. I also […]
Read More…
So this year, I took part in the Inktober initiative for the first time. If you’ve never heard of Inktober, like…? Your rock must be on Saturn or something. 😛 Basically, you draw something every day in October. As the name of the initiative suggests, you’re invited to make your art using ink. Obviously, this […]
Read More… 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 […]
Read More…
By this time, you probably know what a creative genius my mom is. No? Click here and here for a reminder. Pretty cool, huh? This time though, she totally outdid herself. When I forwarded my mom a video of a quiet time book in January, I have to admit it wasn’t even a subtle hint. I was preparing […]
Read More…
I’ve been playing around with filming. In my far past (as in, high school :D) I had this dream of being a film director or writing screenplays. Then life happened and I never thought of making movies again. My dreams shifted along the way and led me to writing, and it makes me happy to […]
Read More…
I find it kind of weird that the question I’m asked most often about writing is what I listen to when I write. Sure, this question leads to a variety of other questions, but a lot of the time, conversations about writing are started with this one. What do I listen to when I write? […]
Read More…
One of the things I get asked most often is what my writing process is like. How do I work? How do I outline? How do I order my thoughts? Friend, it goes about like this : I’m on my fourth novel now. I’ve written so much in the past five or so years that […]
Read More…
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.
Read More…
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 […]
Read More…
Continuing on the other day’s shape-thing‘s wave, my mom made a second cool gift for Kayla. This one is a fishing dam with glittery fish and fishing poles. And it’s just as easy to make and effective at occupying little hands as the shape-a-ma-jig. What makes this one great is that Kayla can fish on […]
Read More…
When my folks came to visit, my mom brought some cool hand-made gifts for Kayla. I mentioned in a post that I would share more about these gifts with you, so I’m doing that now. As a mom of a two-year-old who still has her own things to do and ambitions in life, I’m always looking […]
Read More…
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 […]
Read More…
Am I addicted to great architecture and lead-glass installations? Why, yes, I sure am. That statement means cathedral and church-hopping is on my A-list of things to do and sights to see. The Cologne Cathedral (Or Kölner Dom, as the Germans call it) is AH-MAZE-ING. It is, without any trace of a doubt, the biggest structure I […]
Read More…
I’ve been in a weird place for too long now. I used to adore blogging, but in the last year, I’ve struggled to keep it up. I don’t know what to write about a lot of the time, and the other times I don’t have the drive to sit down and write something here. To […]
Read More…
A few years ago, before the birth of my first blog, I was recovering from a really bad time in my life. It turns out makeup was just the creative outlet I needed. Full of hope and belief that makeup would heal my heart, I took to blogging about it. Today I can safely say […]
Read More…