Hello and welcome to my website. I’m Catherine Yardley. I’m an author of women’s fiction and domestic noir. I write under Catherine Yardley and Catherine Balavage. Ember and Where The Light is Hottest are out now. You can order here. I am also the editor-in-chief of Frost Magazine. As a freelance writer I have written for The Sunday Times, The Bookseller, Writer’s and Artist’s Yearbook, Mslexia, Metro UK, Huffpost and Writing Magazine. I have also featured in Stylist Magazine, The Guardian, Newsweek and Glamour.
I grew up in Scotland and have lived in London for seventeen years.
Ember is a story about the intricate, fraught, and sometimes fragile bonds that hold us to the people we love. At the heart of this story is Natalie, who is struggling to come to terms with a difficult childhood and a deeply strained relationship with her estranged father. His attempts to reconcile with other family members create new tensions in those relationships, intensifying Natalie’s feelings of familial alienation. Yardley draws characters with such genuine emotional intensity and complexity that they feel very real to the reader, making the story hugely compelling. It unfolds with great tenderness and emotional astuteness. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Rosemary Hennigan, author of The Truth Will Out and The Favourites.
It took me six years to write my debut, Ember, and I will never forget that moment where I got my book deal. The reviews that Ember has made the world to me. It has a 4.8 rating on Amazon.
Where The Light is Hottest has had an amazing reception with a lot of great reviews.
‘What a book! If I could sum this book up in three words then it would be that…I often find it difficult to sit down and read too much of a book since I have been studying for a PhD, work in the book world and have books coming out of my ears! However, I sat down to have a flick through Catherine’s new book and couldn’t stop reading. I instantly fell in love with the narrator and the easy style of narration. It was so compelling that I was hooked from the very first pages. Absolutely brilliant! Thank you so much for a really wonderful read. Wow, wow, wow!’
Helga Jensen, critically acclaimed author of Fly Me To Paris, A Scandinavian Summer and many more.
Writing and reading are my favourite things in the world. Ember was picked for Jules Swain’s book club, The JAS club. I am always eager to hear from book clubs and readers.