Recently, the wonderfully talented author, Carlyle Labuschagne was kind enough to take a few minutes to share with us a bit about herself and her brilliant work.
Welcome Carlyle!
Carlyle Labuschagne is a South African Debut Author working her way into the hearts of international readers with her First Young Adult Dystopian Novel “The Broken Destiny. She is not only an author but works as a Sales Rep and Marketing Manager by day. She holds a diploma in creative writing through the writing school at Collage SA. Loves to swim, fights for the trees, food lover who is driven by her passion for life. Carlyle writes for IU e-magazine India, an inspirational non-profit magazine that aims at inspiring the world through words. The drive behind her author career is healing through words. Carlyle is also the founder of the first annual book drive – Help build a library in Africa project.
“My goal as an Author is to touch people’s lives and help others love their differences and one another.”
A firm believer in – YA saves!
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When did your interest in writing begin?
I started writing at the age of 12.
Where do you do you find your inspiration?
In life, in love in emotion, in everyday life.
What authors have most influenced your writing and life?
I learn from every, and each book I pick up; reading is an essential part of growing as a writer, especially if English is not your first language.
Do you get writer’s block? If you do, how do you work around it?
You have to walk away, take a moment. Come back to it and push through whatever is keeping you from getting to it.
Do you have any specific rituals or routines when you sit down to write? (i.e. listening to music, working outside your home, working at specific times, etc.)
Coffee. Music. In the summer I like taking a swim before the time. I find waking up in the early morning hours and then hitting the writing or editing really is the best time for me – when the rest of the world is sleeping, so to speak. In the winter I jump on the trampoline, or just recharge in the sun before and in between day time writing.
What tools/methods do you employ when writing a novel? ( i.e. Do you outline or are you a “pantser”? Do you work chronologically or a scene at a time, typing or longhand, etc.) How has this changed from when you started out?
My style is very much the same as it has always been. I keep each chapter more or less to a theme of the chapter heading, but mostly I just write, write, write. After the draft is done I rewrite about twice, this helps to throw out the unnecessary nonsense. But I really do cut a lot out right up until the final days of editing. In total I go through the manuscript about 10 ~ 12 times before I am ready to send it off for publishing.
What is the best advice you have received with regards to writing? What is the best advice you could offer a new writer?
You can never edit enough, take your time. Write every day.
What is the most memorable response you have had about your writing and has it changed the way you write?
Any favourable response I get is amazing; it lifts my confidence tremendously. It does change my writing in a way that it fuels it.
Which one of your characters (if any) would you want to be stranded on a deserted island with?
The heart-throb of my series of course!!! Troy!
Can you tell us what is coming up for you and where can we find you online?
‘Evanescent A Broken Novel’ will be released this November.
Links:
Twitter : http://twitter.com/#!/CarlyleL
Website : http://www.carlylelabuschagne.com/
Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12537426-the-broken-destiny-1-in-the-broken-series
Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Carlyle-Labuschagne/189835811074342
Barnes and Nobles http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-broken-destiny-carlyle-labuschagne/1112448868?ean=9781612048727
Book Trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4FPWniWsvrk
Blog http://worldsawaybookblog.blogspot.com/
Fansite: http://www.thebrokenseriesfansite.com/
Evanescent cover reveal event! #giveaway http://worldsawaybookblog.blogspot.com/2013/07/evanescent-cover-reveal-event-giveaway.html?spref=tw
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The Broken Destiny
Ava knows much more, and feels much more than she is allowed to. When she starts questioning her origins and the destruction of Earth, things go horribly wrong for her. She is saved by a Minoan boy from an attempted kidnapping on her life – the perpetrators are evil Zulus and their dark ancient magic. Humans and Minoans are forbidden to interact with each other, and as she is taken back to their village she finds out why – they know of her, her kind and her destiny to save a dying race. Ava must rid them from the Council’s ruling and free the galaxy of The Shadow. Her destiny is to rise above the fall, because within her soul is the key to an archaic weapon that has been missing in the mix of a genetic code since the time of the ancients. As the prophecy unfolds she learns of her bloodline – a bloodline that makes her less human than she could ever have imagined. She alone has the power to destroy or save, but the mind-shift is a horrible thing. Ava will become what she hates to save the ones she loves. Beaten, poisoned, possessed and betrayed by her own emotions, she has no choice but to rise above it all… for that is her Destiny.
The Broken Destiny was voted #3 on the goodreads Debut list for 2012 : http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9748.YA_Debuts_2012#12537426
Prologue
All my life, I had searched for something, something I thought I ought to be. I felt like I was living someone else’s life, waiting for the awakening of my own. I felt like an empty shell burning for life. That was, until the day I lay dying in the prince’s chambers. I could no longer feel the pain from the tear in my gut. The only sensation left was a hollowed-out feeling that I had made a huge mistake in assuming that taking my own life, would have stopped the ancestors’ spirit from raging out. I had given up. I didn’t want to see myself killing the ones I loved. I was the Chosen one, but I threw it all away for what I thought would save a life. Could you end a life to save a life? I did, and I have regretted it ever since. I realized then that things like me are not meant to exist. What had been missing my whole life? It was I. To find myself, I had to lose myself in the worst possible way. The consequences of my actions became the legend of The Broken.
Praise for The Broken Destiny
“Carlyle Labuschagne not only writes beautifully, she has proven that she’s an author to be reckoned with; she has shown me that she is more than capable of creating a whole new world; has completely captured my heart with her imagination; weaves a story I want to keep reading; engages me in such a way that I become one not only with the story – but one with it’s characters, and has magically uprooted me from my comfortable existence to the gorgeous planet she’s created – Poseidon. In short, The Broken Destiny is an exciting, thrilling, imaginative, compelling and impressive debut by Carlyle Labuschagne. -An author to watch out for.”
~SS Book Fanatics ~
“The Broken Destiny is a masterpiece of originality. The characters are beautifully flushed out, the plot is unique and tasteful. I honestly cannot wait for book 2, which I am hoping will come out soon. Ms. Labuschagne is brilliant. She’s made me fall in love with the color purple all over again, almost as much as I love her writing style. She’s absolutely amazing. I recommend this book for anyone that loves fantasy and adventure.”
~ Author Airicka Phoenix
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I know you’ve been very busy and I thank you Carlyle for taking a few moments to chat!
Belinda Witzenhausen 
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