Saturday, March 9, 2013

Author Interview – Carlyle Labuschagne goes indie!

Hi Carlyle, Just recently you decided to leave your publisher and go Indie, can you tell us why?
There are so many reasons; this has been a difficult road for me. As a South African author the publishing industry is very limited here. I was totally in the dark, had no support and well I was inpatient with my first book, didn’t know what it entailed, what signs to look out for, or what exactly to research. I ended up (the impatient me) signing a deal with a vanity press company. I have to say I do not regret it at all – their reach is fantastic, but it is costly - very. I finally came to this decision because in the long run I get higher rewards. I am also a control freak and would like to make this my business! And perhaps one day soon I can help other South African author just like me. And Thirdly I get to choose my own cover artist. This is purely a career choice for me. Traditional publishing is a big deal a big dream but without an agent – they will not take a second look at your work. With today’s technology and the growth of self publishing – being in book stores can be anyone’s dream!

What is the name of your most recent book and if you had to sum it up in 30 or less words, what would you say?

The book I am currently working on is book two in the series entitled Evanescent – A Broken Novel.
Is a book is about loss and love – love in many forms, and in all its forms. About choices, and consequences. About redemption, and salvation.

If you gave one of your characters an opportunity to speak for themselves, what would they say? Watch out universe here we come!

Do you have plans for a new book?   Is this book part of a series?
Right now Ill be working on the 4 part Broken Series, on the side I will be doing a short story. There is also plans for a supernatural two book duology.

What books have influenced your writing?
Every book I have read influences me in one way or another. I can never stop learning and take from everything I pick up.

What Author would really like to meet that have inspired your writing?
There are too many to mention. How long do we have?  Honestly I have met (online) so many talented, hard working, passionate authors they all deserve success in abundance.

Do you prefer ebooks, paperbacks or hardcover?
I love a book in any form. During the day I like to read paperbacks and lay by the pool or under a tree. I love paperbacks on my shelf, I collect pretty covers. Ebooks are fabulous and my ereader is always beside my bed table.

Where do you prefer to buy your books?
Here I buy paperback through exclusive books. Ebooks Amazon.

What book would you like to read again?
Wormwood by DH Nevis

Is there a particular movie that you preferred over the book version?
Nope that has not happened yet! But I must say the twist in the final Breaking dawn movie was a great surprise. You know when in the movie you see Carlisle and Jasper die in the battle and then moments later its revealed it was a vision of what would happen – Loved that.

What book are you currently reading and in what format (ebook/paperback/hardcover)?
I am currently reading Deliruim by Lauren Oliver in paperback. In ebook I am reading The pirates wife for a fellow South African author Lynelle Clark

Are there any Authors that have grasped your interest recently and why?
Claire Merle – her book The Glimpse was amazing!

Who designed the cover of your book?
The first book The Broken Destiny was done by my publishers.

Do you buy a book by the cover?

YES!

Do you have a book trailer?
Yes.

What are your thoughts on book trailers?
Love them! Music and imagery is a wonderful,  powerful tool that sets the tone and emotion - if done correctly.

Do you have any advice for other writers?
Yes, write every day. Take breaks, think things through. Be patient. Be diligent, ask for help. Edit, edit, edit, edit! Never be afraid to be you! Get a proof reader. Go for it!

Do you write under a pen name?
Nope

What date were you born? - you can leave off the year if you like.

A sunny day! A summer day! A beautiful day J

Do you have a nickname? 

Many

Did you have a favorite toy as a child?

Yes a worm called Bennie book wurm  - It was a character from a kiddies show – a bookworm literally, and when you pushed his tummy he lit up. Like a night light. A green cute worm with big black reading glasses.

An early childhood memory - 

As a kid our holidays spend in the busveld – our family loves nature. The nature here is spectacular.

Do you ever write in your PJ’s?
Sometimes if I can, mostly when the kids are on school holiday.

What are your pet peeves? 

People who try to impress others.

White wine or red?

Red. White gives me the worst headache.

Coffee or tea?
Cappuchino

So you like to cook?  Do you have a favorite food?
I went to hotel school I love to cook! Seafood J

Vanilla or chocolate ice-cream?
Vanilla!

What do you normally eat for breakfast, of do you skip it and get straight to work?
Fruit – I have to eat and I do all the time. My family and friends should call me starving! Because I always Feel that way.

What are 4 things you never leave home without (apart from keys, money and phone)?
My kids! LOL . Sunglasses, lipstick, a book and my ipod.

Sleep in or get up early?

I love my sleep, but it depends on my schedule.

Laptop or desktop for writing?
Laptop.

Where and when do you prefer to do your writing?
I don’t have the luxury of choosing I have to do it when  ever I can. But I prefer really early, before dawn.

Your thoughts on receiving book reviews - the good and the bad - 

I love book reviews weather it was good or bad ,because I take from it and learn from it. But don’t ever personally attack and author, its all opinion.

If you were deserted on an island, who are 3 famous people you would want with you?
Princess Dianna, Mandela and Cassandra Clare.

Where is one place in the world that you would really love to visit someday?

Every place

List 3 books you just recently read and would recommend?
The Glimpse by Claire Merle. Once by Anna Carey .

List 3 of your favorite movies?
Transformers. The Avengers and Last of the Mohicans

An actor or a book character you have a crush on –
Too many I love good looking people, strong, funny, egotistical characters like Thor.

 What is a movie or TV show that you watched just recently and really enjoyed?
Supernatural. Warehouse 13 and The vampire diaries . Eureka

If your book was made into a TV series or Movie, what actors would you like to see playing your characters?  Feel free to add pics.


For my characters – Ava http://pinterest.com/carlylel/ava/
Troy: http://pinterest.com/carlylel/troy/

Contact Carlyle








 
Author Bio

Carlyle Labuschagne is a South African Debut Author working her way into the hearts of international readers with her First Novel “The Broken Destiny. She is not only an author but works as PR 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 passion. Carlyle writes for IU e-magazine an inspirational non-profit magazine that aims at inspiring the world through words. The drive behind her author career is healing through words. 
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!
Blurb:
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. 
 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.
The Broken Destiny was voted #3 on the goodreads Debut list for 2012 : http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9748.YA_Debuts_2012#12537426
 
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Third Post By: Katie Shelby



Hello, everyone on this Friday, Hope Everyone Is having an awesome week and is going to have an awesome weekend. Today I am going to post a review of a book that I have read that I think you all will like to read.  I  hope you all check out this awesome book. It's really good!
                                      
                                       

The truth is subjective to what the lonely lets in.
Emalyn Spicer has lived with it for a long time. She thinks it goes back further than her memories do. She knows it goes back further than the OCD.
When she arrives at college, her OCD's and the lonely refuse to let her have her wish to be normal.
When she meets Sebastian and starts to fall for him, she lets herself believe it's possible to outrun the things chasing her from the past. But how to you get away from the things inside of you? How do you run from yourself?
Just as she gives up and succumbs to the lonely, the unthinkable happens. She finds herself once again trapped in the dark, once again held against her will.
This time she meets the lonely head on. In the darkest corners of her mind, she discovers there is more to her world than she ever imagined. She discovers that the lonely was there for her, protecting her from herself and her secrets.
How far would you go to find yourself?
This is a dark and captivating novel, tread lightly
Don't forget to check out the companion novel due out in the summer of 2013, The Lost Boy. Maybe that'll help you sort out the things you have leftover from the story...
This book is rated 19+ due to extreme sexual and language content!


 My Review
 I just want to say this is the first book I have read by Tara Brown, I have been slacking some on reading books, My friends are right she writes awesome books, I could not put this book down I had to know what happen next. I would read this book over and over again. Emalyn is a nineteen year old who is starting out as a freshman in college, She had a terrible past and she get's saved by a man she never's see's he looks after her and keeps her safe. Her friend Michelle knows what she went through and is also there for her. Soon Emalyn finds out that her name is really not Emalyn and she finds out more information about her past and who was all behind it and why they did and she was shock to when she find out who it was. She Gets to meet her real parent's. Emalyn meets a guy name Sebastian but soon she realize he's not the one who she has feelings for. I really Could go on about this awesome book but I don't won't to ruin it for others.    


Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/The-Lonely-ebook/dp/B00BA6GHDM/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1362764662&sr=1-1&keywords=Tara+Brown

Barnes & Noble:http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-lonely-tara-brown/1114472989?ean=2940044286962


FREE Ebooks:

 





                                  













 




Monday, March 4, 2013

Author Interview with Leah D.W. (Unnatural – an anthology. The Runaway’s Secret – a novel)

 
Hi Leah. Glad to have you here today. So, let's begin.
 
Where were you born and where do you call home?
 
I was born and raised in a town called Bloemfontein in the Free State, South Africa. It may be where my family is but I call the time I spend reading a good book home.
 
What else do you enjoy doing during your free time?
If I am not writing or out with my two best friends then I am in the kitchen baking like crazy! I love baking cupcakes and cookies, but they never last long in my house haha

What is the name of your most recent book and if you had to sum it up in 30 or less words, what would you say?

The Runaway’s Secret is a paranormal romance novel about a lost and confused half-vampire who stumbles into a world filled with supernatural beings she never knew existed. To me this book is special because ever since I started writing I have never been able to complete a story. I would get writer’s block and move onto the next project. Now that I do have a novel with a beginning, middle and end it feels like a dream and I never want to wake up.
My anthology will be out before this novel. It is titled Unnatural and contains a collection of my best paranormal short stories.

Do you have plans for a new book? Is this book part of a series?

I have lots of plans for many new books! I am busy with a paranormal trilogy and after the first book is done I will move onto something new before continuing with it.

What books have influenced your writing?

The first book that I ever read was Nancy Drew. That book helped turn me into an avid reader and that bloomed into me wanting to write stories of my own. The Prophecy of the Gems by Flavia Bujor was the first fantasy fiction I read and that sparked my imagination to write like that as well.  

Is there an Author that you would really like to meet?

Yes! I would love to meet Cassandra Clare. She is my favourite author and her books are just amazing reads. To meet her would be such a great experience, one that I would treasure always.

Do you prefer ebooks, paperbacks or hardcover?

I prefer paperbacks. The feel and smell of a printed book is just so much better than reading words from a digital screen. I feel more comfortable reading in bed with my dog at my feet and a book in my hands.

Where do you prefer to buy your books?

I only buy books at my local book store. I love them and I am a regular visiting there. I know where all books are on those shelves.

Are you a self published (Indie) Author?

No, I work for Bayou Brew Publishing and they will be the company to publish my stories.

What book are you currently reading and in what format (ebook/paperback/hardcover)?

Currently I am reading a paperback, The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross. I have only recently started reading steampunk novels and I am already a fan. It has inspired me to start planning my own steampunk book based in my favourite time of history, London 1860.

Who designed the cover of your book?

Patti Roberts from Paradox Book Cover Designs and Productions was the one to design the cover for my novel The Runaway’s Secret.
Do you buy a book by the cover?

Yes I do. I know the old saying ‘don’t judge a book by its cover’ but I do and so I only pick up a book and read the back if the cover catches my attention.
 
Patti says: Me too!

Do you have a book trailer?

No but I would love to have one.

What are your thoughts on book trailers?

I love book trailers. They help to promote an author’s novels and catch the interest of potential buyers. Plus, some of them are beautiful and really capture what happens in the book.

Do you have any advice for other writers?

Just keep writing. I thought of quitting once because I couldn’t finish a novel or get someone to publish it but I kept on going and now look where I am. Your dreams will come true, just be patient and never stop writing.

Do you write under a pen name?

Yes. Since my mother language is Afrikaans not many people from different parts of the world can pronounce my name correctly so I created a pen name.
What date were you born? - you can leave off the year if you like.
I was born on the 22 of May

Did you have a favorite toy as a child?

Yes. I was given a brown teddy bear on the day I was born and it is still with me. I will never give it away. He is now on my shelf next to my favourite books.

Do you ever write in your PJ’s?

Yes. When I get ready for bed before I go to sleep I would write down new ideas or plots in my PJ’s and when I wake up the first thing I do is drag my laptop to me and write some more before getting up.
What are your pet peeves?

I guess mine is that I can’t work without background noise. When I write I have to play music in order to concentrate or I sit with my work on the couch while my family watches TV. It just works for me.
Any pets that you would like to tell us about, share a pic?

 
My two beloved dogs. Lucky and her son RifRaf. Lucky is about 14 years old and still like an energetic puppy. Her son has the biggest personality I have ever seen and swims every day while playing fetch. I love them both very much. Like we say in Afrikaans: Hulle is my hart se punt

Coffee or tea?

Tea when I have the flu otherwise several cups of coffee a day. I need it when I stay up late writing or crave a cuppa when I am with friends.

 
So you like to cook? Do you have a favorite food?

I love anything that involves bacon and pasta. Put that in a bowl and I will eat it haha. I also love my father’s Cordon Bleu and my aunt’s pumpkin cakes.

Vanilla or chocolate ice-cream?

Strawberry!

What do you normally eat for breakfast, or do you skip it and get straight to work?

On a normal day it would be a big bowl of chocolate or strawberry Pronutro or, if I want to spoil myself on a weekend, then French toast with honey.

What are 4 things you never leave home without (apart from keys, money and phone)?

My bubblegum lipice, my red earphones, a packet of tissues and vanilla hand cream.

Sleep in or get up early?

Sleep in! I love to sleep and just stay in bed. I am defs not a morning person. If I get the chance to sleep in then you won’t see or hear from me until after lunch haha.

Laptop or desktop for writing?

Laptop. It is better to carry around. I never let it leave my house but I would use it at my desk, on my lap in the living room with the TV blaring or in bed.

Where and when do you prefer to do your writing?

I can write anywhere. I don’t have a specific time for it, I write when the feeling or ‘mood’ for it hits me, whether I am on campus between classes or at home in my room but my favourite place is in my bed with my dogs sleeping at my side.
Your thoughts on receiving book reviews - the good and the bad –

Good book reviews are awesome of course, gives the author a little ego boost that they need after spending so much time writing. Bad reviews may be a huge downer but for me it will show where I can fix certain things about my writing, either in characters or the style, and that helps to create an even better story in the future.

If you were deserted on an island, who are 3 famous people you would want with you?

Jensen Ackles, I am a huge Supernatural fan. Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow and Kelly Clarkson, my fave singer.
Where is one place in the world that you would really love to visit someday?

Paris! My room is filled with pictures of the Eiffel Tower. It is my dream to travel Europe and Paris would be the destination first on the list.

One of your favorite quotes –

It is more like a word. ‘Nevermore’ in The Raven, by Edgar Alan Poe.

List 3 books you just recently read and would recommend?

Taken by Storm by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, book 3 in the raised by wolves series. Dreamless by Josephine Angelini and Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare.

List 3 of your favorite movies?

Sinbad, legend of the seven seas – the animation

The devil wears prada

Beauty and the beast - Disney

An actor or a book character you have a crush on –

Adrian Ivaskov from Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead. I absolutely love him.

What is a movie or TV show that you watched just recently and really enjoyed?

Once Upon A Time the TV show and Supernatural. A recent movie was Hansel and Gretel which I enjoyed a lot. Wish I had written that haha.

Where can your readers stalk you?


My facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/leahdwauthor?ref=stream







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