Local author, Carlyle Labuschagne, attains international acclaim

Germiston businesswoman and author makes USA Today Bestsellers List.

Local businesswoman and author Carlyle Labuschagne is thrilled that she, along with a number of other authors, made the USA Today Bestsellers List. Photo by: USA photographer Regina Wamba taken in Paris, France.

Germiston can boast a USA Today Best-Sellers List author.

Local businesswoman and author Carlyle Labuschagne has had a number of triumphs in her career, but none as exciting as making the list.

Carlyle, and fellow author Erika Bester (who writes under the name of Kristin Ping), were invited to collaborate on what the publishing world calls a list aiming box set of fiction books, along with a number of USA authors.

“I have spent the last year aiming to become the first female South African fiction author to make the USA Today Best-Sellers List,” Carlyle said.

“I was thrilled that we made the list in Women’s Month, it is a great celebration of us as women.”

It all started with a group of USA authors who sent out an invite to the two well-established SA writers who are famously known in their circle of best-selling international authors.

Carlyle Labuschagne, a local businesswoman and author, recently made it onto the USA Today Bestsellers List. Photo by: USA photographer Regina Wamba taken in Paris, France.

The Shadow Files box set was conceived about a year ago and the group spent hours and many resources bringing the concept to life.

They had a year to write, edit and market their individual books and the box set.

“Not much sleep, exercise or great cooking was going on during the last three months as I directed just about all my focus and energy to this dream.

“Maintaining a family and work balance on top of this massive challenge was difficult, but as I am a woman I naturally managed it,” she said.

She shares her home with husband Dirk and their two sons Ethan and Jordan.

Carlyle and Erika worked on this dream, not only for themselves but also to show the importance of making the impossible a reality for all female fiction writers.

“It is no secret that the book world is not as big a deal as it should be in our country.

“There is also a stigma attached to female fiction, independent authors,” said Carlyle.

“I have found that indie author’s, especially female indie authors, are not taken seriously in this country.

“I have been told by many publicists and local agents, as well as bookstores that we don’t matter as fiction writers and no one will buy my books because of the genre I write in.”