Guest post – Choosing my own magic
ONE, TWO, THREE isn’t the
first book I wrote but it’s the first one I felt like I wanted to share with
the world (scary) and that was getting so many lovely reviews by the ones who
read it. I got very close to getting picked up by a literary agent several
times, I received great feedback from beta readers, critique partners and
through contests but…the magic door stayed close. In the past months, I read a
lot of books that I know would do so well with readers but for x or y reason
haven´t hit the shelves yet. That´s when I realized that I could choose my own
magic.
That doesn’t mean I didn’t
have to work hard on my book, or that it didn’t have to go through several
editing rounds, copy editing, proofreading…That doesn’t mean I am guaranteed
for my book to do well.
It would be a lie to say
I´m not scared because I totally am. People are going to read my book(s).
People are not going to read my book(s). People may hate my characters. Others
may love them.
But mainly I´m excited. And
happy. And looking forward.
Yep, lots of emotions.
Luckily I have a very patient and supportive husband :-)
I cannot wait for you all
to get to know Antonio and Natalya!
Four
questions to Elodie Nowodazkij
- You’re French and live in Germany…but you write
in English. How come?
I lived in the United States, in Maryland,
for quite a few years, first as an “au pair” and then as a university student. I’m
a proud Retriever and a proud Terps J,
having received a BA from the University of Maryland at Baltimore County and my
first Master’s from the University of Maryland at College Park. Writing in
English just seems to be more “natural” for me. But maybe one day, I’ll write a
novel in French too.
- What was your inspiration for ONE, TWO, THREE?
I used to love dancing ballet as a kid, and
I won a writing contest to go see the Opera de Paris. We saw the dancers train,
it was magical. Those moments stayed with me.
Then, one day, I was talking about the
movie Center Stage on Twitter and Natalya’s voice came into my head. At first,
all I knew was that she was seventeen and an accident had killed her hope of
becoming a professional ballerina...The accident turned into a car crash that
also took her father’s life.
Natalya’s voice was sad and broken, but
full of want.
From there on, it became her story.
- The family from Natalya, the main character in
your novel, originally comes from Russia. How did you do your research?
The name of my main character was actually
inspired from my mother-in-law, who moved to Germany from Russia about 20 years
ago. My husband, who was born in the Ukraine, still speaks Russian with her,
and I learned a lot from them. His family is the one who taught me there’s a Russian
proverb for every situation, and some of Natalya’s favorite food is also mine.
- Can we expect more books to come with Natalya
& Tonio?
Yes. But I’m not planning a sequel. There
will be at least two companion novels to One, Two, Three. The first one will be
published in November 2014. It will focus on Emilia, Nata’s friend at the
School of Performing Arts. It’s entitled ALWAYS SECOND BEST, and you can
already find it on Goodreads.
The second companion novel will be focusing on Becca, Nata’s best friend.
Publication will be in early 2015.
Little
facts about One, Two, Three & Elodie Nowodazkij
- Little
fact: I wrote this book (mostly in the train) in 6 months back in 2012.
And it has gone through several revisions since.
- Little
fact: Like Natalya, I love pelmeni - but my favorite Russian dish is
stuffed blinchiki (mostly with mushroom and mashed potatoes) yum!
- Little
fact: I got the inspiration of my main character's name - Natalya - from
my mother-in-law
- Little
fact: Like Natalya’s father, my favorite composer is Chopin.
- Little
fact: My book is officially coming out on June 26th 2014 because it's my
parents' 40th wedding anniversary
Excerpt
1 – from Chapter One
The shortcut to the
lake from our home is a dirt road that isn’t well lit, but I know the way by
heart. I hurry down the path, tuning my iPod to Chopin’s happier music. But I
can’t drown out Mama’s voice. It resonates in my head. It’s my fault! I know she’s wrong because she’s not the one who
killed him. I did. If only I didn’t get into an argument with him in the car.
If only I had warned him about the truck. I bite back a sob and rip off my knee
brace to walk even faster. At first, my knee is stiff, but at least I can
extend my leg much better now.
Seeing the lake calms
me down, soothes me. This place is always crowded in the summer, but on this
crisp September night, there’s no one. The lights surrounding the area flicker,
the tall trees leave interesting shadows on the ground, and a discarded pink
umbrella stands next to the bench by the grilling area. I turn up the volume of
my iPod even more, settle on the bench, and search through my backpack. My
pointes show the wear and tear of the last years, and no matter how much I
scrub, there’s one smudge that doesn’t want to go away.
Memories flash back
when I slip them on: my father handing me a bouquet of lilies after each of my
recitals, the crew from the School of Performing Arts sneaking out to get ice
cream, the summers I spent on the raft at the lake with Becca and my babushka,
the hours at the barre.
Everything’s gone.
Dancing’s always been
my escape from reality: from the fights my parents had more and more often,
from my babushka passing away all alone at the hospital because no one told me
she was sick, from my fears of letting anyone get really close.
Dancing’s always been
my future.
Dancing’s always been
who I am. So even if I can’t dance like I used to, even if I can’t put too much
pressure on my knee, I’m convinced I’ll train my way back to the top, that I’ll
show Dr. Gibson and the rest of them that they got it wrong, when they said it
was very unlikely I would ever go back on stage. Juilliard
postponed my audition and the director of the School of Performing Arts said he
was holding a spot for me if I wanted to come back. If I could come back.
I use the bench as my
own personal barre, slowly bend my knees, keeping them over my toes. Grounding
my heels on the ground, I stretch down as much as I can, but I don’t make it
past a demi-plié. I warm up for ten
minutes, losing myself in the familiar movements. The stars reflect on the
water; it could be the perfect backdrop for a production of Swan Lake. I wish I could position
myself for a grand jeté, feel the
wind surround me as I fly into the air, but I know better than to jeopardize
the progress I’ve made. The last time I tried, my kneecap almost snapped again.
Both my knees were smashed in the car crash, but my pivot leg suffered the
most.
I angle my feet for
some small pas de bourrée. I go
faster and faster, until I bump into a rock. Fear steals my breath away. I
avoid landing on my leg and instead fall on my ass.
Excerpt 2 – From chapter 4
Unknown number.
“Hello?”
“Hi Princesa. Have you thought about which
book we should write our report about?”
I fight off a small
smile. “Did you really have to call me to discuss this right now?”
“Totally did. By the
way, you’ll type the report.”
“No I won’t.”
“Let’s talk about it
later tonight. You and me.” There’s shuffle behind him and some laughs. “I’ll
call you later.”
He hangs up and I
stare at the phone for a second. Shaking my head, I search my bag for the list
of books Miss Taylor gave us. I scan it, trying to find one we could work on.
My mind wanders to the last time I worked on a project. It was with Emilia and
it was for History. She’s a total buff and she promised that if I taught her
how to land her grand jeté with even
more grace, she’d tutor me. It was a week before the accident, and I never
managed to teach her. I never took that History test.
I check the time again
and my eyebrows draw together. Mama’s not only a bit late. She’s super late.
Where the hell is she?
One, Two, Three… by Elodie Nowodazkij
Publication date: June 26th 2014
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Synopsis:
When seventeen-year-old Natalya’s dreams of being a ballerina are killed in a car accident along with her father, she must choose: shut down—like her mother—or open up to love.
Last year, Natalya was attending the School of Performing Arts in New York City. Last year, she was well on her way to becoming a professional ballerina. Last year, her father was still alive.
But a car crash changed all that—and Natalya can’t stop blaming herself. Now, she goes to a regular high school in New Jersey; lives with her onetime prima ballerina, now alcoholic mother; and has no hope of a dance career.
At her new school, however, sexy soccer player Antonio sees a brighter future for Natalya, or at least a more pleasant present, and his patient charms eventually draw her out of her shell.
But when upsetting secrets come to light and Tonio’s own problems draw her in, Natalya shuts down again, this time turning to alcohol herself.
Can Natalya learn to trust Antonio before she loses him—and destroys herself?
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20656288-one-two-three?ac=1
Elodie Nowodazkij was raised in a tiny village in France, where she could always be found a book in hand. At nineteen, she moved to the US, where she learned she'd never lose her French accent. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in Modern Language & Linguistics, and later earned master's degrees in German Cultural Studies and European Studies. Unbeknownst to her professors, she sometimes drafted stories in class. Now she lives in Germany with her husband and their cat (who doesn't seem to realize he's not human), and uses her commuting time to write the stories swirling in her head. She's also a serial smiley user.
Author links:
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