Interview with Elodie Nowodazkij

Can you give us a brief overview of your latest book? Is it part of a series?

One, Two, Three is the story of seventeen-year-old Natalya Pushkaya. Here’s a brief overview:

Last year, Natalya Pushkaya 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.

Can Natalya open up to love or shut down—like her mother?

Do you have a favorite character?

Not really. I can’t play favorite…but I have two characters in One, Two, Three who surprised me.

Camilo and Rita.

One of my early reviewers mentioned that she enjoyed the depth of those two characters, how they were not stereotypical. And I have to admit that Camilo got additional layers while going through the content editing process.

Honestly, I think they deserve a novel too. Maybe next year J

Did you try the traditional route to publishing, i.e. querying agents/publishers?

I did. Some agents told me how close they had been, others mentioned they loved the story, but were not in love like they needed to be.

And I understand them.

If you’re not in love with a story, reading it more than 5 or 6 or 7 times or even more can get dull. I worked on my book (editing, revising, re-editing, revising, copy editing) probably more than 200 hours since I made my announcement that I was going to self-publish (maybe even more). I honestly understand why an agent didn`t take the chance to sign me.  The story that I published changed A LOT compared to the one I queried.

My CPs and beta readers loved the story and the characters. Many readers have sent me an email to tell me how much they fell in love with Natalya and Tonio, some made some fan pictures…And I am so happy that readers get to know Nata and Tonio, and Becca, and James, and the rest of them. I researched self-publication, talked to a few people and then decided to go for it.

And…I think for now self-publishing is the right path for me. I like the direct contact with the people I work with, I loved choosing my cover, my publication date.

ONE TWO THREE came out on my parents’ 40th year anniversary.

If you used a graphic designer/publisher’s designer, how involved were you during the creative process for your cover?

I am absolutely in love with the cover of ONE, TWO, THREE. Love it. Derek Murphy captured the spirit of the novel J

I was involved in the creative process by sending Derek a few idea of pictures (including the heart that is on the cover), and then giving feedback throughout. I also asked my street team for their opinion on the different covers’ ideas, the fonts used and so on.

I loved loved, loved being part of the creative process for the cover.

Do you belong to a critique group? Have they helped improve your writing?

I have amazing CPs and wonderful beta readers. They definitely helped me improve my writing: by sharing their own novels with me and with giving me thoughtful and always constructive feedback.

Did you hire an editor to review your manuscript before publishing?

I definitely hired several people to review my manuscript before publishing: Sara Biren and Maya Rock gave me content and line editing. Double Vision Editorial worked on copy editing…They were amazing and I am so thankful for them helping me make my book even better.

Besides Amazon, are there any other sites where your books are for sale?

On top of Amazon, ONE, TWO, THREE is also available on the websites of B&N, Kobo, iTunes, Google Play…

What advice would you give a new author just entering into the self-publishing arena?

Put your best work out there: and that means doing several passes on your manuscript…and trust your next manuscript to be even better than the last. One always learns.

Besides writing, do you have any other passions?

I love taking pictures. Absolutely love trying to find the right light, the right angle to portray an emotion, a moment.

What’s next for you?

I am finalizing a prequel novelette of One, Two, Three, entitled ONE DREAM ONLY. It’s the story of Natalya right around the car crash and it is available for pre-order on Amazon.

I am also working on the companion novel, ALWAYS SECOND BEST, which follows Emilia and Nick at the School of Performing Arts, and I’m revising DADDY’S LITTLE GIRL, a YA thriller. And I may or may not be jolting down some scenes of a NA sexy suspense novel.

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Book & Author details:

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

Purchase:

--Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/One-Two-Three-Elodie-Nowodazkij/dp/149531961X/ref=twoen-20

--B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/one-two-three-ms-elodie-nowodazkij/1119819780?ean=9781495319617

--iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/id889729288
--Kobo: http://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/Search/Query?q=9781498999212&fcmedia=Book&query=9781498999212 

AUTHOR BIO

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:

Website: www.elodienowodazkij.com 

Twitter:  https://twitter.com/commutinggirl 

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/elodienowodazkij 

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Giveaway:

Tour-wide giveaway (INTL)

--50$ Amazon Gift Card

--50$ to the project of their choice on DonorsChoose.org

a Rafflecopter giveaway