Author Interview: Elodie Nowodazkij

1. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

*questions were provided by Xpresso Book Tours