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?
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?
- 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.
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.
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