Witty Title TBD - Elodie!

I think I made it through everyone with a "J" name *phew*  Today's interview is with the wonderful Elodie!!!  Elodie's been an awesome friend to lean on and has an AMAZING story that I tweet about all. the. time.

I'm not a hugger, so when I meet Elodie in real life, this will happen.  Sorry in advance, Elodie.

What do you want the world (or the 5 people who read my blog) to know about you?
* I am French, used to call the US home for a while, live in Germany, but write in English.
* I am super grateful to a lot of people and need to say it more often.
* I stress a lot but am a pro at hiding it.
* During the past 4 years, I´ve spent more than 3 months of my life in busses, and trains.
* Writing and reading help me balance.

What’s the first thing you wrote for fun? (that you can remember!)
* I can´t remember the very first thing but I do remember the poems I wrote in Junior High. Nope, not talking about them.

Give us a little insight into your writing journey so far.
* I first tried my hand at writing an entire novel in high school but never finished. Then ,years later, I wrote a first full book, revised it a bit, and then realized it needed a rewrite…it´s currently on my laptop, hidden away.
* Then last year, talking about Center Stage with a friend, I had the idea of writing about a broken ballerina. Broken on many different levels and her journey with love and friendship. Natalya was born. She´s from Russian heritage while her love interest moved from Colombia when he was about 8 years old.
One Two Three went through a lot of changes, including one last major revision in the past two months. THANKS ALEX <3!

You are very, very welcome :)

Star Wars, Star Trek, or…Firefly?
Star Wars for Alex – and I need to watch Firefly!!!! (Alex's note: You really do need to watch Firefly)

What song’s been stuck in your head lately?
Girl on Fire by Alicia Keys….

Why do you write/read/lurve YA?
All. The. Feelings.
The growing up. The discovery. And I get to write all the kisses I didn´t get/give in high school :P

Do you have a favorite place/time of day to write?
I use my commute to write so it´s mornings and evenings in the train. But I love writing in our guest bedroom/office/working out area (yes it´s a multipurpose room) with a view of the Rhine.

If you could only pick one book to read for the rest of your life, what would it be?
That´s not a fair question and you know it :P

I´ve read ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS several times already, it´s kind of a lift-me-up  book….but really, I´d take a kindle with me and load millions of books on there…

What was your favorite book of 2012?
JELLICOE ROAD – It wasn´t published in 2012 but I read it last year based on a recommendation from Katy Upperman and I LOVED THAT BOOK!

Is there a 2013 book you’re looking forward to?
I couldn´t wait to get my hands on SHADES OF EARTH and loved it! Now I´m impatiently waiting for the new Stephanie Perkins to come out (and many many others…)

And, since I won an award for culturally under-represented authors: If you could pick a culture that you might not be totally familiar with to research and write a story about, which culture would it be?  And why?
 Native Americans – after going to Plymouth and hearing some of the old stories and seeing how hard they try to keep some of their traditions alive, I´d love to read a story about one of those teenage girls we saw there. How is her life between going to a regular high school and then going there on the weekends and showing to tourists what life hundred years ago was for her ancestors.

The Harkis – during the War of Independence of Algeria, some Algerians stayed with the French army and some of them also moved back to France. It´s a very complicated period and I´d love to read a story of either a teenager having to follow his/her parents to France or trying to decide which side to be on. It´s never black or white.

Anything else I might have missed?
You´re awesome :D (Alex's note: D'awwwww you are too!)

Thanks for hanging out with me and putting up with my constant stream of DMs! <3

Well, folks, it's the final countdownnnnnnnnnnnnn! The weekend is drawing ever closer and I am getting ever more excited!!!

Tune in for another interview tomorrow!  I'm off to practice what I'll say if I run into Julie Andrews in the hallway.  Or the bathroom.  Oh god, what if I run into her in the bathroom?!?