Wednesday, January 30, 2013

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.

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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!

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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?!?

15 comments:

  1. Alex: I will also be at SCBWI (I'll be the one standing around looking awkward) and I'm basically just telling myself that Julie Andrews won't be there. If I let myself think about it I'll freak. (But perhaps I will run into you, which would be cool!)

    And Elodie: YES, you do need to watch Firefly! It won't take long, sadly. But it's so good!

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    1. YES! Can we stand around at SCBWI and be awkward together?!? Maybe Julie Andrews will walk by us *while* we're being awkward, and we'll both freak out...it would be nice to have someone else with me when that happens hahaha

      FIREFLYYYYYYYYYY!!!! LISTEN TO US AND WATCH IT, ELODIE!!!

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  2. Love this interview! (And Elodie, duh.) I'm so fascinated by this commute writing, I feel like it should be a book in itself. Also, for some reason, I have in my head that you commute from France to Germany every day.

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    1. haha I <3 Elodie, too! I also am under the somewhat vague (and totally wrong) assumption that she commutes from France to Germany. You need to stop being such a world traveler, Elodie! :P

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  3. Great interview! Trains are a great way to commute, read and get some writing done. And you DO need to watch Firefly...oh and me too. (;

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    1. YES to watching Firefly :)

      And I agree about the trains!

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  4. I loved learning more about Elodie! And great to meet you, Alex! I also need to watch Firefly as I LOVE Nathan Fillion . . . I wonder if it's on Netflix *rushes off to check*

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the interview! It was nice to meet you, too! I hope Firefly was indeed on Netflix haha :)

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  5. Great interview! It was nice to learn more about Elodie! And Elodie, like others have already said, you definitely need to watch Firefly! (and Serenity, the movie that caps the series off) My hubby and I are in the process of watching it AGAIN because it's the best!

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    1. SERENITY. THINKING ABOUT IT MAKES ME TEAR UP A LITTLE.

      Hope you're enjoying the re-watch :) I might have to do that soon!!!

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  6. "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"

    Yes! That is totally me too, Elodie! And I love your answer for Favorite Book of 2012. Makes me want to reread JELLICOE so I can swoon over Jonah all over again. :)

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    1. I adore that answer! And I haven't actually read JELLICOE, but I feel like I'm missing out on something...

      *adds to TBR list*

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  7. You do need to watch Firefly. Everyone does.

    Allison (Geek Banter)

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  8. Awesome interview! I love Elodie's answer for writing/reading YA - I do it for the same reasons. :)

    Sounds like I need to watch Firefly now!

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