Author: Elodie

Author of heartwarming, hilarious and hot romcoms with grumpy book boyfriends that make me laugh out loud and heart-pounding, haunting romantic suspense novels that scare the crap out of me. All of them hard to put down... I will never lose my French accent. You can email me at: authorelodienowodazkij@gmail.com
reading

Because hope is a magical word…Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Elodie

Disclaimer: Laini Taylor has a way with words, she makes magic with them and spreads hope while touching your heart…

Summary from Goodreads: Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky. In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.  And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.  Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious “errands”; she speaks many languages—not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out. When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself

I finished Daughter of Smoke and Bone this week-end. I had picked it up after reading so many good reviews about it and seeing it showing up on Best Reads of 2011. I was not quite sure what to expect from it. I went into reading this book with anxious questions: would I actually enjoy it? will I feel with Karou?

And then…I read the first sentence.

The story of Karou and Akiva is not just another star-crossed love story. It takes your heart, breaks it and tries to mend it as it goes.  Karou is the type of heroin you root for.  You feel close to her as the book reveals her personality and her quirks.  The way she reacts makes sense because that´s how well you get to know her. What I particularly enjoyed is how true the emotions felt in such a fantastic world. And there are the details: you can roam the streets of Prague with Karou (I´ve been there once and this is such a magical place), you can learn so much about men with mustache (and here I mentioned this in my Happy Friday post but it reminds me of the way Gogol wrote), you are reminded how there´s always more to a story than the surface, how myths grow on history (to use Laini´s words)

Favorite quotes:

  • “Stop squandering yourself, child. Wait for love.”
  • “Have you ever asked yourself, do monsters make war, or does war make monsters?”
  • “She had been innocent once, a little girl playing with feathers on the floor of a devil’s lair.”
  • “My life is blood because my world is beasts”
  • “Wishes are false. Hope is true. Hope makes its own magic.”

So tell me, what book surprised you recently? and did you have a nice weekend? 🙂

Happy Friday, reading, revising

Happy Friday #5: Reading, Revising and Rollers…

Elodie

It’s already the 5th week of “Happy Friday”.  Yay!

Ok I have to admit there will be no rollers in this post…I was just looking for another word starting with the letter “R” 😀

* Happy for Christa: I started following Christa a few weeks ago and I am happy I did  ( I found another Center Stage fan). In case you have not seen Christa´s news, she announced on Wednesday her book deal with SimonPulse. The story of Ani and Ben  is not the kind that will make your heart flutter with happiness, actually it might tear up and break but it seems to be powerful, gut-wrenching. It’s a story which needed to be sent to the world.

* Revising: Chapter 4 and I had a date. We fought. We made up.

* Reading: I am in the middle of a Daughter of Smoke and Bone and wow, Laini Taylor has a magical way with words. I love all the references of men with moustache (for some reasons, this reminds me of one of the short stories from Gogol)

I did a little happy dance yesterday as I joined NetGalley to receive ARCs on my Kindle (thanks to Tarah who posted about currently reading Goddess Interrupted) As you may have guessed from my January books post, I have a lot of time to read…so that will be great to get my fingertips on some not-yet-released-look-at-me-I’m-so-cool-books… And I already got approved for some. (more on them soon…ta ta ta da *that was me building up suspense*)

* On InstaLove by Jaimee: If you have not yet seen Jaimee’s post on InstaLove, go ahead, I’ll wait here.

waits, waits, waits.

Cool, you’re back 🙂 While I do enjoy Valentine’s Day a tad more than Jaimee apparently, I wholeheartedly agree with her take on InstaLove. My heart beats a bit faster when I can see the sparks between people as they first lay eyes on each other call it InstaYummfactor) and then the fireworks when they first interact with one another (call it InstaConnection). I do need the connection though, the laughing or the long discussions. I need something. If there are no explanations or if the love is just based on the looks or does not seem reciprocated (the guy is a jerk, stalker, ignores her completely…) then it can become more of an InstaObsession. While the story can still work if the main character conveys this to the reader (and not just the I am so happy, we’re in love), it needs to develop.

* Honeymoon: And because I just talked about love, I am happy to report that hubby and I have finally booked our flights for our honeymoon (we got married in August). We’re going to the US for 3 weeks. Road Trip. Mustang. Leaving the work Blackberry at home. We’re going to visit dear friends in many States  and spend some time in a Bed and Breakfast in Cape Cod…and I will get to roam the streets of Manchester-By-The-Sea (that is where my WIP takes place…I talked about it in my Dreaming of a Writing Retreat post)…

I wish you all a wonderful week-end and I am looking forward to know what made YOU smile this week 🙂 

reading, revising

My January books :D

Elodie

Yesterday, I posted a letter “Dear Book, it´s not you it´s me” in which I tried to explain to this wonderful novel that this was not the right time for us to become involved. I just figured out why. The book I was trying to read (and only got a few pages in) was in French. I love reading in my mother tongue as it helps me to remember the way the words flow, their melody, their strength and their passion.

However, I am currently revising my first draft – and I write in English. Reading in one language while my brain keeps on calling me back to my manuscript which is in another language just does not work right at the moment. The funny thing is that it does not bother me when I write.

And I did do plenty of reading this month in English. Really, I enjoyed 15 books (see my Goodread shelf for more info): 13 young adult novels and 2 were thrillers 😀

I commute and I took a short writing break after finishing my first draft. Plenty of time. Some of those books took my breath away. Out of 15, it´s difficult to pick only one book and I won´t 🙂 but I will name the ones that sticked with me for a long long time after I put them down.

The Hunger Games trilogy, Divergent, Anna and The French Kiss, The Statistical Probabability of Love at First Sight…

What do all of these books have in common despite being so different?

I felt with the characters on many levels, the voices were amazing and the emotions jumped out of the pages right into my heart 🙂

Which book(s) did you read this month that you simply could not put down?

reading, revising, writing

Dear Book…It’s not you, it’s me

Elodie

I need to apologize to the book I am currently reading. 

It’s just not the relationship it used to be and it is all my fault.

Dear Book,

I am sorry that I am not paying attention to you as I should, or that it is taking me longer to care about the characters. It’s not your fault, it’s mine.

I know you don’t believe me. I see you looking at me with your big dark words. You think I’m just saying it to make you feel better. But it’s true.  I am not ready for a committed relationship  at the moment.

It sounds cliché you say. Please don’t cry. I know you want my fingers on your pages. I promise to come back to you when I feel less distracted. I know I should not be looking at that other book this way but we grew older together. The words on its paper are mine, you see and I recognize their potential. The characters are in my head and they won’t rest until I give them more time.

You are truly a wonderful book and I do love you. I just don’t love you that way yet. Maybe we’ll get there if I give you a try. Maybe you will help me get the voice in my own draft even stronger.

I guess time will tell but in the meantime, please don’t take it personally. I am sure somebody else somewhere already loves you the way you deserve to be loved.

Take care

Elodie

Now tell me 🙂

Do you sometimes get too distracted to really engage in a book ? or how do you deal with revising/reading?

personal

11 things about me…

Elodie

The lovely Moosenoose tagged me into the 11 things blog series 🙂

The rules are:

  1. Each person must post 11 Things about them on their blog.
  2. Answer the questions the tagger set up for you and come up with 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer.
  3. Choose 11 people who you are going to tag, and tag them in your post.
  4. And finally, make sure you let them know that you tagged them!
  5. P.S. No Tag Backs

Ok so here I am going to do it in a different manner – instead of tagging 11 people, every blogger who reads this and wants to do it can feel free to do so – just let me know so that I can hop on to your blog and learn 11 things about you 🙂 I have been doing a lot of tagging lately so you know it´s starting to feel like poking (Facebook reference, I went there :D) but since it is a wonderful idea in the first place to learn more about people I enjoy the posts/comments, it´d be great if you decide to go for it 🙂

11 things about me

    • I recently developed an addiction to pinterest (there are a loooot of shiny things on there)
    • At my wedding, I danced with my father to this song
  • And with the hubby to that one
  • I used to live in Maryland
  • I got to see Jon Stewart at a show in Columbia and at the taping of the Daily Show
  • I like to read people magazines (People, US Weekly…) – yes I do
  • I don´t really like change but still go through the motions
  • I love to play scrabble
  • A great evening with friends can be spent playing poker 🙂
  • I love Disney movies
  • I am 30 years old

Here are the very original questions Moosenoose came up with:

  1. If you could visit just one place in Europe, where would it be?  Home. So that I could spend time with my family.
  2. Do you have a favourite book? Nope. Really. I love too many books to play favorite or I´d just feel bad to pick just one.
  3. What chore do you absolutely hate doing? Cleaning the bathroom. Not my thing.
  4. If you could choose to stay a certain age forever, what age would it be and why? I like my age right now. 30 is good. But that can only work if everybody can stay the same age. I could not stay young while everybody else grows older. I mean have you seen Highlander, it´s not easy!
  5. Do you have any bad habits and what are they? I have plenty of bad habits. I can be super organized at work and not as much at home (even though that is getting better). Worrying too much. Just to name two.
  6. What is the one thing that you love the most about yourself? I am nice to others and I don´t judge easily at all. Basically I am much easier on others than on me 🙂
  7. How many languages can you speak? Fluently: 3
  8. How did you come up with your blog name? I spend more than 2 hours each day commuting…and I´m a girl 🙂
  9. Do you have any tattoos or piercings (full details please)? Nope the only thing pierced are my ears…
  10. If you had to be a mystical/supernatural being which would you be (e.g. Vampire, Werewolf, Zombie, Wicca, Banshee, Succubus, Ghost etc) and why? Probably a ghost, I don´t feel like biting people, werewolves are a bit too hairy for my taste. I enjoy Zombie movies (and the Walking Dead series) but come on zombies just don´t appear to be super happy people…As a ghost, I´ll make sure others are ok or I´ll look for The Ghost Whisperer 🙂
  11. What is the one item you can’t live without (not a person or pet!) a book

And here are mine if you choose to take on the 11 things mission…It´d be great if you do 😀

  1. What was your favorite cartoon as a child?
  2. Did you have an imaginary friend?
  3. Favorite drink?
  4. If you could tell one thing to your first love what would it be?
  5. If you could have dinner with one character from your favorite novels, where would you go?
  6. Name one thing your parents taught you
  7. Do you have a pet? If yes, what is it? If no, why not?
  8. Where would you love to travel to?
  9. Your favorite memory from high school?
  10. What song makes you want to smile as soon as you hear it?
  11. Why did you start blogging?
Happy Friday, reading

Happy Friday #4: Shatter Me and other stories

Elodie

Shatter Me

Goodreads summary: Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.  The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

I won Shatter Me at the beginning of the year and as you can imagine, did a little happy dance. It is the first book I win and it is signed by the author (Thanks again, Beth!).  Really, it is signed and with a great reminder too!

I received the book on Tuesday and started reading on Wednesday.

And…I love it! I want to hug it and hug Tahereh Mafi (not in a weird way just in a “Thank you for writing this book” way)

At the beginning I was unsure, the writing looked a bit different  innovative and I wondered if I could get used to it. Honestly, I did not dive into the story right away.  I was intrigued. My oh my, but when I did jump into it, there was no coming back 🙂 I did get used to the visual, I enjoyed it but I especially relished the poetry falling from some of the sentences and…the relationship between Juliette & Adam is jumping out of the pages. Their story made my heart beat a bit faster. For those of you who read the book, may I just say “Shower scene”, for those of you who didn’t let’s just put it that way: it is steaaammmmy and totally makes sense for the story. It’s not one of those shower scenes in a movie where you just know it has been added so the viewers can see a little bit more skin for no apparent reason. My hubby still loves these scenes 🙂

The way Adam handles his little brother is just another factor to root for him and brings on so many more emotions in the story. Of course, Shatter Me brings much more to the table that those two relationships, it handles feeling different, feeling rejected and acceptance in a touching manner.

Some of my favourite quotes:

  • “Hate looks like everybody else until it smiles”
  • “He takes my hand. Intertwines our fingers. Offers me a smile that manages to kiss my heart.”
  • “I grin. ‘So you’re ten years old?’ He crosses his arms. Frowns. ‘I’ll be twelve in two years.’ I think I already love this kid.”

Versatile Blogger Award: Thanks again Ann Elise Monte and S.M. Boyce 🙂

ChangeWriteNow:

Doing pretty well this week – and stopped smoking on Monday, 5.30pm. Technically one of my goal was to reduce smoking not totally quit but I told myself it was time. I am 30 years old, it’s a good age to stop smoking :-). If I could talk to my 23 year old self, I would tell her “It’s not worth it, it will increase your anxiety, not decrease it…and quitting will kick your butt” I am a paradox, never smoked in France where all my friends did and started in the US. Everything is a learning experience, I am trying my best, let’s see how it unfolds.

So, tell me what made you SMILE this week?

personal

I would like to thank the academy for…The Versatile Blogger Award :-)

Elodie

I received the Versatile Blogger award from both Ann Elise Monte and S.M. Boyce. By the way if you do not know their blogs, go pay them a visit, I promise it’s worth it 🙂 Thank you again very much ladies, I really appreciate it!!!

So what I’m supposed to do is: (1) share 7 things about me and….(2) pass on the award to 15 bloggers – (I´ll probably pass it on to less people than 15 though – I am feeling a tad playful today :-))

7 things about me: 

1.            My hubby is also called The Chemical Engineer

2.            My married name is Ukrainian

3.            I played volleyball in Junior high

4.            I miss the piano (played it from the age of 5 until 15)

5.            My hometown is a village (less than 600 people) an hour from Paris

6.            I have two older sisters – yes I am the baby of the family 🙂

7.            I first came to the US as an “Au Pair” and I took care of two little girls (they were my junior bridesmaids at my wedding)

Drum roll

Are you ready? Set! At your fingertips and mouse to discover some great blogs! (by the way if you’d like to see to which blogs I had passed the Kreativ award to, you can check here)

I am happy to pass on this award to:

Jaime – Her blog is not only adorable, she is witty, funny, honest in her writing and talks about books, writing and random things which make me smile…

Juliana – I really enjoy Juliana’s voice. It breaks through the written words 🙂

Robin – She has a great mix of things including the feature “news to novels” which triggers my creativity buttons and if you have not read her RTW take on two characters from different YA novels meeting up, you should it´s hilarious!

Colin – Colin has been one of the first blog I started to follow and I love that he mixes things up while keeping it real.

Tracey – She not only has great graphics (no really look at them!), she also has great ideas! For example: creepy children prompt and the YA book club.

Jessica – She has the sunshine shining on her blog and in her posts 🙂

Thanks again for passing on the award to me – it really does warm my heart to know people enjoy my posts…

Road Trip Wednesday, writing

Two worlds collide…

Elodie

Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where YA Highway’s contributors post a weekly writing- or reading-related question that begs to be answered. In the comments, you can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.

This week’s topic: Write a dialogue between two of your favorite YA characters

Two worlds collide in my imagination even though they may have more in common than what they think: Sean from the Scorpio Races meets Anna & Etienne from Anna and The French Kiss.

Or where a boy from the Island ends up in Paris…

I know it has to be a dream. Puck always sleeps right next to me but as I extend my arm, I realize she is gone and I hear whispers above my head.

“Do you think he is awake?” A girl’s voice fills my ears. I open my eyes slowly and I am taken aback. Nothing seems familiar. My soul needs to venture where the salty air can steady my breath so that I know I am alive.

“Hello mate, are you alright?” Another unfamiliar voice, this one coming from a man with a strange accent…Maybe they took me to the mainland, maybe Puck is around somewhere, waiting for me to wake up.

“Where is she?” I finally manage to ask.

“Who are you talking about? I remember when I first arrived, I cried a lot but you’ll get used to it. I mean it’s not all that bad. You’re in Paris after all…and if you like movies, you’re in the right place. Etienne and I are will go see one tonight. You’re more than welcome to join”

My eyes widen as I slowly process what she is telling me. I try my best not to stare at the blonde streak inside her brown hair. I notice the way she says the boy’s name. A caress to him.  The way he looks at her tells me all I need to know.

“It cannot be.” I do not say another word. They cannot know that my heart is longing for the one I know will share my life. She and I do not question our future; we found each other and ourselves at the same time.

I block out the noise and as darkness surrounds me, I simply wish to be back where I belong.

The End

Do you sometimes wonder what a character from one novel would say to a character from another novel?

What did you think about Sean’s encounter with Anna and Etienne?

Looking forward to your comments 🙂

Editing, personal, Query, writing

Don´t be scared…

Elodie

That would be me hiding away on Friday after posting my draft query to be reviewed. I thought “hmm sounds good…let’s get this baby rolling”…After receiving some very constructive feedback, I realized “hmmm that sucked”

The wonderful thing about feedback is that it helps to make us better and stronger. Plus, I realized there was something positive in my very crappy-I´m-even-wondering-if-I-should-not-delete-the-message-on-forum-first-query (somebody liked my voice in that mess :-))

I also appreciated something else which for somebody a tad perfectionist can be difficult: I will not be perfect at my first-go. This will take time and it’s ok. I am swimming in unknown waters. Finishing the first draft is just the first step in a looong process. On a brighter note, I started editing and even though it is kicking my butt, I can see my story getting to a better place 🙂

Now, tell me 🙂

What do you do when you just want to put your paws (huh I mean hands) in front of your face?

Happy Friday, reading, writing

Happy Friday #3 – Anna and the French Kiss and other stories…

Elodie

Yay! It´s already the third edition of “Happy Friday” 🙂 Looking forward to know what made you happy this week? Did you write more than expected? Did you read something amazing? Did you help another writer/reader? Did you enjoy quality time with your loved ones? 

* I finished my first draft!: I am still super excited about this, even though I am now seriously thinking about the best way to tackle the editing process…(and the query :D)…

* Anna and the French Kiss

After diving into several YA contemporary romance novels and loving them, I thought I should dig into the ones I heard so many good reviews about and had not yet read. That is when Anna and the French Kiss comes in. And gosh I´m glad I did!

Awwwww….I had a lot of heart melting moments reading the story of Anna. The voice caught me right at the beginning, right after the first few lines…I actually stopped reading and thought “Wow, I already love the voice”. I mean, I could hear and see Anna from the get go and in just a few sentences!  The story itself wrapped me around its little finger. On top of the love story, the friendships, the first times, I could also see Paris, the streets I know and miss.

I also now read Lola and The Boy Next Door...and let´s just say I cannot wait for Isla and The Happily Ever After

* YA Book club

Tracey announced a yearlong YA Book Club 😀 and I´m quite excited to have joined. It´s starting in February and I am looking forward to discuss the books here and on the blogs of the other YA Book Clubbers 😀 And….I have the badge with the link on the sidebar if you want to take a look and maybe join as well.

* ChangeWriteNow

We´re in our 3rd week and it´s getting a tad easier to fit in the work-outs in the morning…The ladies of my team are still as supportive as ever 😀 oh if you´re not on Twitter or do not check the #ChangeWriteNow you can see a weekly wrap-up here

So tell me any happy stories this week? (anything that made you smile to  is a happy story :-))