I'm super excited to have Teodora Kostova, author of In a Heartbeat here with me today! Continue on to read her answers to my interview questions, and don't forget to follow the tour because you can win some pretty cool stuff ;)
Stella
“I’ve been in and out of hospitals for the past ten months. I’ve had half my liver removed and even though this time the doctors are very optimistic that they’ve removed all of the tumours, they can’t be sure. In another three months they want me here again for a check up. Right now I feel better than I’ve ever felt. I know the damn thing is gone, at least for the moment. Despite that, I can’t make any plans for the future, not yet. I need to go somewhere where nobody knows me, where I can relax and maybe even forget about all this. Where I can meet people who don’t think of me as the girl who lost her father and her brother in a car accident, and who has cancer. I want to have fun, even if it’s for a couple of months.”
When Stella decides to visit her estranged cousin Lisa in Genoa, she has no idea Italy will give her a new reason to live.Max
“Her gaze locked on a scene so beautiful, the picturesque beach paled in comparison. A lifeguard emerged from the water, his orange trunks stuck to his legs and water dripping all over him. He shook his head to get rid of some of the water in his hair and Stella felt as if everything started developing in slow motion – tiny drops of water slid from his neck down his broad chest and muscular arms, along a weaving tattoo on his right shoulder, and continued downwards towards his chest and washboard stomach, finally getting lost in the waistband of his trunks. A part of another tattoo peeked over his trunks on his left hip, the other part hidden under them. It was a total Baywatch moment.”
Their love is epic. But there are too many things keeping them apart.
“How could you keep this from me, Lisa? If you had told me the first day I met him, I would have avoided him like the plague. Nothing would have happened between us.”
“I kept your secrets, too, Stella.”Are Max and Stella strong enough to fight not only for their love, but for their lives?
What do you think readers will like about Stella's and Max's story?
The optimism. I know that at times it may seem all doom and gloom – a relationship with an expiration date as Stella would say – but it turns out it’s not. I want to inspire people not to get stuck in their misery if life isn’t turning out as they’ve palnned it. On a lighter note, I think they’ll like the location – Italy is an incredible country and I’m absolutely in love with it.
How did the story for your book come about? I mean, it's really not the usual storyline you see in this genre these days, which is a good thing. What was your inspiration?
I don’t really know! The story hit me like a high-speed train. I was browsing a photo website for inspiration when I came accross the photo that I used for the cover. I bought it on the spot, it was just something about that photo that caught my eye and I had to have it. Then the next day I was listening to this song called ’Run’ by Matt Nathanson and suddenly there were all kinds of scenes and people in my head, kicking and screaming to get out. I just sat down and wrote a few scenes, without any backgraoud or context, and during the next few days I outlined the whole story and all the characters.
What was your absolute favorite scene in the book? Is there any scene you would rewrite if you had the chance?
My favourite scene must be when Max took Stella around Tuscany to look at the houses he wanted to renovate some day – he spoke with such love and inspiration about those ruined buildings and about his future, and he managed to see the old houses turn into something amazing in his mind. I already re-wrote all scenes I wasn’t really happy about, so at the moment there’s nothing I’d change about the book.
Is there a song you could list as the theme song for your book or any of your characters?
I’d have to go for ’Run’ by Matt Nathanson as the theme song for the book, since it kind of inspired it. ’Lost in you’ by Three Days Grace would have to be Max’s song and ’Feel’ by Robbie Williams Stella’s.
What’s next for you?
At the moment I’m working on book 2 of the series, which is going to be Beppe and Gia’s story and then book 3 – Lisa and Gino’s. I’m hoping to have them both published by the end of 2013.
Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
I quoted Oscar Wilde at the beginning of In a Heartbeat, because I think that quote sums up pretty much the whole idea of the book – „To live is the rarest thing in the world, most people exist, that’s all.” Don’t just exsist. Live!
How did the story for your book come about? I mean, it's really not the usual storyline you see in this genre these days, which is a good thing. What was your inspiration?
I don’t really know! The story hit me like a high-speed train. I was browsing a photo website for inspiration when I came accross the photo that I used for the cover. I bought it on the spot, it was just something about that photo that caught my eye and I had to have it. Then the next day I was listening to this song called ’Run’ by Matt Nathanson and suddenly there were all kinds of scenes and people in my head, kicking and screaming to get out. I just sat down and wrote a few scenes, without any backgraoud or context, and during the next few days I outlined the whole story and all the characters.
What was your absolute favorite scene in the book? Is there any scene you would rewrite if you had the chance?
My favourite scene must be when Max took Stella around Tuscany to look at the houses he wanted to renovate some day – he spoke with such love and inspiration about those ruined buildings and about his future, and he managed to see the old houses turn into something amazing in his mind. I already re-wrote all scenes I wasn’t really happy about, so at the moment there’s nothing I’d change about the book.
Is there a song you could list as the theme song for your book or any of your characters?
I’d have to go for ’Run’ by Matt Nathanson as the theme song for the book, since it kind of inspired it. ’Lost in you’ by Three Days Grace would have to be Max’s song and ’Feel’ by Robbie Williams Stella’s.
What’s next for you?
At the moment I’m working on book 2 of the series, which is going to be Beppe and Gia’s story and then book 3 – Lisa and Gino’s. I’m hoping to have them both published by the end of 2013.
Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers?
I quoted Oscar Wilde at the beginning of In a Heartbeat, because I think that quote sums up pretty much the whole idea of the book – „To live is the rarest thing in the world, most people exist, that’s all.” Don’t just exsist. Live!
Thank you for taking the time to answering my questions. And congrats on the release of In a Heartbeat!
Thank you for having me, it was a pleasure!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Hi, my name is Teodora and I live in London with my husband Ted and my son Jason. I've been writing ever since I can remember, but it became my full time job in 2010 when I decided that everything else I've tried bores me to death and I have to do what I've always wanted to do, but never had to guts to fully embrace. I've been a journalist, an editor, a personal assistant and an interior designer among other things, but as soon as the novelty of the new, exciting job wears off, I always go back to writing. Being twitchy, impatient, loud and hasty are not qualities that help a writer, because I have to sit alone, preferably still, and write for most of the day, but I absolutely love it. It's the only time that I'm truly at peace and the only thing I can do for more than ten minutes at a time - my son has a bigger attention span than me.
When I'm procrastinating, I like to go to the gym, cook Italian meals (and eat them), read, listen to rock music, watch indie movies and True Blood re-runs. Or, in the worst case scenario, get beaten at every Wii game by a five year old.
When I'm procrastinating, I like to go to the gym, cook Italian meals (and eat them), read, listen to rock music, watch indie movies and True Blood re-runs. Or, in the worst case scenario, get beaten at every Wii game by a five year old.
Great interview!! Thanks for being a part of the tour Andie!! <3
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