I’ve been collecting great ideas for a wonderful fall series and wanted to give you updates about what to expect and some recent happenings! Due to a death in the family and some tech hiccups, the blog has been a bit sporadic. Thanks for your patience as we fixed everything! And nurtured our family for a while. Sometimes it’s important to slow down and simplify things while caring for one another. The good news, now, is I will share great content and hopefully some neat guest authors this fall. From entertaining posts we’re looking at changes at Disneyland (what will…
Happy Birthday Percy Jackson And The Jewelry Of The Gods
How meeting Percy Jackson shaped a generation of tween adventure books AND What the jewelry of the Greek and Roman gods might have looked like I’ll never forget the first time I read Percy Jackson and The Lightning Thief. Oh, I loved that scene in the museum where everything goes wrong and the hero side of an awkward kid emerges with lots of magic and mythological characters coming to life. And the fact that the story continued with other novels and took us through all kinds of adventures meeting making real and mythic history come to life was so…
Pitch Wars 2018 #BOOSTMYBIO
My WIP: LAUREN GOLDRAY AND THE CRYSTAL TIMESCOPE Middle Grade Fantasy This is my entry for #BoostMyBio for Pitch Wars 2018. Thank you to Auggie for hosting this great time to visit and meet other aspiring authors and get more involved in the fun of Pitch Wars, and everyone who makes this such a super event. About my WIP: When I was in gemology school (at the Gemological Institute of America – GIA) we studied the history of gems. I kept being intrigued that there were still unsolved mysteries about certain centuries of techniques and gems with special powers or…
Mashka Jewelers, San Francisco
I discovered wonderful Mashka Jewelers, truly a new favorite treasure by the historic area of Fisherman’s Wharf, where seagulls fly high, swimmers brave the brisk waves with Alcatraz in the distance, and fog burns away to reveal historic vessels and blue waters. I was with friends visiting San Francisco at the iconic Ghirardelli Square, the smell of chocolate in the air, when I spotted two of my favorite things— jewelry and books! I was fascinated by the designer’s whimsy and style. I thought I’d take you on a little tour of their showroom. It made me think some of the…
Great Reads: The Door In The Wall
This week under The Magical Gazebo, where I like to sit for the reviews, is an old favorite called The Door In The Wall by Marguerite de Angeli, which won the Newbery Medal in 1950. The theme of being heroic despite circumstances is very appropriate for the upcoming Memorial Day Holiday, and I want to thank any family and friends here who’ve served for our freedom. Rating: 5 out of 5 stars Is it a clean read? Yes but there are serious topics covered during the time of the plague, so perhaps better for tweens and teens than young readers….
Great Fake, Great Escapes – Royal Wedding Repost
In honor of the Royal Wedding, I’m re-posting this fun tidbit about the royal crown. Did you know there’s a mystery right there? What are your plans for the wedding this weekend? Did you know that the large ruby, called the Black Prince’s Ruby, on the front of Britain’s Imperial State Crown isn’t a ruby at all? For centuries there was no way to really tell the difference between red spinel and rubies. But this gem has such a rich history that its value stands out. Touching the lives of royals The gem’s first documented appearance is in fourteenth-century Spain….
Makeover time!
Thorn & Vine and my website ElizabethVanTassel.com are getting a makeover this month! If you tune in and things seem, well, a bit off or more creative than usual, or fonts are a bit sideways, I’m updating and simplifying a few things. Hold tight, we should be back to regular programming soon! The interesting thing is I’m getting a haircut tomorrow and we’re in the final stretch of the school year for our kids. Lots of parallels. Have you been in a season of change now, too? Take care and more soon! Elizabeth
How Huey Lewis Taught Me The Art Of Possibility
Recently I read that Huey Lewis, a great rock star with songs like “The Power of Love” from Back to the Future, “I Want A New Drug”, and “If This Is It” that were especially popular in the ‘80s, has suffered extensive hearing loss. I was remembering how he impacted my high school and early college years, hoping he recovers well. A dream come true When I was in high school, I wrote a letter thanking him for his great music and message (against drugs) and somehow, miraculously, it actually made it to him! I had seen him in town and…
The Allure of Pink Diamonds
To celebrate spring, we’re starting a new series with a gem of the month beginning with pink diamonds. My personal favorite gem stone is very rare, and even a bit mysterious. Perhaps as a gem mystery/fantasy author, that’s why I like it so much. I first saw the gem while I was in school to become a Graduate Gemologist in San Diego at the Gemological Institute of America. One afternoon, after a long day of studying in the lab, a rather sterile room filled with lots of microscopes and white desks, our instructor had us gather around. A famous jeweler…
One little voice
Can one little voice make a difference? I hope so. Having taken pause to notice a few things in the world, and help us craft our own world a bit more after our recent move, I’m going to be fine-tuning the blog and my social media in the coming months. A force for the positive It’s been a bumpy year and I can’t thank my writing community and friends enough for your support. I’ve noticed that even the smallest gesture can make a difference – an email, a call, a positive or funny post on line. Just that one little…
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