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Elizabeth Van Tassel

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Author Elizabeth Van Tassel holding Warriors Against The Storm Anthology

Warriors Against The Storm Anthology

Oct 9, 2020

I wanted to share some good news and thank you all for your prayers and support the last several months especially! As some of you know, I’ve been working on fundraisers for a dear author friend who lost her home and wellness to mold poisoning. As a wildfire survivor who’s had to rebuild her own life, I couldn’t just sit by and watch as Mary Weber and her family dealt with so much (more background HERE). So, I reached out to friends and over time we built a big team—and the team has just done something AMAZING. It has been… 

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Dust Blog Tour Stop #12 and Interview

Jun 11, 2020

Hey Lost Boys and Girls welcome to the Dust Blog Tour which features my friend author Kara Swanson with her amazing Peter Pan retelling called Dust. It will debut on July 21, 2020 and I would highly recommend a pre-order. By participating in the whole blog tour, you can read many interviews with her and also win gorgeous swag. But watch out for Captain Hook along the way! To get in the mood, I brought all my treasures together with Peter Pan and Wendy and the family – including this map and teapot and mug. And pixie dust. So, without… 

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The Lost Kingdom of Bamarre book with tree and author Elizabeth Van Tassel

Book Review of The Lost Kingdom of Bamarre

Apr 26, 2020

My review for MMGM, Marvelous Middle Grade Monday, under the Magical Gazebo this week taught me bravery, endurance, cleverness, and was deeply entertaining and fun with The Lost Kingdom of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine (yes, that one – who wrote Ella Enchanted!). My review I’ve been saving this read from one of my favorite authors, and it seems like someone knew I’d need it right now, going into week eight of being on quarantine in Northern California. We’ve all had to be more brave in weird ways recently, haven’t we? Well, I found such inspiration from Levine’s main character,… 

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Book Review of The Good Thieves by Katherine Rundell

Sep 15, 2019

My review for MMGM, Marvelous Middle Grade Monday, under the Magical Gazebo this week brought me on such a great adventure with The Good Thieves by Katherine Rundell. My review My favorite things about The Good Thieves was the deep friendships formed by four very unlikely and uniquely talented children in the face of uncertainty and a very daunting task that the main character, Vita, undertakes when she tries to help her grandfather after he’s been cheated out of his castle by a thug. A polio survivor during the 1930s and freshly-arrived in New York, young Vita finds an inner… 

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Magical Doorway Reads

Mar 3, 2019

My reviews for MMGM, Marvelous Middle Grade Monday, under the Magical Gazebo this week include three books that all involve going through a portal or transition to a land beyond. They couldn’t be more different than one another but each has a distinctive experience in another land, powerful lessons they learn there, and key decision points that will change their lives forever. Circus Mirandus by Cassie Beasley A dying grandfather shares amazing stories of a circus with an invisible tiger, a flying birdwoman, and the magician called The Man Who Bends Light, stories that may in fact be real. Young… 

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Repost: Actress Amanda McDonough’s Journey From Deafness To A Loud Voice For Change

Feb 12, 2019

In honor of #storieswithstephfeb19 – An encouraging friend – When I think of someone inspiring, I consider actress Amanda McDonough and her new book #readytobeheard – How I lost my hearing and found my voice. Amanda and I met at a writer’s conference and I was immediately drawn to her sunshine personality and positivity. It was only when she moved her hands with sign language that I realized she had hearing issues. 🤘🏻 The main character in my middle grade fantasy is hard of hearing, so I felt honored when Amanda shared her story of waking one day to complete… 

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The Unexpected Dazzling Swim Class

Jan 11, 2019

Everyone moved side to side, warming up as dancers before a ballet or jazz class. A few stretched, but mainly tried not to splash their neighbor too much. The music started and was festive with accents from the 1980s. It lifted us all with a can-do attitude. But then they added weights… We all groaned and continued, and laughed. All except a very tall senior person, who I call the General, who was at the back of the class looking serious and sedate. It was my second week back at water aerobics here in the Bay Area and I watched… 

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Favorite Reads of 2018

Nov 29, 2018

The Not-To-Miss Books, Great Gift Ideas, and Favorite Reads for Middle Graders I’m so excited to share some of my favorite reads to add to your Christmas list for boys and girls ages eight to thirteen years. One of my pet peeves is hearing parents at school say their kids don’t like to read. I think, really, they may just not have found their niche. My favorite ones are fantasy, comedy, mysteries, and historical fiction. I’ll highlight some series with new releases and favorites in this blog post so you can shop for your kids this holiday season. Ahoy, Pirates!… 

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Flashback Book Launch Event with Author Shannon Messenger

Nov 18, 2018

Recently, author Shannon Messenger, who writes the wonderful Keeper of the Lost Cities series began her book launch tour for her book Flashback. I was excited to meet up with a friend in our MG Lunch Bunch readers group and enjoy Messenger’s talk sponsored by Kepler’s Literary Foundation. I had met and interviewed her a couple of years ago (you can see the interview HERE) and was so very delighted to watch the mounting excitement as kids and parents entered the room. I sat next to a group of middle-school aged girls who were carrying sparkly backpacks and had home-made… 

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Happy Birthday Narnia and Everything C.S. Lewis

Oct 17, 2018

In honor of it being the birthday of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and Narnia, which is sixty-eight years old this week, under the magical gazebo for MMGM I wanted to share some memories of my summer C.S. Lewis study abroad program. I also have some great Narnia-themed products and books to share. When I was a young girl, I discovered the world of Narnia and wonderful books by C.S. Lewis, never suspecting that those wondrous moments stepping through the wardrobe would shape my writing and love for portal fantasy stories. I didn’t know about the spiritual allegory… 

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