I was born in the former Soviet Union, and my family’s journey to the United States took us through a year in a war zone. By the time we arrived, I was seven years old and had a brand-new life to figure out.
Once I learned English, everything changed. My sixth-grade English teacher, Linda Gutman, opened the door to reading for me. That spark lit the path. Writing followed, as did my calling as both teacher and storyteller. Today, my books weave together mystery, music, fantasy, and adventure, all bound by the threads of love, friendship, and life’s biggest questions.
Curiosity carried me into travel and education. I worked in the Educational Media division at the National Geographic Society, then as an environmental educator for NASA. That role took me around the world, leading workshops that helped young people understand and care for our planet. Along the way, I met extraordinary people, each doing their part to share Earth’s story with the next generation.
My great grandmother also inspired in me a love of the mysterious. She taught me to read with regular playing cards, and when I was a teenager, I discovered the tarot. Now, I’ve read for more than 16,000 people and have released The Functional Tarot Deck and Book to help others gain wisdom, insight, and answers for themselves. Learn more about my work as a reader at ReadingsByIzolda.com.
I released my first book, “Life Elements: Transform Your Life with Earth, Air, Fire, and Water,” in 2008.
My first book in the Fairy Godmother Diaries series, “The Fiddler’s Talisman,” was released in 2011. “The Piano’s Key,” book two in the series, was published in 2016. Die by the Sword, book one in the Cassie Belmont Tarot Reader Mystery series came out in 2022.
In 2011, I wrote, directed, and created the NASA movie, “Breathable: NASA Monitors Our Changing Air Quality.” The movie traces air quality research and innovations from the 1940s to the present day.
I released the first book in the Cassie Belmont Tarot Reader Mysteries, Die by the Sword in 2022. I’m currently writing “The Poisoned Cup and hope to have it out by the holiday season of 2025.
The Functional Tarot deck that accompanies the Tarot Reader Mystery series is available, and to make it super easy to read the cards, I wrote and released the Functional Tarot book.
I teach classes and facilitate workshops on writing, public speaking (for authors and others), and singing. I also host and produce the long running hit podcast, Your Creative Mind.
I practice and teach yoga, Tai Chi, and I have my first-degree black belt in aikido. In my free time, I still sometimes take photographs like these ones.
My husband and I live in Brooklyn, NY with our cats, and an apartment full of books, musical instruments, and juggling clubs. And I travel whenever and wherever I can.
Here are some shots of me doing things I love. Enjoy!
Last, I’m the current President of the Board of the Sisters in Crime New York crime writers chapter.
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Tidbits
Song: Here’s To Life by either Shirley Horn or Eartha Kitt (but I love to sing most music.)
Artist: Evelyn De Morgan
Musical: Wicked/Pippin (I’m a Stephen Schwartz fan-girl, but recently I also loved Real Women Have Curves, Maybe Happy Ending, Sunset Blvd, and Some Like It Hot.)
Musician: Billy Joel, Sarah Vaughan, David Bowie, Manhattan Transfer, Ella Fitzgerald, Sara Bareiles, but oh so many others.
Playwright: Shakespeare (duh), Harold Pinter, Tom Stoppard, and Lauren Gunderson.
City: New York! (But also Key West, Havana, Galway, and San Francisco)
Coffee or Tea? Tea but only because I can no longer drink coffee.
Cats or Dogs? Both! Though cats edge dogs out by a hair.
Backpack or Purse? Backpack.
Cookie: Chocolate Chip.
Favorite book: as a child, Crockett Johnson’s Harold and Purple Crayon. As a teen, Down a Dark Hall by Lois Duncan. As an adult, Sheri S. Tepper’s Gibbon’s Decline and Fall.
Last, I’m the current President of the Board of the Sisters in Crime New York crime writers chapter.
