Author Isabelle Hardesty at Dragon Con 2021

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Dragon Con 2021 was a blast! Thank you to the track directors for organizing interesting and fun panels. It was hard to select a favorite panel because each one had its own feeling. I talked about creativity, writing, evil fae, Buffy, and The Expanse show.

I will be back next year, with Midnight in Belle Fleur published, and working on more books. It’s such a joy being able to share my writing with Dragon Con fans. Please enjoy these photos. If you have a convention you enjoy going to, let me know!

 

Isabelle Hardesty is a Miami native who uses her creative work to share her experiences growing up in South Florida. She is committed to creating rich and strong female characters in her books. Hardesty wants young people and women of color to see themselves in her novels and know they are a meaningful part of the world they’re in.

Hardesty received her BFA from Pratt Institute and has worked in NYC as an assistant fashion designer. Her rich and textured life experiences allow her to create characters and plots that engage readers. One common thread in all of her professional experiences is that storytelling is always king.

Isabelle Hardesty’s first published work was a short story that was published in an anthology. This short story grew into The Delacourt Shapeshifter Trilogy.

Hardesty wove her love of magic and nature into her most recent novel, The Witch of Belle Fleur. Her book tells the story of Juliette, an Afro-Latina teen telenovela actress, teetering on the edge as she unravels her family’s secret of magic, only to discover that if she becomes a lead witch, she must let both good and evil magic return to her town.  Midnight in Belle Fleur is the sequel and will be available this year. This year, Isabelle was a panelist at Dragon Con 2021, where she discussed books, creativity, evil fae and more!

Isabelle Hardesty lives with her family in the Pacific Northwest.

The Witch of Belle Fleur is available at the Library!

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I am so excited that paperback copies of my novel, The Witch of Belle Fleur, are now available at King County Library System in Seattle! Are you interested in seeing my books at your local library?

All you have to do is contact your local librarian and they’ll help you with the easy process. By the way, I love having my books accessible to all.

I grew up with a love for libraries and believe librarians are like fairy godmothers, and godfathers. Speaking of accessible, by mid November, my books will be available at all the popular places to purchase e-books.

 

 

Isabelle Hardesty is a Miami native who uses her creative work to share her experiences growing up in South Florida. She is committed to creating rich and strong female characters in her books. Hardesty wants young people and women of color to see themselves in her novels and know they are a meaningful part of the world they’re in.

Hardesty received her BFA from Pratt Institute and has worked in NYC as an assistant fashion designer. Her rich and textured life experiences allow her to create characters and plots that engage readers. One common thread in all of her professional experiences is that storytelling is always king.

Isabelle Hardesty’s first published work was a short story that was published in an anthology. This short story grew into The Delacourt Shapeshifter Trilogy.

Hardesty wove her love of magic and nature into her most recent novel, The Witch of Belle Fleur. Her book tells the story of Juliette, an Afro-Latina teen telenovela actress, teetering on the edge as she unravels her family’s secret of magic, only to discover that if she becomes a lead witch, she must let both good and evil magic return to her town.  Midnight in Belle Fleur is the sequel and will be available this year. This year, Isabelle was a panelist at Dragon Con 2021, where she discussed books, creativity, evil fae and more!

Isabelle Hardesty lives with her family in the Pacific Northwest.

Author Isabelle Hardesty at Dragon Con 2021

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ISABELLE HARDESTY – DRAGON CON 2021

 

Title: Reading Session: Isabelle Hardesty

Time: Fri 10:00 am Location: Marietta – Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)

Speakers: Isabelle Hardesty

READING SESSIONS TRACK

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Title: Writers’ Panel: A Woman’s Perspective
Description: A panel discussion that focuses on women in areas of publishing, writing, editing, comics, & art from a woman’s perspective.
Time: Fri 01:00 pm Location: Inman – Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
Speakers: Isabelle Hardesty, Chantelle Aimée Osman, Seressia Glass, Jennifer Gilley

Moderator: Yvette Kendall

DIVERSITY TRACK

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Title: Trope-a-Licious
Description: Tropes are powerful story tools, but sometimes you just gotta shake things up! Let’s talk not just about the power of a trope but the power of mixing them up.
Time: Fri 05:30 pm Location: Embassy CD – Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
Speakers: Isabelle Hardesty, Steve Saffel, Michael J. Allen, Jeffrey Falcon Logue, Travis Heermann, Maria Dahvana Headley

FANTASY LITERATURE TRACK
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Title: Creativity 101
Description: Discover some simple but effective ways of enhancing creativity.
Time: Sat 11:30 am Location: Embassy EF – Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
Speakers:  Isabelle Hardesty ,Esther Friesner, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, Tamsin L. Silver, D.B. Jackson,  Nancy Knight,

WRITER’S TRACK

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Title: The Expanse: Looking Inward from the Ring
Description: The Inner Planets are staggered through the Free Navy’s devastation, & Mars’s plots for a better future–& it’s not on Mars. There is loss & danger & not a little bit of machinations, emotional & political. A look back at the past year & to what might be for the final season.
Time: Sat 04:00 pm Location: M301-M301 – Marriott (Length: 1 Hour)
Speakers: Isabelle Hardesty, Hanne Madeleine Gates Paine, Fr. Bryan Small,

AMERICAN SCI-FI AND FANTASY MEDIA TRACK

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Title: Teens Wanna Write?
Description: If you’re between 12 & 18, this is the workshop for you! This panel is especially for teens who want to write SF/Fantasy/Horror…and any other genre. You are the future of stories, books, & movies. It’s never too early to learn the ropes.
Time: Sun 01:00 pm Location: Embassy EF – Hyatt (Length: 1 Hour)
Speakers: Isabelle Hardesty, Nancy Knight, A. J. Hartley, J. Gregory Keyes, Mari Mancusi

WRITER’S TRACK

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Title: Terror & Beauty: Depictions of the Fae in Urban Fantasy
Description: Our panel of authors discuss the various depictions of the Fae, exploring how often the attractiveness displayed by the beings & their world mask an underlying layer of menace & peril.
Time: Sun 02:30 pm Location: Chastain 1-2 – Westin (Length: 1 Hour)
Speakers: Isabelle Hardesty, Kimbra Swain, Bishop O’Connell, Jean Marie Ward, Cecilia Dominic, Jim Butcher

URBAN FANTASY TRACK

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Title: My Favorite Is Better Than Yours: A Buffy Season Competition
Description: Our panelists will defend why their favorite season of Buffy is the best, & the audience will evaluate the arguments & pick a winner.
Time: Sun 07:00 pm Location: Chastain 1-2 – Westin (Length: 1 Hour)
Speakers: Isabelle Hardesty, Kevin Bachelder, Fr. Bryan Small, A. J. Hartley, J.F. Lewis, Daviorr Snipes, Kimbra Swain

URBAN FANTASY TRACK

 

Isabelle Hardesty is a Miami native who uses her creative work to share her experiences growing up in South Florida. She is committed to creating rich and strong female characters in her books. Hardesty wants young people and women of color to see themselves in her novels and know they are a meaningful part of the world they’re in.

Hardesty received her BFA from Pratt Institute and has worked in NYC as an assistant fashion designer. Her rich and textured life experiences allow her to create characters and plots that engage readers. One common thread in all of her professional experiences is that storytelling is always king.

Isabelle Hardesty’s first published work was a short story that was published in an anthology. This short story grew into The Delacourt Shapeshifter Trilogy.

Hardesty wove her love of magic and nature into her most recent novel, The Witch of Belle Fleur. Her book tells the story of Juliette, an Afro-Latina teen telenovela actress, teetering on the edge as she unravels her family’s secret of magic, only to discover that if she becomes a lead witch, she must let both good and evil magic return to her town.  Midnight in Belle Fleur is the sequel and will be available this summer.

Isabelle Hardesty lives with her family in the Pacific Northwest.

Brave Enough to Pick Flowers by Isabelle Hardesty

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Sometimes in life I’ve doubted myself and thought my ideas weren’t good enough.  We believe others have a special gift or power.  But then you step into your truth and see that all along, you’ve had the power. Your ideas are good enough.

There I was, with yet another chance to pick a perfect bouquet. In all the times I’ve had the chance to make my own bouquet from a field of flowers, I wasn’t brave enough to do it.

 

 

I’ve seen hundreds of bouquets. I think of the exquisite bouquet I held when I got married in 2007. I think of the Hollywood bouquets given in gestures of love in classic movies and television shows. I think of the many bouquets I’ve received and given. Those bouquets, each and every one of them, seemed perfect.

Well, I stood in the flower garden section of the U-Pick farm on a crisp Saturday morning with my son and husband, and I looked at the flowers. The flowers danced in the wind. I wasn’t sure if it was an invitation or a dare.

 

There were too many wonderful choices! Too many amazing colors! There were also sunflowers nearby, and I love those–they make me think of Van Gogh. As my mind raced, I realized I was losing my courage.

 

And then I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and enjoyed just being among the flowers. I opened my eyes and walked up to a pink flower and began collecting.

 

I made my bouquet one flower at a time. I walked to another flower, and added it to my collection. I did this about a dozen times, until I had a bouquet that made my heart smile.

The only way I was able to brave the overwhelmingly beautiful field of flowers was to focus on one flower at at a time.

One flower.

 

Now, whenever I have the opportunity to make my own bouquet of flowers, I know it will be the perfect blend of colors and scents.

 

 

About Isabelle Hardesty

Isabelle Hardesty profile image
Isabelle Hardesty Isabelle Hardesty writes stories about people doing magical things and kicking butt. She writes for all readers, and people like her, who didn’t see themselves in their favorite fantasy adventures growing up.

She is the author of The Witch of Belle Fleur, which is part of her book series, The Destroyer Witch Chronicles. Isabelle Hardesty is also the author of The Delacourt Shapeshifter trilogy, Sea Witch High duology, and Viola the Vampire Witch duology.

She lives with her husband and family in Atlanta. For more information at www.IsabelleHardesty.com.

Seattle Heat Wave and Lavender Fields

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A few weeks ago,  we had a heat wave in the Pacific Northwest. Many people think that since I’m from Miami I am used to heat waves of over 100 degrees.

Well, not really. When I grew up in Miami, we had heat waves that would take temperatures into the 90’s. Rarely did it go into 100 degrees and up. Besides, most  homes have air conditioning in the South Florida area.

So, when my husband and I found out it was going to go up to 116 degrees Fahrenheit in Seattle, we both said, “Yeah. No.”

My husband planned the perfect cool get away for us! It was a family trip with our four-year old son and we were headed to the picturesque San Juan Island. It was supposed to only go up to 83 degrees! YES!

As we drove the hour to the ferry boat, we checked the temperature of San Juan Islands. The cool 83 degree forecasted weather had shifted to 91!

Despite the weather being almost ten degrees warmer than we expected, we were wise enough to remember to be thankful–thankful that it wasn’t 116 degrees!

One of the highlights of our time on the island was our visit to Pelindaba Lavender. It was fragrant, beautiful and  so serene. My son, husband and I enjoyed their lavender flavored ice cream. Yummy!

We got home later that night and were glad that it was cooler. Ahhhh.

Sometimes technology makes us feel like we can outsmart Mother Nature. We weren’t able to escape the heat wave, but we were able to get away to a cooler part of the scorching heatwave.

Isabelle Hardesty has always had a love of magic and nature and weaves this into her books.  Her favorite things include silly socks and yummy chocolate. She lives with her family in the Pacific Northwest. Hardesty is a Miami native and writes OWNVOICES work. Find her novel THE WITCH OF BELLE FLEUR on Amazon.

Tulips in the Sun and Having Patience

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Okay, okay. I’ve heard it before–we all have. You can’t rush something. Things happen in time. Well, I really wanted to rush my tulips.

I love flowers!  What can I say? I even feature them in my novel, THE WITCH OF BELLE FLEUR.

What happened next?

In March I gave a friend a flower pot with tulips and she sent me a photo of her tulips and they had several buds.  I thought, surely I had done something wrong. My tulips that I had in the sun didn’t have any buds.

I  then moved my smaller flower pot inside. I was so delighted when I saw the first bud! I felt so accomplished! Luckily my outdoor flower pot was too heavy for me to move. So it remained in the sun.

As the days passed, I would go outside and look at my tulips in sun with mixed emotions. I was glad their color was a rich green, and they looked so healthy, but they didn’t have any buds yet. What was taking them so long?

Well, to this day, my tulips in the sun have not bloomed, but they now have beautiful and healthy buds ready to open when they are truly ready. My plants are healthy and are even producing small bulbs near the soil! I have never seen this with tulips, before. What a joy!

Rushing my indoor tulips gave me one flower, but it was short lived.  My tulips have shown me to have more patience in my life.

Tulip time, not my time.

So, as this year continues to flow, I am more mindful allowing things to unfold in their time, not mine.

Thank you for reading!

All the best,

Isabelle

 

  • Want to see amazing tulip photos from Skagit Valley, Washington and learn more about this lovely flower? Visit https://tulipfestival.org/

The photo below is from my beautiful tulips in the sun. Photo credit: Isabelle Hardesty

 

Isabelle Hardesty has always had a love of magic and nature and weaves this into her books.  Her favorite things include silly socks and yummy chocolate. She lives with her family in the Pacific Northwest. Hardesty is a Miami native and writes OWNVOICES work. Find her novel THE WITCH OF BELLE FLEUR on Amazon.

Valentine’s Day Love by Isabelle Hardesty

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We don’t have to wait for Valentine’s Day to celebrate love! Love is more than romantic love. It’s also self love, love for family, love for nature, and love for life. And as an author, it can also be a love for reading!

Which books do you love? Which book relationships, made you swoon or smile?

Each of my readers is special.  The following is for you. I’ve made the kind statements below and have changed then changed the “You”  to “I” so that if you would like, you can print and place it somewhere to remind you of how special you are. Or take a photo with your phone.

You are special.
You matter.
You are unique.
You are important.
You make a difference.

I am special.

I matter.

I am unique.

I am important.

I make a difference.

 

Happy reading!

Best wishes,

Isabelle

About Isabelle Hardesty

Isabelle Hardesty profile image

Isabelle Hardesty Isabelle Hardesty writes stories about people doing magical things and kicking butt. She writes for all readers, and people like her, who didn’t see themselves in their favorite fantasy adventures growing up.

She is the author of The Witch of Belle Fleur, which is part of her book series, The Destroyer Witch Chronicles. Isabelle Hardesty is also the author of The Delacourt Shapeshifter trilogy, Sea Witch High duology, and Viola the Vampire Witch duology.

She lives with her husband and family in Atlanta. For more information at www.IsabelleHardesty.com.

Mango Batido Smoothie Recipe Inspired by The Witch of Belle Fleur by Isabelle Hardesty

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Enjoy this mango batido smoothie recipe inspired by The Witch of Belle Fleur by Isabelle Hardesty.

In my book, The Witch of Belle Fleur, there are several delicious Caribbean foods and drinks that I added to celebrate my heritage . One that is easy to make is the Mango Batido, or Mango Smoothie.

Finally, blend, and be sure to add a pop of fun with a tiny umbrella, a slice of orange, or something that makes you smile!

What batido can you create with the fruits you may have in your kitchen today? Glad you were able to enjoy this mango batido smoothie recipe inspired by The Witch of Belle Fleur by Isabelle Hardesty

 

About Isabelle Hardesty

Isabelle Hardesty profile image

Isabelle Hardesty Isabelle Hardesty writes stories about people doing magical things and kicking butt. She writes for all readers, and people like her, who didn’t see themselves in their favorite fantasy adventures growing up.

She is the author of The Witch of Belle Fleur, which is part of her book series, The Destroyer Witch Chronicles. Isabelle Hardesty is also the author of The Delacourt Shapeshifter trilogy, Sea Witch High duology, and Viola the Vampire Witch duology.

She lives with her husband and family in Atlanta. For more information at www.IsabelleHardesty.com.

 

 

The Witch of Belle Fleur on Kobo, Nook, Etsy, and Amazon

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Hello from Mill Creek,

I am thankful for you! Thank you for being part of my journey as an author. I wish you all the best in your various projects you may have going on starting soon.

I now have my books on Kobo, Nook Etsy and Amazon! Check out these links! By the way, only Etsy has my limited author book box! 🙂

Etsy shoppers click here!  
Kobo shoppers click here! 
Nook shoppers:
Amazon shoppers: 

 Grab your copy of my most popular book, The Witch of Belle Fleur, today!
AMAZON

Happy reading!

Best wishes,

Isabelle
www.IsabelleHardesty.com