Izolda Trakhtenberg, Storyteller
Writer | Director | Playwright
Welcome! Do you like a good story? I’ve always loved hearing and telling stories. When I was a kid, I was the go-to storyteller in my friend group’s games of Light as a Feather. According to them, I told the “twistiest, turniest” tales. I loved making up all sorts of fantastical reasons for someone to become “light as a feather, stiff as a board, and hard as a rock.” Decades later, I turned the stories in my head into pages in books or scripts. And I’m not going to stop anytime soon.
I am Izolda Trakhtenberg, and I’m the author of nine books and numerous plays and movies. I also direct plays and movies, and I love to do it all. My stories have appeared in anthologies, magazines, and journals. In fiction, I write urban fantasy and mysteries. In non-fiction, I write on mindful creativity and self-development.
The Tarot Reader Mysteries Series
Die By The Sword, is the first book in the Tarot Card Thriller series. Cassie Belmont, a professional tarot card reader, works with the police to solve crimes in Washington DC. When someone starts killing people and leaving them looking like the images in her unique tarot deck, Cassie knows a more treacherous plot is unfolding.
It’s a twisty who-dunnit with a little magic peppered in.
Die By The Sword ( Order it on Kobo, Nook, or in my shop as a paperback, or eBook)
Editorial Services
Further, I provide editorial services for books, short stories, and articles. Please contact me for more information.
“Ms. Trakhtenberg improved my screenplay with suggestions as large as major plot points to as small as improved word choice. I feel lucky to have had her help.”
-Jacob Davenport, Screenwriter
Let’s Get Creative
I also facilitate workshops on teaching others to spark their own creativity. We can all use that creative spark for self-expression and our truth.
Anthologies
Read a short story in the Tarot Card Thriller world. The Celestial Queen appears in the New York State of Crime anthology from Sisters in Crime.
Cassie Belmont leaves her native Washington DC and travels to New York where a powerful talisman is stolen. She must use her intuitive and investigative skills to find the object and catch the thief before more grave dangers plague the attendants of the Celestial Concordat.
A collection of prompt-word-inspired flash fiction stories, In a New York Minute is brought to you by the Vegan Writers of NYC. Get your copy on Amazon.
I’m thrilled to announce that I’m one of the contributors to Midlife On Fire, the bestselling anthology.
Learn more about my books.
A Little About Me
I was born in the former Soviet Union. After a year-long immigration journey during which we lived in a war zone, my family arrived in the USA when I was seven years old. After I learned English, my amazing sixth-grade English teacher, Linda Gutman inspired me to become a voracious reader. Writing came later to me, but I have always been a teacher and storyteller. My books blend my love of mystery, music, fantasy, and adventure with love, friendship, and universal mysteries.
Through my workshops, I help people, companies, and organizations build their own creative genius and innovation skills. My “Work in Harmony®” and “Tell Your Story Better” workshops have garnered rave reviews at conferences, company meetings, and other events.
Izolda T 