Hi! I’m Elissa!
I grew up in Utah Valley, which is apparently a hotbed of literary activity and has always felt a bit like fairyland. I’ve wanted to write fantasy stories ever since I learned how to read, which happened bright and early thanks to my wonderful parents. I was always surrounded with good books and encouraged to seek after beautiful things.
I’m married to the wonderful Tom Nysetvold, and we have three amazing children together. We live in Texas. I squeeze writing mostly into the moments when the kids are asleep. I also enjoy playing the piano, cooking, baking sourdough, yarn crafts, and reading. My favorite authors are J. R. R. Tolkien, Diana Wynne Jones, Gail Carson Levine, Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, Brandon Sanderson, Andrew Klavan, and Brandon Mull.
I’m a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My faith inextricably shapes how I live as well as how I write. I know it, I live it, I love it.
Contact me at elissawritesstuff@gmail.com, or find me on Facebook and Instagram.
Hello Ms. Elissa,
I hope you are doing well. I’m not sure whether or not you are the same Elissa Nysetvold who wrote the wonderful story “More beautiful than Tolkien,” from an old book published by the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, The Dating Game. The story, however, touched my heart and soothed my soul in a very positive way.
Best wishes,
Hamza Hassan
Saudi Arabia
Yep, that’s me. I’m glad you liked it!
I was impressed with the way you met Tom in you life and how your lives had very quickly incorporated in each other’s life. My heart sank in a sea of emotions that you had so much in common, especially the fictional literature. True love is not something we find, it is something that finds us. We should never get married with the person whom we can live with, we must marry the person whom we can’t live without. Sometimes in the middle of an ordinary life, love gives us an extraordinary fairytale.