Barbara Boyd on being a book coach in Italy
She began as a reader on the bookmobile in her small New Jersey town. Her next chapter was as a writer, but these days she lives on an olive farm in Italy, and she’s back to reading in her role as a coach, guiding authors through the process of writing their own books.
Writing a book is hard. It’s really hard. (Barbara, 13:30)
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Barbara Boyd coaches writers in non-fiction, middle grade, literary fiction, and memoir. A nurturer and consummate organizer, Barbara helps writers clarify and express their ideas while advocating for the reader. She has collaborated on more than two hundred books in various roles of book coach, developmental editor, and ghostwriter on topics that include leadership, health, self-help, finance, and memoir. Under her own name, she’s authored a dozen books for the For Dummies, Complete Idiot’s Guide, and Teach Yourself Visually series. Barbara believes everyone has a book to write—you need only ask the right questions. To learn more, visit www.barbarajboyd.com.
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Noah Charney on the life of a writer in Slovenia
As a young man, author Noah Charney dreamed of living in Europe. Anywhere in Europe. In fact, he tried out life in some six different countries before landing in Slovenia, the country that would steal his heart.
“There’s a way to actually make the sensation of time feel like it slows down, and is richer and broader.” (Noah, 23:05)
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Dr Noah Charney is an internationally best-selling, Pulitzer-nominated author. He spent the early months of lockdown finally tackling an unusual project: a parenting book. He borrows techniques used in teaching at university level, and even some employed by Nobel Prize winners, to help inspire a lifetime love of learning in his daughters (now 6 and 8). His normal work is as a professor of art history specializing in art crime, and he has also become a specialist on his adopted homeland of Slovenia, where he has been an American expat for a decade.
Abbie Hibler on founding Little Readers
A mother based in Spain is offered a monthly book subscription from her children’s grandmother in the US. Offput by the shipping charges and red tape, she decides to start a company that offers the same benefits for kids in Europe. Amazingly, she launches the business while on lockdown in the early days of the pandemic.
It’s just so exciting to have a package delivered to your house. (Abbie, 12:58)
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Abbie Hibler is the founder of Little Readers, a start-up book subscription company for children in Spain. Originally from Ohio, she has been involved in education and publishing for decades. She completed her Master’s degree at the Complutense university specializing in Bilingual Education, and formed part of the original evaluation team to improve Madrid’s first bilingual Public Schools. She has published a top-selling bilingual children’s book entitled Barcelona for Tiny Travelers and is currently working on the sequel.