Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole Washburn.
Hi Nicole, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I’ve been writing and making art for as long as I can remember. As a child, I always read, wrote little books for myself, or drew, especially charcoal sketches. I grew up surrounded by creative people. My aunt was a writer and an early mentor, my uncle was a leaded-glass artist, and my mother and brother both painted and drew. Creativity was simply part of our family life.
I studied anthropology at the University of Arizona because I was fascinated by people, cultures, and the relationship between human beings and the natural world. I was particularly interested in Indigenous cultures and their perspectives on our connection with nature.
After college, I worked at an environmental education center in northern Minnesota. Around that time, my then-boyfriend, who later became my husband, was establishing an environmental education center in Argentina and invited me to join him. I have to admit, Argentina called me even more than the boyfriend!
I went, and ended up spending 22 years there.
We lived in Buenos Aires initially, then moved to the countryside in central Argentina, where we raised our two sons and created La Lucena, an environmental learning center. I’d originally been drawn to Argentina through my interest in culture, but living there taught me so much about the land itself and what it means to develop a relationship with a place.
Creative writing became an important part of my work at La Lucena. I taught writing workshops and incorporated writing into every environmental education class. Some of my favorite moments were with children who insisted they hated writing. Once they realized they could express their thoughts, feelings, and ideas freely without worrying about spelling, grammar, or punctuation, they discovered how much they had to say. Watching their surprise and pride when they read what they’d written was magical.
In 2005, around the time I was diagnosed with cancer, I took a collage class and fell completely in love with the medium. I’d always enjoyed drawing, but collage opened up a whole new world of visual expression for me, and it’s remained part of my life ever since.
Eventually, my marriage was coming to an end, and then a devastating wildfire swept through our property, destroying the entire environmental school we’d spent years building. Our home was spared, and the forest eventually recovered, but the school had to be rebuilt.
As heartbreaking as the fire was, it also opened a path for me and my sons to begin a new life. Before the fire, their father hadn’t agreed to let them leave Argentina with me, and I wasn’t going anywhere without my boys. But afterward, he agreed they could move to the United States to finish school there.
So in 2014, we returned to the United States together, and I began rebuilding my life and career. La Lucena was eventually rebuilt and continues operating today.
I returned to teaching and tutoring, but I also wanted to find a way to earn a living through writing. That led me to copywriting, and in 2018 I started my own online business, writing websites, marketing materials, and other content for coaches and entrepreneurs.
Something interesting began happening with my clients. They’d come to me for help with their messaging or website, and before long we’d be talking about the book they wanted to write. Some saw a book as a way to expand their businesses, while others simply had something inside them that needed to be expressed. I understood both motivations.
Around that time, I met Darlene Turriff through a business coach. We were part of a four-woman mastermind group, and we were both writing our own books. I was working on Copywriting Magic. Darlene asked me to edit her book, and I asked her to coach me on my business.
At one point, Darlene suggested I find a business partner who could handle the things I didn’t particularly enjoy doing. I thought about that for a moment and asked, “How about you?”
She said yes!
We started out offering copywriting services and teaching spiritual entrepreneurs how to write their own content. But our clients kept wanting to write books, and we found ourselves moving more and more into writing, editing, and publishing.
And once we started working on books, I realized how much I loved it. The writing, the ideas, the personal stories, the creativity involved in helping someone shape a manuscript, and then seeing that book come into the world. It brought together so many things I’d been doing throughout my life.
That eventually became Soul Published Books, which we call the Home of Inspirational Nonfiction.
I still think about those children at La Lucena discovering that they loved writing after all. Today I’m helping adults discover their voices and bring their ideas into the world through books. It’s funny how the things we love keep finding new ways to show up in our lives.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
A smooth road? Of course not!
I’ve had some wonderful adventures, but I’ve also faced some enormous challenges.
When I returned to the United States with my sons in 2014, after more than two decades in Argentina, we each had a couple of suitcases and not much else. No home, no car, and very little money. Following an international divorce, I walked away with only a small portion of what we’d spent decades building together, and I had to start over financially and professionally.
I think financial vulnerability is one of the hardest aspects of divorce for many women, and it certainly has been for me. There’s the emotional upheaval of ending a marriage and leaving behind a life you’ve built, but when you don’t have financial security, every decision becomes more complicated.
But I gradually created a new life and career. I returned to teaching, built my copywriting business, and eventually co-founded Soul Published Books. I’ve continued writing, creating art, learning, and finding ways to do meaningful work.
I don’t think rebuilding is always a neat process with a clear finish line. Some things come together beautifully while others take much longer than you’d hoped. I’ve learned to appreciate what I’ve created while continuing to work toward the things that still matter to me.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I wear a few different creative hats, and I love them all! I’m a writer, collage artist, editor, writing teacher, and co-owner of Soul Published Books, where we help people write and publish inspirational nonfiction books.
Creativity is part of my everyday life. I write constantly, whether it’s in my journal, creating content, working on my own books, or helping someone else write theirs. I’ve written several nonfiction books, including Copywriting Magic, Nonfiction Magic, and Creative Magic, and I’m currently working on a novel.
The written word has always been one of my favorite creative mediums. I love playing with language, exploring ideas, and discovering what emerges when I sit down to write.
I’m also a collage artist, and I create something almost every day. I keep a creative journal that’s a kind of visual diary or lookbook, where I explore images, colors, and ideas. I also make my own oracle cards through collage, sometimes creating a card a day and adding it to my ever-growing deck. And I’m always working on larger pieces, too. Recently, I created a tall, seven-chakra collage using flowers from Georgia O’Keeffe’s paintings.
My collages open a window into a magical world, filled with symbols, imagination, intuition, and unexpected connections. I wrote Creative Magic about something I believe deeply: that a creative practice can also be a spiritual practice.
Professionally, I’ve helped bring approximately 75 books into the world through writing, editing, ghostwriting, coaching, and publishing support. My specialty is inspirational nonfiction, particularly memoir, personal transformation, and books that share meaningful ideas, experiences, and wisdom.
At Soul Published Books, my business partner, Darlene Turriff, and I help authors develop their ideas and bring their books into the world. One thing I’m most particular about is preserving each author’s unique, authentic voice. I don’t want everyone’s books to sound alike, and I certainly don’t want them to sound like me! I want readers to feel they’re hearing directly from the person whose name is on the cover.
We work with the person and the manuscript, helping authors develop their writing skills, trust their ideas, and work through the personal challenges that often arise while writing a book.
And what am I most proud of? Being able to help other people through my art and creative work.
My collages invite people to see the world through a different lens, while my writing and teaching help people express themselves more freely and discover the power of their own words.
Of course, holding a finished book in your hands is an incredible accomplishment. But what really excites me is watching what happens afterward. Becoming a published author can bring a new level of confidence, accomplishment, and possibility.
I sometimes think a book changes the atmosphere in your life. You’re a different person once you’ve written and published it. You have this extraordinary creation out in the world, people are reading it, responding to your ideas, and sometimes opening doors you never imagined.
Whether I’m making collages, writing my own books, or helping someone else bring their ideas to life, creativity is at the center of everything I do. And I love helping others discover what they’re capable of creating, too.
What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
I think T. S. Eliot was right when he wrote that we never stop exploring, and at the end of all our exploring, we arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.
When I was younger, I searched for wonder and meaning everywhere. I traveled to faraway places, lived in South America for more than two decades, explored different cultures, and had incredible adventures. And I loved all of it! I wouldn’t trade those experiences for anything.
But somewhere along the way, I realized that what I was searching for wasn’t something I had to find outside myself. It was a gradual realization, and the more I learned to trust myself, the more I understood that what I was looking for had been within me all along.
Moving around a lot, especially moving to another country, can bring on what I call “first day of school syndrome.” You’re the new kid, the outsider, wondering where you fit in. I experienced that plenty of times. But looking back, I realize I’ve always found my people, wherever I’ve lived. I don’t have to worry so much about fitting in. I can just be myself.
Eventually, I returned to the United States, explored the new place I found myself in, South Florida, and began putting down roots again. And I discovered that the same sense of wonder I’d experienced in faraway places was available to me right here.
The same source of spirit, the same possibilities for discovery and connection, are always present, wherever we are. There’s a whole world to explore outside us, and an equally extraordinary one within.
It’s all here, and it always was.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://soulpublishedbooks.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicole.creativeabundancestory
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nicole.washburn.16/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicole-washburn-7316a240/
