Jacob Nordby
Author, Artist

Jacob Nordby is a writer. He is also a starer-at-the-sky and breather and a hill walker and a sushi eater.

He wrote The Divine Arsonist - A Tale of Awakening and his most recent release, Blessed Are the Weird - A Manifesto for Creatives. He is actively plotting new novels and other projects. His work has been featured in compilation books with Dr. Bernie Siegel, James Van Praagh, Lisa McCourt, Jack Canfield, and others. 

Jacob is the proud father of three children who often leave the door open like they are trying to heat the whole damn neighborhood - and who have taught him about life, love, and acceptance.

Jacob is the founder and teacher of Creative UnBootcamp - A Course for Writers... and those who want to be. He offers intuitive coaching sessions that are designed to help people solve their creative puzzles. People often come to him for guidance on writing, but these sessions often extend into other areas as Jacob is convinced that "creativity is not something we put in a little room or a box and visit when it's convenient for us."

Lauren Sapala is a writer, writing coach, and the author of The INFJ Writer. She began working with blocked writers in 2009 when she founded the WriteCity writing group in Seattle, and then expanded the program to San Francisco in 2010. She became a full-time writing coach in 2013, working as an advocate for writers in one-on-one sessions designed to help bring the writer's creative dreams into existence with unconditional love and support.

After a heartbreaking experience in college when a creative writing professor told her that she should "give up writing" and find something to do at which she might actually be successful, Lauren stopped writing for seven years. It was only when she stumbled upon an unconventional writing group based on the format of Alcoholics Anonymous that she started writing again and discovered her own creative gifts. Taking this newfound knowledge with her, Lauren started her own writing group using the same method. She called it WriteCity and advertised it as a place for writers to come to write silently for one hour, without being critiqued. To her surprise, a very particular kind of writer began to populate the group: sensitive, intuitive writers who were paralyzed by self doubt.

Lauren began to see that intuitive writers come to the creative process in a radically different way from the norm. Intuitive writers are stifled by plotting and planning every little detail before they begin writing their stories. Their works are heavily character-focused, with a distinctive emphasis on psychology, myth and archetype, and the lessons for humanity found hiding behind almost every storyline. Intuitive writers have difficulty writing quickly and are more sensitive to criticism, or even suggested changes, to their works in the revision process. Combining her own personal experience as an intuitive introvert with the experiences of her clients. Lauren decided to write a book detailing the unique temperament and creative process of sensitive writers. And so The INFJ Writer was born.

Lauren's articles on creativity, personality theory, and sensitive intuitive writers can be found on her blog. In between coaching writers, and wrangling her two-year-old son, she's currently working on her next book, Between the Shadow and Lo, an autobiographical novel detailing her alcoholic years in Seattle. Between the Shadow and Lo will be available in spring 2017.