We are so excited to share our latest Red Bra guest highlight with you all – the adventurous, beautiful & free – spirited Red Bra guest, Bibiana Krall! This is a ride you do NOT want to miss!
Bibiana is a multi-genre novelist, Best Selling Author, world traveler, devoted mother and wife. She often writes stories that embrace the heroine’s journey, culturally diverse characters abound, written from a female’s perspective.
In episode 58 on The Red Bra Project YT Bibiana chats with us about how as a little girl, four years old actually she remembers the night she was lying on the grass, under the stars in her tutu and literally planned out her life’s dreams & paths. It is one of those memories still so vivid in her memory and she just KNEW that was what she wanted to do. Yes, being an author WAS part of the plan then, but it took a tough situation for Bibiana to go through what she describes as “getting struck by lightning” to get her back on the path to her dreams. Which we will share in just a bit. Once she made the choice to pursue writing fiction novels and took the first step, many of the next pieces seemed to appear at just the right time to keep completing her personal journey & puzzle for this specific part of her life’s path.
A glimpse into Bibiana’s past: Bibiana was born and raised on an organic farm in the midwest and has seven siblings. She is the third oldest. She shares that she never really fit in where she grew up, so she left at an early age and traveled a lot, finally finding her sweet spot in the coastal, Deep South. She has both worked and lived in many places, including the Caribbean and Europe, but at the end of the day, she always missed her family and ended up coming back to the states. She spent many years in the international travel and private aviation sector making her career out of her love for culture and travel. Bibiana feels that she is a tumbling tumble weed, but when she became a mom she set down roots.
While being a mother and wife is by far one of the most amazing adventures for her, she will always hold a special place in her heart & soul for travel & exploration. Throughout our conversation with Bibiana she takes us on a trip down memory lane here and there sharing stories of past travels, life lessons learned, very interesting proposals (hint: listen for Amsterdam in the replay ;-)), spiritually energy charged happenings and honestly what truly sounds like content for several of her next best selling novels!
We wanted to hear more about what ignited Bibiana’s decision to pursue writing & become an author once she stopped allowing excuses to get in the way. Turns out timing is just as much an important role as it is in so much of each person’s individual story. We learned that while the travel business industry is of course constantly changing, Bibiana outgrew her position when she was told on a conference call with about twelve other people ‘your voice and feelings don’t matter.’
As one could imagine, this was extremely upsetting and tough to swallow for her, as she had been loyal for a long time and many people looked to Bibiana for her expertise. Looking back, it literally felt like getting “struck by lightning” she explained, which while it hurt at the time was exactly what she needed to re-ignite the spark within her. “The base value for me as a human being wasn’t there,” she shared. This situation forced Bibiana to make a decision.
We would like to pause right there as Bibiana shared something extremely valuable, here. The “base value” as a human being – how many of you reading this right now just get this? If you do or have been in that situation we know it just stings…and once it is a line that is crossed, it is tough to go back. Which leads to what may feel like even tougher decisions that need to be made to move forward, which is exactly what Bibiana chose to do next.
When Bibiana was forty-six she attended a writers retreat near her home on a barrier island close to Savannah, Georgia. There, she met a famous writer who gave her a critique on something she had been working on.
Turns out he was also a professor at Wilkes University CW in Pennsylvania and he offered her a scholarship to attend grad school and study Creative Writing. That evening, Bibiana shared candidly with us that she was hesitient to believe in the offer 100% and when she discussed the evening with her husband, said that at the end of the seventh day, if there was no further word of the scholarship, she would let the idea & tentative (at the time) proposal go. Low & behold on the eighth day, Bibiana received the call that indeed, the scholarship was real! We laughed as she said she nearly dropped the phone in the spaghetti sauce when she received the amazing news.
Needless to say, at that point it truly felt like a chance for Bibiana to reinvent herself, the puzzle pieces were coming together and once she put the plan in motion with her initial decision, things seemed to be happening for her! She went for it. She not only successfully received her M.A. but she continued in the program and earned her M.F.A. as well, finishing the courses just before her fiftieth birthday. (eeeekk!!! how AWESOME is this story?!) The credentials have not only given Bibiana opportunities to formally teach, but to also give back to her community, mentoring other women who are also trying to carve out something new.
“I want other women to know that they can do anything they set out to do,” said Bibiana.
We love Bibiana’s story because it serves as a refreshing reminder that age is truly just a number and anything IS possible once you make your mind up. In her mid – 40’s, Bibiana made the choice to pursue her long love of writing and furthermore becoming an author. She knew it would get tough sometimes, right alongside the sleepless nights, all of the important responsibilities of keeping the household running, being a wife & mother and now pursuing a career change in her mid – 40’s surrounded by mid twenty somethings without the unexpected need of child (for most) that needed them at home. Bibiana shares with us her perspective on ageism and what she saw and experienced first hand. Despite it all, Bibiana knew that one of her personal strengths & characteristics that would get her through is that she possesses a great amount of stamina, determination and when it comes down to it is simply resilient — which ultimately is what she came to depend on to rise up and overcome the obstacles.
From Bibiana’s travel adventures, book inspirations and to listening to her tell her perspective of what a career change was truly like for her later in life, you will fall in love with this fun, brilliant woman. All while being inspired to go after your four year old dreams and goals especially if they still are on your heart — NEVER give up, you already have everything it takes right within YOU!
Bibiana loves to empower women by encouraging them to try new things, to face their fears and deal with challenges. She helps them however she can and shares her knowledge freely. And remember, you canNOT do it alone. 😉
Bibiana’s Red Bra Moment: “This year, there has been a lot of Red Bra moments. After about a month of initial “lock-down” in Georgia when Georgia started opening back up before anyone else, for me, actually stepping back out into the real world again, with a face covering on, with other people and trying to not be afraid was kinda a huge deal for me. Especially because I saw a lot of other people who were petrified, a little bit frozen, not being able to go out in the world again without extreme anxiety.
“There are so many courageous acts that have happened this year,” Bibiana shared. “The most courageous thing the past couple of years has been to keep going despite all of the discouragement I have received. Ie: too blond, too old, you’re not good enough. The most courageous thing anybody can do is to stop trying to please everyone else and to please themselves. Try to follow your dreams. Even if nobody else on the planet believes in you, believe in yourself. You have to do that first. There’s so many people who want to tell you you are not going to succeed and what you are doing is wrong. Bravery is truly sometimes about doing what your heart is telling you to do even when nobody else understands it,” said Bibiana. (solid gold wisdom, right here!, We loved that quote so much we encouraged Bibiana to use it in her next book!)
Grab yourself a drink of choice, push play on Episode 58 with Bibiana Krall and let your imagination take soar for this episode! Thank you Dr. Summer Watson (a former Red Bra guest of ours from #52) for making the introduction, we always love Red Bra guest nominations! (If you know a woman you would like to highlight their story, reach out to us. We would love to hear from you!)
Spoiler alert: A Halloween collection of six short stories, created especially for women called, https://www.bibianakrall.com/Hearth Fires written as a collaboration from Bibiana and Veronica Cline Barton that was created in quarantine is being released on September 7th — eeek! Just in time for fall! Perfect for a dark, stormy night to delight, thrill and take you places…perhaps even haunted places! More info in our episode, but trust us, it sounds wickedly fun & haunting! (Pretty sure Shawna slept with the light on that night. ;-))
Huge thank you to Bibiana for offering our Red Bra Community 25 free audio book certificates ($20 value) for her most recent suspense & thrilling novel, Escape Into the Blue. Simply reach out to her and tell her you saw the gift mentioned here, with The Red Bra Project!
Here’s where to connect with the brilliant Bibiana Krall:
@Bibiana1Krall on Twitter
@stardustmermaid on IG
Bibiana Krall – personal website
Episode 58 – The on Red Bra Project YT Channel
Thanks for stopping by, you are so appreciated! We hope this story inspired you or someone you know on some level. We know it did us, please share away. Always wear that red bra underneath it all and make sure to join the party over @theredbraproject!
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Xx,
The Red Bra Project
Thank you so much for this wonderful and amazing place to share my story with you. I had so much fun chatting and hanging out for the You Tube segment. Seriously fun! I’m honored and grateful for the space to talk about challenges, dreams and reinvention.
Bibiana! It was a delight to get to know you & learn your story. Reinvention is such a crucial part of our world, right now. Your personal story provides inspo to so many who are either being forced to make a change right now careerwise, or know they HAVE to. We were honored to highlight you as our guest!