By Daphne Abeel
Special to the Mirror-Spectator
BROOKLINE, Mass. — If Diane Goshgarian were to characterize her interviews with authors for Brookline Access Television (BATV) in her own words, she would probably call this volunteer endeavor a “sidebar.”
Her main — paid — job is quite different. Goshgarian is a licensed nurse practitioner with a master’s degree in nursing from Simmons College and her primary occupation is handling “telephone triage” for Harvard Vanguard Medical Associates. She is the person who answers emergency calls after hours.
“I determine over the phone what level of care the person may require and by asking questions spot the red flags. Many people call in with back pain, and usually they do not need immediate attention,” she said.
On the other hand, Goshgarian’s interview program, “Behind the Pages,” is clearly a labor of love and she works at it as hard as she does her medical career. She has been producing the show since 2005 and scans about 40 books a month to choose the authors she will interview.
“I do two or three shows a month. The publisher’s publicist will send me a book and usually follow up with a phone call. Typically, an author will be on a book tour and making a stop in Boston. I have to be able to fit them into my work schedule, and if there’s a local author who’s just published a book, I might do two interviews in one show,” she said.