The TYS Team
“One writes to make a home for one’s self—on paper, in time, in others’ minds.” —Alfred Kazin
MARY B. JOHNSTON [Editor, writing coach, and personal historian]
Mary Johnston, founder of Tell Your Stories, has always loved books. In her fourteen years of teaching high school English and twice that many years as an editor and personal historian, she has acquired her share of books. Like any teacher worth her salt, she has the classics—everything from Hamlet to Catcher in the Rye. And like any editor worth hiring, she has a well-worn Chicago Manual of Style and a wide array of grammar books.
And just as you would expect of a personal historian, she has many shelves of biographies and memoirs—books that have helped her walk in other people’s shoes all across this globe. Mary’s mind is filled with these stories and her heart with the storytellers. She has helped hundreds of writers discover their voices and put their experiences and knowledge into words. Many of those writers have published their words—some in academic journals, others in books for family members and loved ones, and still others for the general public. Mary looks forward to helping you share what you know with your target audience. Contact her at wordworksstories@gmail.com or 843-327-1835.
MELISSA BIGNER [Editor and proofreader]
A passionate word nerd who majored in journalism at Northwestern University, Melissa cut her writing and editing teeth as a staffer at Southern Living, Southern Accents, and Weight Watchers. After she left the Time Inc. fold to freelance full time, she worked with Better Homes & Gardens, Budget Travel, Coastal Living, Cottage Living, Garden & Gun, HOME, Orient Express, Charleston, and more; contributed to travel guides (Fodor’s and Moon Handbooks); and penned books and bookazines for Better Homes & Gardens, HGTV, TLC, and Coastal Living. Post-Covid, she began editing and ghostwriting memoirs and self-help books in what’s become her favorite career chapter yet. To see her work, visit MelissaBigner.com.
VALLY SHARPE [Book production manager]
For over eighteen years, Vally Sharpe has worked with over 750 independent and traditional publishers, providing a variety of pre-press services. For Tell Your Stories, she performs the final technical checks of files to be submitted for printing and manages the process from proof to delivery. Her primary goal is to find the best match of book manufacturer and publisher, balancing design, schedule, and budget to ensure a quality product that showcases the stories told.
IVY DEITCH [Graphic designer]
Ivy is a graphic designer based in Summerville, South Carolina, where she grew up. She graduated from Harding University in Searcy, Arkansas, with her BFA in graphic design. After graduating, she worked at Charleston magazine as an editorial designer. After being a stay-at-home mom for ten years, she began freelance book designing with Tell Your Stories. Ivy loves learning about the families these personal histories are about and enjoys helping them tell their story visually. In her free time she loves reading, going out to eat, bird watching, and exploring the Lowcountry with her husband and three boys.
CAMILLA VAN EECKHOVEN [Book designer]
Camilla is Swedish by roots, Southern by nature. Her studies started in southern Sweden and continued to the American South. Color, form, and typography have been lifelong companions. At a young age, she fell for editorial design: type that invites, layouts that breathe, stories that pull you in. As assistant art director at Gulfstream Communications, she helped reshape Charleston Magazine and launch other publications. Now living in Sweden with one foot still in Charleston, she works with adults with disabilities and continues her design work with Tell Your Stories. Take a look at her website: kundalinirox.com
SARA GLASER [Website and print designer]
A veteran print and web designer with over three decades of experience, Sara makes WordPress websites for writers, musicians, and artists to help share and promote their projects. She enjoys helping clients organize and shape their site content for an easy and effective user experience. With an extensive print portfolio, Sara has designed many books and oral histories for Print-on-Demand and small press editions. When not designing, Sara is an avid songwriter and fine artist. She lives in Oakland, California. For more information, contact her at sara@saraglaser.com.
STEPHANIE THIEL [Graphic designer]
From a young age, Stephanie has enjoyed being creative and seeing her work impact others. In 2009 she began studying design and advertising at Brigham Young University and then went on to complete her education at the University of Hawaii Mānoa with a bachelor’s in Communications. She has work experience in advertising, from selling the ad space to creating the design at the KaLeo newspaper and Hawaii News Now media station. She continues to expand her skills as a freelance designer as she balances being a mother to the two cutest little boys and traveling the world.
ANNA MILLER [Editor and proofreader]
Anna Miller grew up in a family of bookworms, including a grandmother immersed in tracing their family back to the American Revolution. Anna earned an English degree, with a creative writing focus, from the College of Charleston. After fourteen years as a staff editor for Charleston Magazine, she moved into a freelance role as its garden editor. Since 2019, she’s also headed up scheduling and communications for her husband, Jonathan Miller, author/illustrator of The Adventures of Sammy the Wonder Dachshund series. Thanks to a coincidence involving proofreading-themed T-shirts, Anna met Mary Johnston and now helps polish Tell Your Stories manuscripts—meaningful work that would make her granny extremely proud.
LAUREN B. JOHNSON [Editor and proofreader]
Over the past two decades, Lauren has become a curator of intriguing people and engaging tales. A graduate of James Madison University and New York University’s Summer Publishing Institute, she has crafted a career writing and editing for lifestyle magazines in New York, Baltimore, Charleston, and Asheville. Lauren currently serves as editor-in-chief of WNC Magazine, editor of Charleston Weddings and Traveler, and special inserts editor for Charleston. She lives with her husband, three children, and a Dalmadoodle rescue pup in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, where she happily dabbles in outdoor pursuits whenever she’s not behind a desk.
RICH HILLYARD [Editor and proofreader]
Rich’s interest in writing and publishing started at an early age and included a broad scope of work on his high school newspaper. His professional writing career includes fifteen years as a technical writer at Novell, Inc., as well as writing and editing computer software documentation. His work with Tell Your Stories began as a transcriber, writer, and editorfor his own father’s history book. Since then, he has done extensive editing and proofreading for other projects, plus some graphic design and photographic restoration work, always with a sharp eye for detail. Rich looks forward to helping you with your projects. You can contact him at richhillyard@gmail.com.
SIERRA ZARDUS [Photo manager and typist]
Sierra, a graduate of Utah State University, studied plant science. She currently works full time at the Clemson Coastal Research and Education Center in Charleston, South Carolina, where she assists in plant disease research. A beekeeper and a lover of rabbits and of capoeira, Sierra is gifted at identifying and solving problems in systematic and efficient ways. She brings these skills to Tell Your Stories as she scans, uploads, and organizes hundreds of photos at a time.
JENNA ZARDUS [Graphic designer]
Jenna Zardus, a graphic design major at the University of Utah, creates pen and ink/watercolor illustrations, including maps, for clients’ personal histories. She also creates PowerPoint presentations for Tell Your Stories to help get the word out about the value of recording personal histories. Jenna enjoys playing the viola, hiking, swimming, and spending time with her family and friends.