Since she can remember, Tanya Marion has been an avid lover of tales and a well-practiced daydreamer. Whether the tales are big or small, spelled “tails” or “tells,” Tanya can dream up the beginning, middle, and end. She is particularly mindful of tails that are preceded by a “de,” and compulsively polishes every syllable of her writing to shine as brightly as the brass buttons on Tyne E. Tells’ prized coat. (If you haven’t had the pleasure of making Tyne E.’s acquaintance, then I feel compelled to shed a small tear. You must meet him. He’s quite a character, and he’s all around. You may even have a Tyne E. in your own life!) When Tanya isn’t perfecting the de“tails” of her next tale, she spends every spare moment with her young daughter, whose innate ability to simultaneously turn every room she enters into a cluttered mess of sunshine, giggles, and beautiful chaos, reminds Tanya that the best stories are the ones we live. It is the simple moments of hide-and-go-seek; eating popsicles while they paint our tongues red, drip down our arms, and give us brain freeze; laughing so hard we can barely stand; and hearing the words, “Mommy, I want to be just like you;” that make life as fulfilling as warm, buttery toast. These moments are both delicious and invaluable. They are the real stories of our lives. That’s why Tanya spends each day trying to write the best stories she can tell while the best tales she can daydream become the de“tails” of her story.     Tanya Marion received her formal education at the University of South Carolina where she excelled in her studies and earned acceptance into the South Carolina Honors College. She is a proud member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society, widely considered the nation’s most prestigious honor society, and the oldest honor society for the liberal arts and sciences. Tanya lives with her husband, their daughter, two full-figured German Shepherds, and one Mini Goldendoodle at her lakeside home in a quaint South Carolina town known for its southern charm and slow drivers.