Marilyn Collins draws her love of storytelling from her father. He spun tales of adventure as a young man seeking excitement by traveling west experiencing life as a rancher, gold miner, logger, playing bit parts in early movies, and eventually went to war for his country. Her mother’s books filled the house and large trunk in the attic stirring her curiosity and filling her mind with wondrous characters and places.

“I hate to see a good story lost,” says Collins. “My passion is to help others save their cherished stories before they are lost in time—personal memoirs, family stories, and local history. I make the organizing, researching, writing, and publishing practical and user-friendly through my Step-by-Step Writing Guides, online newsletter, blogs, and other helpful writing books.”

She is a frequent conference speaker and workshop leader for groups interested in writing history, narrative stories for genealogy research, regional magazines/special interest magazines, marketing, as well as offering general encouraging tips for writers. Collins is an award-winning author of history books, how-to books/ebooks for writers, and over 100 magazine articles and newspaper features.

She held professional positions with the Washington National Cathedral Association, American Association of University Women, and served as Director of the Beaufort Historical Association in North Carolina. She was owner of Wilson/Collins Marketing Consultants in both the Washington, DC area and in North Carolina. Currently she is owner of CHS Publishing.