With a bachelor’s degree in English and a master’s degree in Mass Communications, Lisa made a 25 year-career in newspaper advertising beginning with The State in Columbia, SC and then The Charleston Post and Courier. Upon her “retirement” she finally pursued her passion: writing. As a freelance writer she has been published in The Post and Courier’s Faith & Values and Home & Garden sections as well as several educational supplements and Lowcountry Living magazine. She is author of Our Charleston volumes one and two, photographic reminiscences of the Holy City, and 5 Little Tomatoes, a book she wrote as a Christmas present for her daughter Sarah. Lisa has written a book for Sarah every year except the past two. Janie Mitchell, Reliable Cook, An ex-slave’s recipe for living is Lisa’s first full-length nonfiction book, and is dedicated to Sarah for the years she didn’t receive a Christmas book. 

Lisa, her husband Paul and their daughter live in Goose Creek, SC. They are members of Seacoast Church in Summerville, SC. The household also includes a rescue greyhound and Cadeau the Senegal parrot who, at 4 ½ ounces, runs the whole show. 

Lisa enjoys being outside with her binoculars looking for birds; each new bird earns a star in her field guide. She loves traveling with her family, and cooking, a connection she feels with Janie. At Lisa’s Fantasy Dinner Party, Janie’s name would be at the top of the guest list, and Lisa would cook for her.

A Charlestonian through and through, Mary Lou Murray Coombs’ first job was Deputy Clerk of Court for U.S. District Court in Charleston working in the shadow of St. Michael’s Church. Her resume includes several years at Vocational Rehabilitation, and the Determination Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. 

She tried to escape the pull of the Holy City, spending 30 years in Marin County, CA where she and her partner owned a travel agency. But Charleston was never far from her heart. She traveled back at least twice a year to visit family and friends. When her mother Irma Jahnz Murray became ill, Mary Lou decided it was time to come home.

Irma, the youngest child in the Jahnz family, knew Janie and often shared stories of the old cook with her daughter. Mary Lou was fascinated with tales of her mother’s youth at 34 Smith Street and with Janie’s journal. She loved reading about Janie’s life and her impressions of a Charleston past.

She considered her family as one of two bookends for Janie’s life story: The Rutledges at one end ensuring a happy beginning, and the Jahnzes at the other, ensuring a happy ending. But even the best story is historically worthless if it does not survive to be shared. It became Mary Lou’s mission to bring Janie’s journal to a wider audience and, because of her efforts, the diary will continue to have a happy, historical, ever after.

Mary Lou resides in Mount Pleasant, SC, with her husband of many years, John Coombs.