Born in Huntington, West Virginia, Mary Calhoun Brown spent the first seventeen years of her life growing up in Rome, a small town in southern Ohio. Summers were spent running barefoot and catching fireflies. Idyllic. Blessed with both sets of grandparents still living, Brown enjoyed long evenings on the porch swing listening to their treasure-trove of stories.

Mary left Rome in 1988 and moved with her family to nearby Huntington. That year she single-handedly wrote, edited, published, sold and delivered her high school newspaper "The Dragon." Her enthusiasm for the written word was sparked.

The next four years, Brown spent honing her writing skills at the W. Page Pitt School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Marshall University. She served as president of the freshman honorary, Phi Eta Sigma; president of her chapter of the Public Relations Society of America; served in student government and was member of a number of clubs and organizations.

While still at the university, Mary interned at the Huntington Regional Chamber of Commerce and at Willard and Associates, a public relations agency in Charleston, West Virginia. Once her internship at the Huntington Chamber of Commerce expired, she was offered a job as Public Relations Specialist for the organization. She accepted and worked there, preparing all marketing and member relations materials, as well as planning special events for the Huntington Chamber.

After graduation, Brown was hired by the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce as its youngest-ever public relations officer. In her capacity as Communications and Marketing Manager for this state-wide agency, Brown was responsible for daily legislative updates, monthly newsletters, all design work, media relations, special events planning and both internal and external communications. Brown refers to her time at the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce as "the most wonderful experience."

She married the love of her life, Campbell Brown in 1993. The following year with the birth of her first son, Mary reluctantly stepped away from her position in Charleston, opting instead for working from home and caring for William, and then his brothers, Harrison and Dewey.  

For the next six years, Brown worked as an editor, advisor and marketer of self-education materials for The Partnership for Financial Education (PFE). Editing Ready, Aim... Retire and co-writing Retire at 55 gave Mary the outlet for her creativity, while still offering her time to spend with her family.

In the fall of 2000, Mary and Cam learned that one of their sons had Asperger's Syndrome, a mild form of autism. From that point, Brown became increasingly involved in education and advocacy for children and families affected by autism.

After a busy year of fundraising in 2001 for her boys' school, Brown accepted a teaching position at Enslow Park Presbyterian Preschool in Huntington. She used her unique perspective as a parent of a special needs child to guide her in her efforts to be the best possible teacher for every student, regardless of ability. Mary said, "I learned as much from my four year olds as they learned from me. It was so much fun."

Mary quit her job at the preschool to homeschool one of her boys. She spent two years teaching middle school at home, and developed the ideas for her books during that peaceful time alone with her son.

Today Mary is happy to be back at the keyboard, putting her stories down on paper. There Are No Words is the first of her novels to be released for publication, and she is looking forward to character development for her next project.