Growing up in North Carolina Blake Tyner was surrounded by history and great Southern cooking spending countless hours with his great-grandparents. The busy kitchen and large family dinners gave a perfect settling for hearing about the people of the past. As he learned the history of the area and her citizens, he developed a craving to bring the people of the past alive and share their stories.

At the age of 14 he started reporting the social news for The St. Pauls Review. He literally gave his 2 cents to the public being paid 2 cents per word for his weekly article. He studied history at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke under his mentor, Southern historian and author Steven Berry. He also holds a Master of Library Science with a specialty in archives and manuscripts.

He has published four books as well as numerous articles in regional newspapers and magazines. He is currently on the staff of the Museum of Southeast American Indian at UNCP. He served as Executive Director of the Maxton Historical Society and the Robeson County History Museum.

He combines his love of history, photography and cooking into creative projects such as Cooking Always Helps, History Bites and Helen Corbitt – Mother of Texas Cooking.