She enjoys reading, writing… but not ‘rithmetic; loves her family, friends, her cats, playing golf… and an occasional trip to Las Vegas. She was born in Greenville, SC during the Second World War under an assumed name. She bought her real name many years later. She is the oldest of 7 children, 5 of whom were reluctantly transplanted to California in 1956; the final 2 siblings were California natives, one is since deceased. She graduated high school, attended community college sporadically until her first marriage; a marriage which yielded her only child, Steven, born in 1964. 2 years thereafter, she began a modeling career that would eventually lead to instructing in the field and a partnership in a modeling guild.
After a successful decade, the fork in the road led to a career in real estate, as a licensed agent. Vanity prevailed, however briefly, in 1976 when Salley was crowned Miss Riverside International Raceway. Her reign of one short year had been ignited by a dare from a co-worker but was fueled by the fact that Steven, then 13, would get into the races at no charge… being the son of the Queen and all.
Her interests took a sudden turn toward health as she entered her 2nd marriage, learned to play golf, and returned to college to earn her degree in Nutritional Science from Pasadena, Ca. For 8 years she consulted for local physicians who referred patients for nutritional counseling, most of whom were terminally ill. She was a featured motivational speaker for many organizations during this period. She also attended University of California extension courses for Mentor/Trainer and has maintained a membership in the local Mentor Collaborative. Still uneasiness persisted.
She re-entered the real estate market; enjoying much success until the market collapse in 1993. It was time for a real job with real benefits. Salley was hired by a local county agency, where she promoted quickly to her current status as a district supervisor. Her final marriage occurred around that time also, lasting just slightly less time than the predecessors. It was apparent she would never celebrate a silver wedding anniversary, even cumulatively, so she decided to write about the stuff of her life…that happened while she was making plans.
It began with a short poem; then more came, then prose, then comfort-food recipes. Single poems were published in Best Poems of the 90s, A Celebration of Poets, and Spirit of the Age, she earned 2 Editor’s Choice Awards in 1996, also. Her book of story-poems and recipes, Who Put the Pickle in the Fruit Salad? was published by Infinity Publishing in 2001. She is a member of The Academy of American Poets and is currently writing a novel, which is about a year away from completion… unless she marries again. |
