James Salter

Kay Salter

Celebrates the pleasures of food in a volume that includes an entry for every day of the year and contains a host of culinary wisdom, recipes, history, food lore, and personal reminiscences.

A Food Lover's Book of Days

Life is Meals

This is the second in a series of eight books featuring the life of the young lady Sarah Bowers, who spends her summers at her grandparent's home in historic Beaufort, North Carolina. The books start in her twelfth summer and end with her twenty-second birthday, graduation from college, and marriage. The book is set in the midst of World War II in the town made famous by other authors such as Nicholas Sparks in Walk to Remember. The story is a good read for teens and adults. Adult women ages twenty-five to eighty have been the largest demographic for buying the books and showing enthusiasm for purchasing more in the series. It is a good, clean read for all ages and hearkens back to an America of the 1940s and 1950s. It is historical fiction as told by lifelong resident and author Kay Salter.

Thirteenth Summer

So begins the search for a suitable bride... Sarah fancies her Uncle Herb lonely and in need of a wife. With the aid of Granny Jewel and her friend Nancy, they set about to find the perfect young woman. Sarah soon realizes it is not quite as simple as searching for an item at Upton’s Department Store. Sarah and Joshua witness an airplane crash. With no thought of their own safety, their heroic actions help save the handsome young pilot garnering Sarah her first proposal of marriage. Papa Tom demonstrates to Joshua the tough lesson of repaying bad with good. As summer ends, Uncle Herb surprises all with a request to bring someone to dinner to meet the family.

Third Edition

Fourteenth Summer

Roaming free along the barrier islands of coastal North Carolina live wild horses known as Outer Banks ponies. They can be seen grazing on marsh grass along the shore by residents of Beaufort who are proud and protective toward their neighbors across Taylors Creek. Summer visitors come to watch and photograph these ponies which have captured the hearts and imagination of horse lovers of all ages. In Fifteenth Summer, people along the waterfront and on upstairs porches watch as volunteers attempt to rescue a foal in danger of losing its life. Sarah and Joshua Bowers watch anxiously as their grandfather, too, is suddenly in danger.

The Sarah Bowers Series

Fifteenth Summer

SoundSide Publications, Incorporated

Twelfth Summer is a coming-of-age story that appeals to young and old alike. Twelve-year-old Sarah Bowers finds herself spending the summer in the small coastal town of Beaufort after her father is called up to work on a secret project to help end World War II. Forced to leave her friends and their summer vacation plans behind, the girl pouts: "There is nothing to do in that boring little town, the most I will have to look forward to is piddling around in the salt marsh, being eaten alive by mosquitoes and covered in sticky salt water." However, Sarah's Beaufort Summer proves to be anything but boring. Throughout Twelfth Summer the reader is reminded of life lessons that are all too often forgotten in today's fast-paced world. Hidden beneath a story of awkward adolescence, first crush, and learning to make new friends is so much more. The underlying message is one which will tug at the heartstrings of anyone who has a family, who has struggled through less fortunate times, or has had a loved one deployed overseas. The story is riddled with historical educational tidbits that inspire conversation and curiosity. Even though the story is set 64 years past, one feels that parts of it still happen today in towns where families gather and communities pull together for the benefit of all the citizens. This is a rare book you can share with your parents, as well as your children, truly a must read.

Twelfth Summer

Sarah Bowers and her family return to Beaufort during Sarah's sixteenth summer. She is looking forward to dates with a young fellow she met briefly the summer before. Evenings together and sailing aboard the Willa with Bruce McCoy add to her happy days of summer fun. All is well until a visitor from Ohio comes to town. All thoughts of Bruce vanish. Sadly, when the visitor leaves, Sarah finds herself spending lonely evenings "on the shelf." Seeking answers to her dilemma, Sarah turns to her dear friend, Capt. Jake, whose wisdom and advice help her learn one of life's valuable lessons.

Sixteenth Summer

Secrets, surprises and disappointments all crowd the pages of Eighteenth Summer. Sarah’s dear friend, Nancy, must pick up the pieces of a shattered dream and go on with her life. With advice from Sarah she is able to do so. Cousin Marnie must spend the summer tucked away in her grandmother’s home. The only person she knows she can trust with her secret is Sarah, the cousin whose feelings she has delighted in hurting every summer. A tall stranger singles Sarah out from a group of friends at the Fourth of July parade. During their brief encounter Sarah once more receives a proposal of marriage. Sarah receives a letter from Ohio and rushes to read its contents. She is heartbroken to learn her friend of six years is in love. Words in the letter like, ‘special’ and ‘friend’ do nothing to mend her wounded heart.

Eighteenth Summer

Sarah Bowers, now a young lady of seventeen, is anxious to have her portrait done by her dear friend Leland Davis. However, Sarah is shocked and dismayed to find Leland's idea of a location is a windswept beach. Barefoot, with carefully-curled hair in disarray, the girl with enormous gray eyes stares unsmiling into the camera. Her face, framed by long-stemmed sea oats bowing gracefully in the sea breeeze, becomes a point of interest in Leland's studio for years to come.

Seventeenth Summer

Sarah Bowers and her family return to Beaufort during Sarahs sixteenth summer. She is looking forward to dates with a young fellow she met briefly the summer before. Evenings together and sailing aboard the Willa with Bruce McCoy add to her happy days of summer fun. All is well until a visitor from Ohio comes to town. All thoughts of Bruce vanish. Sadly, when the visitor leaves, Sarah finds herself spending lonely evenings on the shelf. Seeking answers to her dilemma, Sarah turns to her dear friend, Capt. Jake, whose wisdom and advice help her learn one of lifes valuable lessons.

Meet Sarah. The protagonist of the Sarah Bowers series was fashioned after my granddaughter, Sarah Rude. Sarah grew up in Beaufort, where her life revolved around family, church, and friends, with emphasis on faith in God and traditional family values. Sarah graduated from Berklee College of Music in Boston, where she met her husband, Chris, also a graduate of Berklee. The couple, with Orville, their pet duck, live in Northridge, California.

Kay Salter

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