Saloff, Jamie L. 1960-

PERSONAL:

Born 1960, in Pittsburgh, PA; daughter of Monte W. Turner (a salesman) and Iaulanda Miller Downey (a dollmaker); married Timothy G. Saloff (a director of operations), September 8, 1979; children: Matthew T. and Mark G.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Edinboro, PA. Office—Saloff Enterprises, P.O. Box 339, Edinboro, PA 16412. E-mail—info@saloff.com.

CAREER:

Writer. Worked variously as an insurance agent, a department store clerk, a jewelry sales associate, and a Kelly Girl.

MEMBER:

Pennwriters (Area 1 representative, 1994-96).

AWARDS, HONORS:

Meritorious service award, Pennwriters, 2006, for service to the organization.

WRITINGS:

(With Tim Saloff) The Collector's Encyclopedia of Cowan Pottery: Identification & Values, Collector Books (Paducah, KY), 1994.

The Publishing Center: How to Create a Successful Publishing Center in Your School, Church, or Other Community Group, Beeline Books (Portsmouth, NH), 1996.

Transformational Healing: Five Surprisingly Simple Keys Designed to Redirect Your Life toward Wellness, Purpose, and Prosperity, Sent Books, 2005.

SIDELIGHTS:

Jamie L. Saloff told CA: "I was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1960. My father, Monte Turner, was a salesman for Sterling Bolt and my mother, Iaulanda Miller Downey, had an in-home business making felt Christmas-tree-ornament dolls for mail order and for companies such as Marshall Field's in Chicago, and Frederick Nelson's in Seattle. You might say that for many years, it was Christmas year-round at the Turner home.

"In 1969, the Turners moved to Ohio so my father could be closer to his territory and spend more time at home. Always an avid reader and crafter, I also began twirling baton and belonged to several corps, including the Top Hat Strutters, Pam's Marching Dolls, and the Niles Scot-Eres. With the Scot-Eres I won over sixty personal awards and traveled with the corps all over the world.

"After a lengthy illness, my father died in 1975. I continued school and graduated from Howland High School in 1978 as a business office major. I studied accounting for a time at the Warren Business School and worked full time for an insurance agency until I married my husband, Tim Saloff, in 1979. I have also worked as a department store clerk, a jewelry sales associate, and as a Kelly Girl.

"Following my husband's job opportunities, we moved to Erie, Pennsylvania, in 1982. Our first son, Matthew, was born in 1983. Then, in 1985, I was diagnosed with cancer. Declared sterile by my doctors, I surprised them when just one month after my last radiation treatment, I discovered that I was pregnant. Mark, considered our miracle baby, was born seven-and-a-half weeks early in May of 1986. Both boys, who are homeschool graduates, are grown and still living at home.

"Due to my cancer experience, my life soon took on a new perspective. With the death of my mother in 1990, I began writing a book on healing, but never found a publisher. In the meantime, I wrote two other books, The Collector's Encyclopedia of Cowan Pottery: Identification & Values and The Publishing Center: How to Create a Successful Publishing Center in Your School, Church, or Other Community Group.

"Though I had won my battle with cancer, other painful symptoms continued to plague my life for many years. I sought the ability to harness healing power—at will—and the means to change my path into one of joy, peace, abundance, personal fulfillment, beauty, and love. Over the years that followed, I read countless books, creating an extensive personal library on health, wellness, diet, nutrition, life purpose, psychology, philosophy, physics, religion, and much more in an attempt to understand both the body and mind's healing processes. Yet none of those books gave me access to the healing power I knew existed.

"Then one night, locked in my bedroom, working with only mini stickie notes, colored marker, and a piece of posterboard, I began writing single words and short phrases allowing the thoughts to fall in haphazard piles on the posterboard. Stopping to look at my thoughts and to rearrange them into meaningful piles, I suddenly understood—my illness had meaning—my life had meaning. It was from these initial realizations that my book grew. Transformational Healing: Five Surprisingly Simple Keys Designed to Redirect Your Life toward Wellness, Purpose, and Prosperity was published in 2005.

"A devoted writer, I have been a member and (former) board member of the Pennwriters Organization since 1993. The organization recently presented me with their highest award, Meritorious Service, in 2006. I am also a Dale Carnegie Training graduate and ‘GA’ (Graduate Assistant).

"Always having a love for electronic gadgets and computers, I began exploring the Internet soon after its public inception (My first computer was a Commodore 64—but I am now a devoted Mac fan). I created my first Web page when it was still cool to have jagged words on a plain page. I now host a Web page for authors called the Polka Dot Banner.

"Over the years, I have hosted workshops, organized conferences, and given talks on a variety of topics, always with the intention of helping others improve their lives. I managed an all-volunteer elementary school writing and publishing center where, with the help of one hundred parent volunteers, we produced over 500 child-written books each year. (For this, I won a PEPPer Award.) When not working, traveling, or building Web pages, I enjoy needle crafts, beading, and jewelry making, golf, bowling, antiques (Moderne and Art Deco), and all things Mac. I am a die-hard Project Runway fan.

"My husband, two sons, three cats, and I currently live south of Erie, Pennsylvania, on a quiet lake. We sorely miss our twenty-year companion, a wheaten Carin terrier named Henry. We spend much of our summer in Oakfield, New York (about half way between Rochester and Buffalo)."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

ONLINE

Air Equation Web site,http://www.airequation.org/ (October 11, 2007), author interview.

Jamie L. Saloff Home Page,http://www.makethepainstop.com (January 15, 2008), author biography.

Pennwriters Web site,http://www.pennwriters.org/ (January 15, 2008), author profile.

Polka Dot Banner,http://www.polkadotbanner.com/ (January 15, 2008), author profile.

Reader Views,http://www.readerviews.com/ (January 15, 2008), author interview, and Christina Smith, review of Transformational Healing: Five Surprisingly Simple Keys Designed to Redirect Your Life toward Wellness, Purpose, and Prosperity.

Saloff Jewelry Web site,http://www.saloffjewelry.com (February 12, 2008), author profile.