Newest Seaside Vendor: Local Author Sara Salam

Join us in welcoming our newest vendor to Seaside, Sara Salam! Sara is a born and bred local who grew up on the peninsula. She’s moved around and maintains a foothold here in her hometown. 

How did she become an author?

Sara caught the writing bug when she was in grade school. First published at age 11 by her hometown newspaper the Daily Pilot, Sara wrote movie reviews for the publication until she went to college. During her tenure at Corona del Mar High School, she joined the school newspaper Trident her junior year. She was named Editor-in-Chief her senior year. While in college at UCLA, she became the Sports Editor of the Daily Bruin her junior year and continued to write as a member of the senior staff until she graduated.

At age 22, Sara’s first job out of college was a customer service role in the ticket office of the Boston Red Sox. She loved sports and always found the industry a forward-thinking and progressive business, in addition to being a unifying force amongst people. After one season, she was promoted into a role in Human Resources. The HR function allowed her to do what she enjoys most (aside from writing, of course): to educate and develop people. Sara believes all human beings should feel safe and empowered in pursuit of their dreams. In the corporate setting, HR was the best place for her to do that.

After another four seasons with the Red Sox (including a 2013 World Series Championship!), Sara accepted an opportunity to become the HR Manager for the LA Clippers. Today, she continues to consult for clients who are in need of HR support. 

Sara has kept journals of all her experiences consistently since her move to Boston, amounting to about a decade’s worth of content. She started a blog in 2017 as a place for her to centralize her thoughts and ideas about people, the workplace, and life itself. When Sara turned 30, she considered reassessing her HR career and pursuing a different professional path – towards writing. The next year, she published her first book, the My Truth Journal. The My Truth Journal is a daily journal framework for people who want to make journaling a regular practice but don’t know where to start.

After her dad passed away in 2019, Sara realized she didn’t want to waste any more time not doing what she loved. She knew writing was always going to be an integral part of her life. She resumed writing poetry for the first time since high school, and has since published 13 books. Her current backlist can be found here.

Her books center around her hometown of Newport Beach and include fiction, nonfiction and poetry. These titles are sold in-store and online:

The Crown of the Sea, A Novel

If Water Were Fire, A Young Adult Series

If Water Were Fire

If Love Were Salt

If Fear Were Fast

Blue Like You, A Children’s Book

Love Isn’t Linear

My Newport