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Dori Sanders, the humble Filbert peach farmer, has sold a lot of peaches in her life as well as a few notable books.
The author was this year's Friends of the Library Luncheon featured author and speaker. Sanders talked about how peach farming led to writing to the lunch crowd that gathered at the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer.
“(Farming) is a hard life. It's a sad life,“ she said.
But years ago, sitting along Highway 321 selling peaches, she found her niche beyond farming, while farming.
She saw two different funeral processions go by. She watched each face pass and took particular notice of one little black girl from the first group who waved to her.
Then, in the later procession that same day, an older white woman of considerable wealth with a lacy handkerchief caught Sanders' attention.
Sanders wondered about each of their situations and thought how they would act if they were pushed into a situation together. It was the beginning of her bestseller, “Clover.“
“I pulled the little girl out of the car, named her ‘Clover' and made her 10 years old. I pulled the woman out of the car, named her ‘Sarah Kate,'“ said Sanders.
Sanders then had two characters for her book, “Clover,“ yet no arrangement for how the two characters would continue together. She says she was without the aid of the great writing classes available to children today, but said she learned enough about writing structure from reading.
“There's a great thing about reading. Reading gives you structure,“ Sanders said. She decided to give “Clover“ a “Cinderella twist.“
But when material for her story again ran dry, she pulled from another familiar and reliable source-food.
“If we didn't talk about food and the weather, we would have died because we wouldn't have had anything to talk about,“ she said of family gatherings growing up.
Her writing proved successful and now “Clover“ is translated into six languages.
From “Clover's“ success, Sanders was encouraged to write more and later prompted to write a cookbook.
She laughs now about the “haughty-taughty“ New York cookbook editors who asked Sanders to clarify just how many pans and what size dishes she cooked in for the 150 recipes she had sent in.
She says it was simple: if there was too much in one pan, she just put the rest in another pan. Eventually, the editors sent down the New York Times food critic to better understand her recipes.
“I didn't understand a word he said,“ Sanders said of the critic with the thick Boston accent. Nonetheless, she said they had fun cooking together.
After the cookbook, came visits on the Today Show and time with such notables as Julia Child and Martha Stewart.
And with loved ones' help, success hasn't gone to her head.
“My brother said not to be proud because anyone can write a book,“ Sanders laughs. “He said he would write one if he had the time.“
Amy Shealy and Vickie Hunter received tickets to the luncheon from their boss, Jay Verner.
Shealy brought Sanders' cookbook for her to sign and said she enjoyed hearing her stories of growing up on the farm.
“I thought it was great. She was so interesting,“ said Shealy. “I'd like to sit down and talk with her all day.“
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