Dunsmuir resident Sandra Vaughan is not afraid of taking a chance, as can be seen from her diverse resume.
Vaughan, who first came to the area in 1996 from Los Angeles, has had a successful career in the film and commercial industry and published her first novel, “Two Thousand Minnows,” in 2003.
She and her partner Rob Johnston are also the new owners of the Black Butte Saloon in Weed and Curves Fitness Center in Mount Shasta.
“You can’t be afraid to fail,” said Vaughan, offering up what she sees as a key bit of advice for those set on accomplishing their dreams.
Black Butte venture
The Black Butte Saloon venture, she said, stands as a good example of how the right attitude can make all of the difference.
“We just jumped,” said Vaughan, noting that neither she or Johnston had any experience in the bar business prior to purchasing the Weed landmark.
“Rob went to bar tending school to get ready,” she said, but other than that, it has been trial by fire.
“I make my drinks with love,” said Vaughan, noting this as an underlying attitude that is part of her success.
Starting with films and commercials
Growing up in West Virgina and then Sacramento, Vaughan pursued an interest in the film industry, working on such classics as Rain Man, A Tiger’s Tale and Short Circuit while still in her 20s.
During much of her 20-year career as a freelance producer, she worked with renowned director Eric Saarinen of Plum Productions. Their list of clients included Coke, Chevy, Jeep, Reebok, Budweiser and Nike, to name a few of the heavyweights.
“Working with Eric was a real feather in my cap,” she said.
She said she travelled the world while continuing to develop her craft as a producer, describing those years as hectic but highly rewarding.
Siskiyou retreat
Vaughan said she first visited Siskiyou County in 1996 and immediately fell in love with the place. “I came with a friend on a vision quest. We went up to Stewart Springs and spent the weekend there. I also visited Dunsmuir and bought a house that weekend.” It was, she said, the first home she ever purchased.
That house eventually became her retreat, a place she visited for a couple of months each summer to, among other things, pursue one of her other great passions in life: writing.
A writing career, too
“As a kid, I grew up in a family of poets and musicians,” Vaughan said.
With no experience of her own as a writer, she “hired writing coaches to help me. That took the place of college for me.”
It was a burning desire to tell the true story of her lost sister that pushed her towards a goal that most see as a long shot.
“It’s not easy to get published,” said Vaughan, noting that she sent queries to 300 agents and got five favorable responses.
“Five out of 300 is significant,” she said. Still, the book sat with her chosen agent for over a year with no prospects on the horizon.
Then, she said, fate intervened when an acquaintance, Holly Goldberg Sloan, an established Hollywood director and screenwriter, read the book and helped get it published.
“Two Thousand Minnows,” she said, is a story about “the tragic search for the American dream.”
Vaughan said she approaches writing like any other job. “I go into my office at 8 in the morning and usually work until 2 p.m.” She emphasized that the writer’s life is often romanticized but, in reality, it can be tedious and isolating.
From the initial concept, writing, promoting and editing, it took her almost eight years to get the book published. “I had 1,000 pages that I had to narrow down to 400,” she said.
The novel, which was published by Lyons Press, received favorable reviews and sold more than 14,000 copies. “If you sell 20,000 copies, it is considered a best seller,” said Vaughan.
She has since worked on another novel, “Monsters in the Mirror,” which she hopes to publish soon, and several screenplays, all while doing some film production work in both LA and locally.
“I still need my LA hit from time to time,” she said, although those trips are fewer and farther between than they once were.
