Thursday, August 1, 2013

The Goddess Letters by Vicki Matthews Guest Post & Review

The dreams hold Selena prisoner. Without warning they carry her to bloody battles, a chat with Socrates, or the gardens of an ancient goddess who reveals the truth of women’s betrayal. Then Selena is returned to her bed where it often takes days to recover.




1. What inspired you to write The Goddess Letters?












Rob wants his life to mean something.  His family doesn't come from the best part of town and hopes to leave someday.  His chance comes in the form of a man named John Pine who tells him if he's willing to commit himself and go to college he will pay for the entire thing.  Rob decides it's an offer he cannot refuse so he accepts.  Rob applies himself and graduates later moving on to Chicago to further his studies as an Economist.  It's here in college that he meets Selena.  Selena's parents sent her away from California to attend college to keep her away from her friends they don't like and her boyfriend.  Selena doesn't have much of a choice so she applies herself as much as possible and embraces college life.

Rob has liked Selena since the beginning, but Selena has a boyfriend so for a long time he's content to just be her friend.  They do a lot of things together, hang out, study, etc.  That's when the dreams start.  Selena has dreams that are so realistic that she can remember everything that has happened to her and one time even woke up with a bruise on her that came from inside the dream.  Rob does the only thing he can, he comforts her and holds her while she sobs uncontrollably.  Slowly as time goes by, Rob and Selena grow even closer and when she breaks things off with her boyfriend Rob takes the chance and makes his move.  Selena and Rob understand one another.  While he doesn't think her dreams are real and that she's in serious need of some help, he continues to support her and even suggests that she write her dreams down.  The interesting thing about her dreams?  They are all historical dreams.  They are not random dreams, they appear to be dreams with a purpose, some sort of message in them.  But what that message is neither of them can begin to imagine what that might be.

Selena and Rob grow even closer as they approach graduation,  moving in with one another and upon graduation decide to get married.  But life ends up getting in the way for this happy couple.  Selena is offered the job of a lifetime to act in a movie and she takes off for California to pursue her dreams.  Selena ends up getting cast in a film that will take place overseas so she takes off leaving Rob behind for months and a big fight prior to her leaving.  Distraught and alone with no girlfriend, he runs into his friend from back home in Texas, Eddie.  Eddie keeps Rob company and eventually introduces Rob to his relative Becca.  Becca and Rob begin to see one another and he finds in her comfort that he lost when Selena took off.  One thing leads to another and Rob finds himself with a woman pregnant with his child and a girlfriend he must now break up with.  Selena knows she must let him go, so she walks away, leaving Rob to marry Becca and give birth to their daughter Meg.

Rob has learned to bury his broken heart deep within, immersing himself into his marriage and life as a father.  But Rob has never forgotten Selena.   Selena continues to become a rising star, making quite a name for herself staring in films of a controversial nature.  He doesn't hear from her for a long time, but one day sitting in his University office he finds a letter from Selena requesting her records of her dreams she wrote down for him.  This causes Rob and Selena to begin to communicate back and forth through mail and phone in secret.  The letters go on for years as their lives develop apart, but for Rob his feelings for Selena have never died.  When Selena starts having the dreams again and Rob starts having versions of his own, they can't help but think that there is really something going on.  They eventually stop ignoring the signs with the immersion of Jacobi who wants to kill Selena and those she loves to get her to stop staring in films that give other women cause to believe that their lives have purpose outside of the house.  Can either Selena or Rob stop Jacobi before he kills someone they love or one of the two of them?

This book was interesting right from the start.  With all the dreams that Selena was experiencing and things from the dreams bleeding over into real life when she awakes, it was easy to get hooked to this story.  This book showed the pain and heartache that Rob experienced in the twenty years that they are apart and write letters back and forth.  I especially loved the letters and dreams that Selena wrote about.  It really gave you insight into what she was thinking and experiencing since the story is told in Rob's point of view and not hers.  Compelling story that was thoroughly enjoyable, 5 stars!

***Review copy provided by publisher in exchange for a honest review***
Vicki Matthews is a naturopathic physician, author, and teacher in Chicago. She is passionate about bringing balance to our world, especially at a cultural level. Her book, The Goddess Letters, shares what is needed to shift our culture back to balance.

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