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Goode Vibrations of the Dead River Valley
The supernatural shift of Penelope Goode continues in Book II of the Goode Vibrations series. While trying to make sense of her ability to see into the past, she leaves her hometown of Portland for the mountains of northwestern Maine to visit a relative threatened with losing his property.
In the shadow of the Bigelow Mountain range, Pennie finds herself steeped in a community of loggers, hunters, and fishers, sensing the vibrations of hardy souls who settled in the river valley. Her visions take her back in time, the days before the villages of Flagstaff and Dead River were flooded by the power company.
Sinking even deeper into the past, she dreams of Benedict Arnold’s epoch expedition through the untamed wilderness of the valley. By sensing the many vibrations of the land’s storied history, Pennie discovers injustices of the past, and the freedom America fought for 250 years ago, to continue her fight for individual rights today.
In the shadow of the Bigelow Mountain range, Pennie finds herself steeped in a community of loggers, hunters, and fishers, sensing the vibrations of hardy souls who settled in the river valley. Her visions take her back in time, the days before the villages of Flagstaff and Dead River were flooded by the power company.
Sinking even deeper into the past, she dreams of Benedict Arnold’s epoch expedition through the untamed wilderness of the valley. By sensing the many vibrations of the land’s storied history, Pennie discovers injustices of the past, and the freedom America fought for 250 years ago, to continue her fight for individual rights today.
317 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 25, 2025
1 person is currently reading
5 people want to read
About the author
Amy Safford
2 books5 followersAmy Safford, MFA, is an award-winning Maine author. Her debut novel, Goode Vibrations of the Wresting Place, won three international literary awards: the 2025 Eric Hoffer Spiritual Fiction and First Horizon Book Awards, and the Independent Publishers IPPY Silver Medal for Visionary/New Age Fiction. She was also named a finalist in the 2024 American Book Fest Visionary Fiction and 2025 Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance Speculative Fiction Awards.
Her stories blend historical and literary fiction, suspense and paranormal, for an enticing, thought-provoking reflection on New England regional history that shapes our lives today. With deep roots in the maritime coast, river valleys, and western hills of Maine, Amy descends from generations of people who settled the pine tree state.
She taught English composition at the University of New England and was a contributing writer to Coastal Fish of Southern Maine and New Hampshire published by Wells Reserve & Laudholm Trust. Her alma maters are Boston University and USM Stonecoast MFA Program. The former executive director of the Maine Psychological Association, Amy lives in Saco with her husband, Jon.
Her stories blend historical and literary fiction, suspense and paranormal, for an enticing, thought-provoking reflection on New England regional history that shapes our lives today. With deep roots in the maritime coast, river valleys, and western hills of Maine, Amy descends from generations of people who settled the pine tree state.
She taught English composition at the University of New England and was a contributing writer to Coastal Fish of Southern Maine and New Hampshire published by Wells Reserve & Laudholm Trust. Her alma maters are Boston University and USM Stonecoast MFA Program. The former executive director of the Maine Psychological Association, Amy lives in Saco with her husband, Jon.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 14, 2025
Book Review: "Goode Vibrations of the Dead River Valley" By Amy Safford
Goode Vibrations of the Dead River Valley by Amy Safford is a novel that combines historical elements, folklore and consciousness about the environment, yet is very soft and engaging throughout. In the setting of Maine’s Dead River Valley Safford depicts a lush landscape with a wealth of history and memories.
By taking historical context from real events (like early settler times, the Native American people living there and the legacy of the Arnold Expedition), the novel gives a voice to places and people that have been left behind or forgotten.
Safford has written about this land and how it has the ability to hold memories for future generations through her descriptive, contemplative prose, where the mood and atmosphere are more important than a traditional plot drive. Each chapter can be viewed as a meditation upon the stories that the land carries and continues to carry over time.
Narratively, her themes of preservation, remembrance and the spiritual bonds we develop with our surroundings throughout time weave through the novel as a way of giving readers an opportunity to reflect upon these stories, while slowing down and thoughtfully listening to them.
Ultimately, the most unique element of this book is its overall recognition of both history and nature and the beauty of both. Goode Vibrations of the Dead River Valley is thoughtful, encompassing and emotional, so it will be appreciated by those who love literature that has its roots in a landscape, has memories and provides a means for reflection and morality.
Goode Vibrations of the Dead River Valley by Amy Safford is a novel that combines historical elements, folklore and consciousness about the environment, yet is very soft and engaging throughout. In the setting of Maine’s Dead River Valley Safford depicts a lush landscape with a wealth of history and memories.
By taking historical context from real events (like early settler times, the Native American people living there and the legacy of the Arnold Expedition), the novel gives a voice to places and people that have been left behind or forgotten.
Safford has written about this land and how it has the ability to hold memories for future generations through her descriptive, contemplative prose, where the mood and atmosphere are more important than a traditional plot drive. Each chapter can be viewed as a meditation upon the stories that the land carries and continues to carry over time.
Narratively, her themes of preservation, remembrance and the spiritual bonds we develop with our surroundings throughout time weave through the novel as a way of giving readers an opportunity to reflect upon these stories, while slowing down and thoughtfully listening to them.
Ultimately, the most unique element of this book is its overall recognition of both history and nature and the beauty of both. Goode Vibrations of the Dead River Valley is thoughtful, encompassing and emotional, so it will be appreciated by those who love literature that has its roots in a landscape, has memories and provides a means for reflection and morality.
March 13, 2026
Fascinating read. Loved all the layers! And of course....Maine.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews