Author Amy Safford will visit the Carrabassett Valley Public Library and Community Center later this month for a public book talk focused on her novel, “Goode Vibrations of the Dead River Valley,” a work that blends regional history, place and spirituality.

Safford, an award-winning Maine author, will take part in a discussion centered on the history and cultural legacy of the Dead River Valley, including the 1950 flooding that created Flagstaff Lake and Benedict Arnold’s 1775 expedition through western Maine.

“I grew up in Fairfield and have family in Franklin County and northwestern Maine,” Safford said. “We skied at Titcomb Mountain, where I took lessons as a kid, and at Saddleback and Sugarloaf.”

Her connection to the region deepened after visiting the Dead River Area Historical Society.

“I knew a little about the flooding of the Dead River Valley to create Flagstaff Lake, so I decided to visit the Dead River Area Historical Society to find out more,” she said. “Longtime member Mary Henderson introduced me to the controversy surrounding the flooding of the valley in 1950, and to Benedict Arnold’s historic expedition through the valley at the outset of the Revolutionary War. From that moment on, I knew I had found a place with a spiritual past just waiting to be heard.”

In her Goode Vibrations series, Safford blends historical research with imaginative storytelling through the character of Penelope Goode.

“Each novel in the Goode Vibrations series focuses on a place with a compelling history, so balancing the past with the present day is always at the top of my mind,” she said. “How can the past inform and enlighten the present?”

She explained that the present-day story always comes first.

“Before beginning historical research, I begin with the story of the protagonist, Penelope Goode, because the present and past must continually overlap to propel the plot forward,” Safford said. “By using the creativity of dreaming, or the subconscious mind, Pennie falls backward in time while living in the present day.”

The repeated reshaping of the Dead River Valley, both physically and culturally, plays a central role in the book’s themes.

“You’ve hit upon a cultural theme of this country,” Safford said. “As a nation, we continually change geographically and societally.”

She said her research into Arnold’s march revealed parallels between early American struggles and more recent history in the valley.

“The more I researched the history of Benedict Arnold’s epic march through northwestern Maine and the Dead River Valley, the more I realized the tremendous struggle and sacrifice our ancestors made in the name of freedom,” she said. “Above all, I wanted to ask: what have we learned from the past to understand our current fight for freedom and individual rights today?”

Safford said her work is rooted in what she describes as “place memory.”

“My stories are embedded in the idea of place, and the memories the land itself holds,” she said. “Pennie Goode can feel the vibrations of the souls who once lived in a place to know what these people really lived through, how their experiences shaped them.”

During her research, Safford said she was particularly struck by the role Indigenous people played in early expeditions through Maine.

“I was surprised by two things,” she said. “First, how much Indigenous Americans helped Benedict Arnold and his soldiers navigate the Maine wilderness, and second, the integral role the Swan Island sachem, Jacataqua, played in the expedition.”

For readers new to the series, Safford said the books are designed to explore distinct chapters of Maine history.

“Book One is’ Goode Vibrations of the Wresting Place’ and, as I mentioned, includes the important history of Malaga Island,” she said. “Book Two, set in the Dead River Valley region, explores themes of individual freedom and separation of church and state.”

Safford’s debut novel received three international literary awards, including the 2025 Eric Hoffer Spiritual Fiction and First Horizon Book Awards and the Independent Publishers IPPY Silver Medal for Visionary/New Age Fiction.

The program will be held at the Carrabassett Valley Public Library and Community Center Jan. 29 from 4-6 p.m. Safford will be joined by Dead River historian and archaeologist Kenny Wing for a conversation and audience Q&A focused on the history of the Dead River Valley, including Benedict Arnold’s 1775 expedition through the region and the flooding of the valley in 1950 to create Flagstaff Lake.