I owe you an explanation...

Big news over six months in the making.

Last December, I shared a post about facing the things you’ve been avoiding. At the time, I thought that I was avoiding launching my career as a self love thought leader and speaker by hiding here on my substack. It turns out, what I was really avoiding was doing the work of being a writer: writing books.

Over the last six months, I’ve practiced the art of devotion. I’ve been singularly focused on one thing: researching, writing, and selling my new book to my publisher. Today, I’m happy to share this happy news with you, my Self Love Confidential subscribers.

My new book, Moon Garden: Poetry for Manifestation, has been picked up by Andrews McMeel Publishing, and is set to be released in the Fall of 2025. Here’s a quick blurb about what it is about from my publisher’s press release:

Moon Garden takes readers on a transformative journey of intuition, self love, and manifestation through poetic reflections. Each of the twelve chapters of Moon Garden corresponds to a monthly moon, offering themes for reclaiming and releasing, along with featured flowers found in these ethereal gardens. Godfred’s poems encourage readers to unlock their deepest desires, truths, and purpose.

What is a moon garden, you may ask? A moon garden is a garden designed to be experienced by moonlight. It is filled with white and silver flowers that reflect moonshine, and night-blooming flowers that fill the air with their perfume. Moon gardens have a rich history, having served as a setting for everything from midnight trysts to moonlight meditations for centuries.

When the sun sets at dusk, the magic of the moon garden begins to reveal itself. Flowers unfurling, scents awakening, petals glowing. The moon garden invites you to leave the external world and enter a sanctuary where your inner self is free to breathe, let go, explore, dance and dream. Whereas in a typical garden it is the sun that rules; in the moon garden, we revere the moon. In the moon garden, we manifest.

Because you’re my subscribers, I’m going to share the inspiration behind the book with you, which I share in Moon Garden’s introduction. I’m also going to be sharing early access to the poems on this substack, so stay tuned for much more to come. As you will see from the introduction, this book is the result of divine guidance and powerful intuition. I hope reading it unlocks both for you.

This story begins and ends with the scent of jasmine. For many years now, if I pause on the step leading into my living room after the sun goes down, I’m greeted by night-blooming jasmine. I’ve long called it my olfactory ghost, a scent that finds me even though there is no jasmine planted nearby, and no windows are open. In June of 2023, in the magical city of Ojai, California, my ghost was finally ready to explain her presence. From the moment I arrived in Ojai, jasmine found me everywhere I went. On the walls of the hotel where I booked a last-minute room. In the very first line of text of the book I was drawn to at Bart’s Bookstore, the largest outdoor bookstore in the world ( “The glorious scent of jasmine permeates the air” ); a book that ended up being written by my high school classmate’s father about his wife, who visited him from the spirit world after passing. Jasmine tea found me at Magic Hour, a local Ojai tea shop, and was served to me by the shop assistant: also named Jasmine. When I posted on social media about jasmine being my ghost, a stranger shared the words that are now the foundation of the book you are holding in your hands: moon garden. This is the book jasmine wanted me to write.

Moon Garden: Poetry for Manifestation.

As I prepared to share this news with the world, I was reminded of the commitment I made when I signed my first book deal back in 2021: to choose my long-term vision over my short-term security. Over the last few weeks, short-term security has been tugging on me. Little tests from the universe to see if I’m actually committed to my long-term vision as an author and poet. Resume clients popped up from my past as a resume writer. Consulting clients popped up from my past as a brand consultant. With every no, I paved the way for the most important yes there is: a yes to myself, and my calling. I hope if anything, this story inspires you to not only get clear on what your vision is for your future, but also empowers you to be devoted to that vision. That is truly what Moon Garden: Poetry for Manifestation is designed to do: unlock the clarity and commitment already within you to make your dreams, your reality.

Thank you for your patience with me over the past six months as I immersed myself in Moon Garden. I am forever indebted to you for helping me make space for my highest purpose and calling. I can’t wait to share more with you.

It’s good to be back.

With deep appreciation, devotion and love,

Melody

melodygodfred

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Follow along on my Moon Garden journey on my new instagram account!