Conversation with Ruth Lee

QUESTION: 

Is this the same Jeanne Beck who transformed into a Spiritual Scribe in Angel of The Maya?  Near the end of that amazing book she promised to write the backstory of the other equally gifted women living around her in Mayaland. Is this her backstory?

RUTH LEE: 

Simply stated, yes, this is a bit of Jeanne’s background as promised in Angel of The Maya. This is my third book teaching in a ‘novel’ way, and it arrived right after I finished writing Within the Veil: An Adventure in Time, many years before I wrote Angel of The Maya. 

In 1995, when I wrote what I thought would be a sequel to Mandy’s amazing adventures in Mayaland (Within the Veil), my hands raced ahead of my mind to create a story totally unlike the sequel I expected. That story became Writing in Spirit ~ Jeanne’s Story. 

As years went by I continued to write exciting stories about successful women whose lives appeared to stand apart from others, until Angel of The Maya arrived and patched their tales together like a beautiful quilt, depicting a wonderful life achieved communally once they put their minds to living together in peace and harmony.

QUESTION:

Can you tell us a bit about the process you use to create these intriguing books that contain far-reaching esoteric messages that appear to stand alone, yet come together in new and intriguing ways? Are the writings and messages arcane knowledge or merely guesses on your part?

RUTH LEE: 

As do many other authors, I write in an altered state of mind. Sitting before my computer, I watch my fingers fly over the keyboard much the same as Jeanne describes in Writing in Spirit. Each session is identified as a chapter, with no conscious thought or plan in mind about what will happen next. 

QUESTION:

For many authors their lives precede and set up the work they write about. Is this how you work?  Does your life precede your art or not?

RUTH LEE:

That’s an excellent point! What truly sets my work apart from others is my life imitates my art—and not planned by my conscious mind. Since ‘channeling’ the first novel (Within the Veil) in the mid-90s, I lived much of the book in piecemeal style. 

I smiled when people tried to define me by that book originally, assuming it to be autobiographical. It was not true—then, but today I can’t say that as confidently as I did then, because many things described therein have come to be and exist in my life now.

QUESTION:

Could you describe an example from Within the Veil: An Adventure in Time coming to be and present in your life now?

RUTH LEE:

There are so many instances of it that I have to go to the book to see what jumps out as something I do or achieved since creating Mandy. I randomly opened Within the Veil to page 59. It describes finding a tourist dead in the jungle—which made me smile when I wrote it, because nothing like that would ever happen to me. Right? 

That scenario was written in 1994. Five years later I was riding in a second-class bus on the way to Chichen Itza with a few real-life ‘Mandy’s Friends’ when a well-dressed, handsome Latino sat beside a large Chicago cop on vacation in Cancun. I didn’t notice much because they were seated off to the right side of me.

One in our group had been unwise in his diet and caused us to continually stop the bus full of Mayan men and women—who never complained, instead offering him prayers and herbs as he exited and returned to the bus repeatedly. His untimely sickness was actually timely. 

It caused our bus trip to be delayed about an hour or so—so there was enough time to discover the American tourist, Bill, slumped in his seat, passed-out. Fortunately, he had made friends with a couple from Ecuador who started calling him to see what was wrong. They sounded the alarm when he did not respond. 

Turned out the Latino had slipped a needle into Bill’s arm in preparation to rob him and leave him for dead on the bus. Yes, it actually happened on our way to view the Feathered Serpent descend the staircase at the great pyramid in Chichen Itza!

QUESTION:

What happened then? Was the would-be murderer/thief caught? Did the tourist survive?

RUTH LEE:

Oh, yes, it was all wrapped up in such a grand fashion that no one would believe it if they read it in a novel. It was miraculous, in fact. 

Our Guide had been recommended by scholars at Yale University and it turned out he was a ‘top cop’, as someone described him later. Most never noticed his behavior throughout the trip, taking for granted his skill in getting us whatever we wished—regardless of how improbable it might be.  He had objected to going to Chichen Itza on the equinox because such occasions bring out thieves.  Turned out he was very happy to be involved in the excitement that preceded us to Chichen Itza.

When I called him and said something was very wrong, he went into whirlwind action! We watched the thief flee the bus and run into the surrounding fields. Jeanne, yes, Jeanne, took charge of the victim and got him to the front of the bus where he collapsed on the steps—just as our guide hailed down a taxi with his badge and demanded the passengers get out so he could use it as an ambulance. 

That is when it gets really amazing! The two passengers were doctors and had their medical bags.  The woman spotted the pin hole in Bill’s arm and assessed it as a drug used by thugs. She administered an antidote right there and then. With the doctors, our guide, and the bus driver all struggling to carry the big gringo to the cab they managed it all in a few minutes. Meanwhile, our sick amigo was so preoccupied with his problems he barely noticed anything and managed to relieve himself twice while the bus was stopped. 

I’m sorry I have to smile at that memory! As I said, nothing like that ever happened to me before I met Mandy in Within the Veil!

QUESTION:

That is truly amazing! Is there anything going on in Writing in Spirit that appeared in your life since writing the book years ago? 

RUTH LEE:

I started to say ‘not that I have noticed,’ but realize that is far from the truth. Since writing Jeanne’s Story about how a single woman handles relationships, I lived them all, too—except the paparazzi and notoriety.  

QUESTION:

One last thing, is there a common thread woven throughout the pattern of Writing in Spirit ~ Jeanne’s Story?

RUTH LEE:

The theme running through the book is relationships most women encounter personally or vicariously—Ending old or worn-out friendships, moving, parenthood, and romance. Along the way fame and wealth are explored as capable of enhancing or destroying your dreams.