AUTHORS INTERVIEWING CHARACTERS: Victoria Lilienthal
An unabashed depiction of women’s sexuality, debut novel THE T ROOM by Victoria Lilienthal (She Writes Press, July 19) explores one woman’s desire for male validation on her journey to self-authority. Set amongst the contemporary New Age subculture of San Francisco, this daring tale follows Vera West, whose bodywork career is on fire. But her complicated partnership with her charismatic and *married* mentor is like a deal with the Devil, especially when he promotes her to the position previously held by his wife.
Confronted with the consequences of her yearning for his approval, it takes a host of female figures, including a mysterious goddess figure, her teen daughter India, and a well-to-do client, to assist Vera in discovering her own spiritual liberation.
The T Room recalls the erotic pleasure of The Hunted Series mixed with the complex issues of spirituality, female friendship, and longing found in The Lightness by Emily Temple and Milk Fed by Melissa Broder.
Interviewing Vera:
Wearing loose fitting jeans and taller than I remember, Vera West strides toward me. Her boots crunch the gravel as she stops in front of the bench where I’m waiting for our meeting at the dog park in her San Francisco Russian Hill neighborhood.
VL: “Vera, it’s been so long. How have you been?”
Before responding, Vera calls “Francisco!” When no dog appears, she follows this call up with a stern, “Frank, come here.”
Out from under a nearby bush materializes a mongrel-looking mutt. More long than tall, he hurtles her way. Before he can blaze by, she snaps a leash onto his harness.
Vera sits down.
VW: “I’m still a little shell shocked.”
VL: “How so?”
VW: “Please don’t tell me that you, of all people, have forgotten. Remember all that creepy stuff that happened? I did more laundry in a week than I have done in my life!”
VL: “Of course, I remember. I just thought, …Oh well, who cares what I thought. I’m sorry, Vera. What a ride.”
Vera nods.
VL: “These last months, between the pandemic and everything else, it must have been really hard for you and your daughter India.”
Vera pauses to wind thick, long dark hair back into a hair tie.
VW: “Can you imagine zooming all of your classes for eight hours a day? Ugh. India’s eyes were completely fried. Still, we’ve ended up doing a lot of cooking together which is super sweet.”
VL: “Wait, your idea of a grand meal used to be a pizza delivery?”
VW: “The old me. Turns out my professional melt down made me into a foodie. India says my mac n’ cheese is the best ever. My chicken pot pie is running a close second. My mothering got a serious upgrade.”
VL: “Well, this is a surprise.”
VW: “Right? Surprised me too. I was so freaked out after all that mess. Then when COVID shut down my massage practice, I just needed to do something with my hands, something grounding. Plus, cooking is cheaper.”
VL: “Some people kept working.”
VW: “What? How? While wearing a hazmat suit, double masking, and a plastic face shield? Looking like a character out of Contagion is not a friendly look for the average client. Massage was not considered essential work. You couldn’t get your haircut, let alone a message. Plus, I was so exhausted, I just needed to sit down.”
VL: I nod.
VW: “Do you have any idea how hard that is?”
VL: “Not sure that I follow.”
VW: “Sitting down and meditating.”
VL: “But you always said you hated meditating?”
VW: “I did, had no use for it whatsoever. But I was desperate. When was the last time you sat?”
VL: “Vera, we are sitting down.”
Vera almost rolls her eyes.
VW: “Of course, we are sitting down. What I am talking about right now is so much bigger.”
Vera slaps the bench for emphasis.
VW: “Huge!”
Startled, I jump.
VW: “Sorry. When the tendency to over emphasize everything is in the DNA, it’s hard to stop.”
VL: “No offence taken.”
VW: “Anyway, so I sit down—meditate— and BAM!”
VL: “BAM what?”
VW: “Meaning I finally got around to making an altar for a hand painted icon of a mystical goddess named Tara. I sat down and lit the candle in the votive in front of her, tried to meditate and a cascade of stars shot out of the top of her head.”
VL: “That’s incredible!”
VW: “Yep. True story. Turns out meditating is like taking a celestial golden shower.”
VL: “Are you sure?”
VW: “Listen, I’m as cynical as the next woman. Teachers, may say that we are not supposed to get hooked on the glitter on the spiritual ladder but when the Goddess of compassion, embodied by an inanimate icon, flashes her lights at you—I promise, you will be all in.”
VL: “All in?”
VW: “Yep. Start meditating.”
VL: “Using an app?”
VW: “She is the app.”
VL: “If you say so.”
VW: “I do. When I’m anxious, meditating chills me out.”
All I can think of to say is
VL: “Hmm.”
VW: “Especially while driving ride share.”
VL: “What? You are driving and meditating? That sounds frightening! What happened to your massage practice?”
VW: “I needed to make money and I really don’t mind doing laps to the airport. Plus, I make my own hours. From a single parent POV, way easier. It’s all good except when I chant spontaneously out loud.”
VL: “Oh dear.”
VW: “Want to know the epic part?”
When I nod, Vera gets up to leave.
VW: “People love it. Turns out, I seem to be cultivating quite a reputation. I keep getting five stars.”
—
The T Room
When her charismatic mentor, Ernesto, publicly chooses her as his professional work partner, all indications are that Vera’s bodywork career is about to ignite. There is just one glitch—no make that two. Vera—single mother of savvy, smart teenage India and her scruffy mutt, Francisco—is fucking Ernesto. As for her new promotion…Ernesto took it from his wife, Jean, in order to give it to her. As Vera becomes increasingly embroiled in Ernesto and Jean’s dark shenanigans, she quickly realizes that what seemed like an exciting opportunity is more like a dance with the devil. Confronted with her own yearning for male validation, it takes India, a glamorous and aristocratic client named Grace, and the mystical Tara, Goddess of compassion, to teach Vera the virtues of a sustainable path to self-authority.
A fast paced, humorous tale, The T Room is sure to prove irresistible to every adventurous woman familiar with that Saturday-morning-bookstore trajectory that starts with Self- Help, diverts into Romance, and falls heartfirst into Spirituality.
Victoria Lilienthal Bio:
Since childhood, Victoria Lilienthal has been captivated by symbols, rituals and myths. She studied Intellectual History at University of Colorado at Boulder and is a certified sound healer, a practice that uses sound to relax the mind and body. It is with an appreciation for the silly, the sexy and the sacred that Victoria draws upon her studies, and her mentorship with cultural anthropologist Angeles Arrien as inspiration for her first novel, The T Room. She lives in Northern California along with her husband and their senior citizen dachshund, Luigi.
Category: On Writing
Subscribe
If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to receive more just like it.
