By
Patricia Leavy (Guest Blogger)
When
I was ten years old, I tried to write a novel. I don’t remember all
the details, but it was a love story about two people who help each
other heal. I wasn’t able to finish it at the time, being that I
was only ten. One night in late 2019, I stepped out onto the balcony
of my home office and looked up at the stars. Like a bolt, Shooting
Stars Above came to, as a complete book, which was different than
my previous novels. I began by writing the last scene and then
continued to write scenes, out of order, ultimately writing the first
scene last. I wrote the entire first draft in only ten days,
completely immersed in the story world. I barely slept, I didn’t
respond to emails, and if anyone spoke to me, I’m sure I didn’t
hear a word they said. It was magical. I believe Shooting Stars
Above is the novel I tried to write at the age of ten. I think
the seed lived inside of me my entire life. It took years of writing
other books to develop the tools to actualize that bolt of
inspiration. There’s a saying that “hurt people hurt people,”
but sometimes that isn’t true. Sometimes people in pain are able to
love others in extraordinary ways. That’s the core inspiration for
the book. Really, it’s about the healing power of love and learning
to balance darkness and light in our lives.
I
fell so deeply in love with the characters and knew so much more
about them than what was in the novel that I decided to write another
book. Then another. And another. To date, there are six Celestial
Bodies Romances following the love story of Tess and Jack and
their chosen family. We’ll be releasing one each spring. Each novel
takes place a year after the last. There’s a sneak-peak of the next
novel at the end of Shooting Stars Above. Readers should know
that each book is absolutely a stand-alone. There aren’t any
cliffhangers. Each book has what I hope is a satisfying ending. As
the larger body of work unfolded, I realized that it’s really an
exploration of love. Each novel in the series explores love and
something else: healing, doubt, intimacy, trust, commitment, and
faith. It truly developed organically, like it was flowing out of me,
and had been there all along. Like I said, it was magical.
Blurb
For
fans of Colleen Hoover comes an emotionally charged contemporary
romance about a internationally best-selling novelist and a federal
agent fighting to heal past wounds.
Tess
Lee is a world-famous novelist. Her inspirational books explore
people’s innermost struggles and the human need to believe that
there is light at the end of the tunnel—but despite her
extraordinary success, she’s been unable to find personal
happiness. Jack Miller is a federal agent working in
counterterrorism. After spending decades immersed in a violent world,
a residue remains. He’s dedicated everything to his job, leaving
nothing for himself.
The
night Tess and Jack meet, their connection is palpable. She examines
the scars on his body and says, “I’ve never seen anyone whose
outsides match my insides.” The two embark on an epic love story,
but old traumas soon rise to the surface as Jack struggles with the
death of a loved one and Tess is forced to confront her childhood
abuse. Can unconditional love help heal their invisible wounds?
Together, will they be able to move from darkness to light?
Excerpt
“Hello,
Butterfly,” Omar said, kissing the top of her head.
“These
are for you,” Clay added, handing her a large bouquet of pink
flowers.
“They’re
beautiful, thank you. This is Jack,” she said, touching his chest.
“And this is Omar and his better half, Clay.”
Omar
shot her the side-eye.
“Nice
to meet you,” they all said, shaking hands.
“Let
me take your jackets. Brunch is in the living room, please go sit,”
Tess said.
Jack
sat on the couch, and Omar and Clay took the chairs. “What can I
get everyone to drink?” Tess asked.
“Well,
it’s brunch, Butterfly. There bloody well had better be cocktails,”
Omar joked.
“Of
course. What would you like? A mimosa?”
Omar
nodded.
“Make
it two, please,” Clay said.
“When
in Rome,” Jack added.
Tess
went to retrieve the drinks while the men chatted.
“Tess
has told me a lot about you guys,” Jack said.
“Likewise,”
Omar replied. “In the twenty years I’ve known her, she’s hardly
shown any interest in the many would-be suitors who have tried to
catch her eye. Now I’m getting a dozen texts a day about you. I
must say, I was dying to meet you.”
Jack
blushed. “Tess is quite a woman.” He glanced over to the kitchen.
“I’m still waiting to wake up from this dream, because she’s
perfect.”
“Oh,
well I’d be happy to tell you about her many flaws. Let the
nightmare begin,” Omar jested.
“I
heard that,” Tess called, carrying four champagne flutes on a tray,
three with mimosas and one sparkling water, which she placed on the
coffee table.
“I’m
impressed, Butterfly. If this writing thing doesn’t work out, maybe
we can get you a job at a saloon.”
“I
do love a good peasant skirt,” she said, knuckling the top of his
head and tussling his hair.
“Now
I’m going to have bad hair all day,” he complained.
“Serves
you right,” she said, plopping down beside Jack.
“We
were just getting ready to tell Jack about your flaws,” Omar said.
“Where shall we begin?”
“Clay,
was I this terrible when I first met you?” Tess asked.
“No,
you weren’t. You were the epitome of grace and kindness,” Clay
replied.
“I’m
just teasing,” Omar said, smiling at Tess. He turned his attention
to Jack. “Truly, we’re so happy to meet you.”
“Tess
said that you two have been friends since college, but she didn’t
mention how you met,” Jack replied.
“Everyone,
please take some food,” Tess interjected.
They
all helped themselves to the artichoke and tomato frittata and green
bean salad.
“Tess
and I met on our first day of college. It was orientation day, where
they put you in groups and try to force you to bond. Then there was a
cookout. At the end of the compulsory festivities, a bunch of kids
decided to go hang out on the football field. Tess and I both ended
up there. Someone was blasting music and most of the kids were
smoking pot, but since that wasn’t our scene, Tess and I wandered
off together and lay down at the other end of the field, looking at
the stars. We didn’t even know each other, but we just started
talking and something clicked. She told me that she was writing a
novel and that I was the only person she had told. And I swear to
you, she was barely eighteen years old, but I knew she was serious,
that she was the real deal. I remember telling her the novel was
going to be extraordinary.”
Tess
leaned against Jack and he rubbed her arm.
Omar
continued, “And then I revealed that I was gay and that she was the
only person I had ever told. In my family and culture, it’s a
crime. She said that life is so unfair and it’s especially hard
with family because even when they disappoint us to the core, we
still long for their love and approval. Then she said I was a
beautiful person and deserved to live my life fully and
authentically. So strange to think about it now, how much trust we
had for each other in a matter of moments.” Omar watched Tess and
Jack with a soft smile on his face. “Sometimes it happens quickly,
I suppose. We just know who the good souls are.”
About
the Author
Patricia
Leavy, PhD, is an award-winning, best-selling author. She was
formerly Associate Professor of Sociology, Chairperson of Sociology &
Criminology, and Founding Director of Gender Studies at Stonehill
College. She has published more than fifty books; her work has been
translated into many languages, and she has received more than one
hundred book honors. Recently, her novel The Location Shoot was
featured in Ms. Career Girl's “10 Perfect Books to Get Your Fall
Reading List Started” and She Reads in “Novels to Read if You
Love Classic Movies” and was the 2024 Best Book Awards First Place
Winner in Women’s Fiction. Patricia has also received career awards
from the New England Sociological Association, the American
Creativity Association, the American Educational Research
Association, the International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, and
the National Art Education Association. In 2018, she was honored by
the National Women’s Hall of Fame and SUNY-New Paltz established
the “Patricia Leavy Award for Art and Social Justice.” Patricia
lives in Maine and serves on the board of the London Arts-Based
Research Centre. In addition to writing, she enjoys movies, art,
reading, and travel.
Website:
https://patricialeavy.com/
Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Shooting-Stars-Above-Celestial-Romances-ebook/dp/B0CYJ76ZXK/ref=sr_1_1
Patricia
Leavy will be awarding a $10 Amazon/BN gift card to a randomly drawn
winner.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
