By
Patricia Leavy (Guest Blogger)
Emerson
Blue: Emerson Blue is 28 years old and the second most followed
celebrity on social media. She rose to fame by starting a social
media campaign with a close-up shot of her face and the caption, “Who
is Emerson Blue?” The post went viral. Suddenly, her name and face
were everywhere. She branded herself “a living piece of art,”
starred in a reality show, and parlayed her fame into a career as an
influencer. A master of social media, she inserts Easter eggs and
double meanings into her posts and carefully constructs images for
the media and public. Her fans consider her daily livestreams their
religion. The world thinks she’s an open book, but Emerson has
secrets.
Renn
Walker: Renn is 48 years old and a
Grammy winning country music star and Oscar winning actor. Years ago,
he was canceled following allegations of sexual misconduct, and he
has lived in seclusion ever since. Once a beloved figure, he seems to
have lost it all and spends his time shuffling between his two Los
Angeles mansions. He values his privacy and is completely tech and
social media free—he doesn’t even own a computer. His favorite
things are greasy Chinese food from little hole-in-the-wall
restaurants, deli food, and playing guitar. The world thinks they
know Renn, but looks can be deceiving.
Leo
Schneider: Leo is Renn’s agent and close friend. Born in
Queens, New York where he worked in his dad’s deli, Leo didn’t
come from much and has built a successful career in Hollywood. He
suffers from IBS and anxiety, is on his third marriage—to a beauty
pageant winner—and his daughter is engaged to a jerk after his
money. When the world turned their back on Renn, Leo stuck by his
side.
Diba
Khazem: Diba is Emerson’s bestie (he calls her Em. B)
and former costar from her hit reality show. Born into wealth, he’s
now living in the guesthouse on his parents’ Malibu estate and club
hopping.
Blurb
For
fans of Ashley Poston and Abby Jimenez, a contemporary romance—with
a twist—about a media-savvy reality television star and a canceled
country singer.
Twenty-eight-year-old
beauty Emerson Blue is the second most followed celebrity on social
media. A self-proclaimed “living piece of art” who rose to fame
as a reality star and then parlayed her celebrity into a megabucks
career as an influencer, she seems to have everything.
Forty-eight-year-old
Grammy winner Renn Walker is a fallen country music star. Years ago,
he was canceled following allegations of sexual misconduct, and he
has lived in seclusion ever since. Once a beloved figure, he seems to
have lost it all.
When
Emerson and Renn meet, sparks fly. Against all odds, a star obsessed
with popularity and a recluse shunned by the world fall in love.
Everyone in the public and media has an opinion and thinks they know
Emerson and Renn. But in a world dominated by social media—a world
that blurs the lines between what’s public and private, what’s
real and what’s illusion—do we ever really know anyone?
Excerpt
They
smiled at each other, but the moment was broken when several people
eagerly approached the pair. A lanky woman with a brown bob and red
lips, sporting a black turtleneck and cigarette pants, greeted
Emerson with air kisses. “Darling, you look chic as always. I
promised everyone it would be a star-studded opening. Thank you for
helping me keep my word.”
Emerson
smiled politely. “Glad to do my part, Miranda. You have one of the
best spaces in Tinseltown, and the best eye. I’d like you to meet
my friend Renn Walker. Renn, Miranda owns this wonderful gallery.”
“It’s
a pleasure,” Renn said, extending his hand.
“I’m
honored you would see fit to come to our little show,” Miranda
replied, shaking his hand. Her eyes lingered on him with a mix of awe
and confusion. After a moment passed, she stammered, “Uh, please
allow me to introduce the artist, Lars Grant.”
She
gestured to a tall man in black leather pants, a white T-shirt with a
black peace sign, and dark sunglasses. “Hey. Thanks for coming,”
he said. He flipped his glasses to the top of his head and stared at
Emerson. “I’m mad for you. Your artistic impulse is singular.
You’re ahead of the curve. Pushing the envelope.”
The
others in the group started adding their words of praise. “You’re
the embodiment of art,” one spandex-clad woman gushed.
“The
embodiment of embodiment theory,” another added, looking quite
proud of himself.
“Yes,
you’ve taken performative to a whole new level,” another
concurred.
Emerson
smiled. “All our lives are really works of art. Don’t you think?”
The
group nodded along, hissing oohs and aahs at her words.
A
waiter walked over carrying a tray of flutes brimming with champagne
and raspberry sparkling water.
Emerson
grabbed a glass of the pink bubbly water. “Well, we’re going to
take a little stroll around. Best of luck with the show,” she said,
taking Renn’s hand.
“Nice
to meet you all,” he said, and he followed Emerson through the
crowd, smiling politely to people along the way as they admired the
art, until they reached the back wall where they had privacy. They
stood in front of a large canvas covered in rows of brightly colored
paint and a clump of broken glass. Emerson leaned back on Renn, and
he comfortably slipped his hands around her waist as if they had been
together forever.
“Are
those your friends?” Renn whispered.
“Hell
no. People from the art scene,” she replied.
“Good,”
he said, giving her waist a squeeze. “They were kind of . . .”
“Pretentious?”
she asked.
He
chuckled. “Yeah. I didn’t want to say anything to offend you, but
. . .”
“What?”
she asked.
“They’re
so far up your ass. Do you think they have any idea how ludicrous
they sound?”
She
giggled. “That’s the thing about art and fame, they don’t
really go together, do they?”
He
huffed. “Funny. I never used to think about that at all. I just
wrote songs, played my music. Everything else just fell into place. I
never gave any of it a thought. Until it went away.”
“The
art never goes away, though. For the real artists, that’s always
there at the center. Even when the hype takes on a life of its own,
at the core, in the eye of the storm, there’s always the art.”
“Em,
you are very surprising,” he said.
“So,
we’re up to nicknames now?”
“Yes,”
he replied, dropping a kiss in her hair. “Is that okay?”
“Yes.
It’s sweet actually,” she said.
“Good,”
he said, dropping another kiss in her hair. “So, do you think art
can survive fame?”
“It’s
like this artwork.” She tilted her chin forward at the piece before
them. “Miranda started a major publicity campaign to get this guy’s
name out there, create buzz, brand him the next big find, and it’s
all just spin. It could have been this guy or that guy or any other
guy in some ways. Yet the art is real. This piece,” she said,
gesturing, “it’s real.”
“Do
you like it, this work?” Renn asked.
“Yes.
It’s a commentary on the art world itself, or maybe even society as
a whole. Pretty pictures and shattered dreams. The filtered image and
the broken soul. Illusion and the crash of reality.”
They
stood for a moment, looking at the piece, Emerson’s words in the
air. Eventually Renn broke the silence and said, “Are you sure it’s
not just some broken glass glued to a canvas?”
They
both laughed.
About
the Author
Patricia
Leavy, PhD, is an award-winning, best-selling author. She is also the
publisher and CEO of Paper Stars Press. 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
awards. Her novel Shooting Stars Above was featured on People “10
Romance Books to Read After Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry”
and was the 2025 Firebird Book Award First Place Winner in
Contemporary Novel, Romance, and Summer Beach Read. 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.”
In 2024 the London Arts-Based Research Centre established “The
Patricia Leavy Award for Arts-Based Research.” Patricia lives in
Maine. In addition to writing, she enjoys art, reading, and travel.
Website:
www.patricialeavy.com
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/WomenWhoWrite/
Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/patricialeavy
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(Twitter): https://x.com/PatriciaLeavy
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One
randomly chosen winner will win a $25 Amazon/BN.com gift card.
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