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.
