New interview with romance author Patricia Leavy

Welcome back romance author Patricia Leavy! Today we’re chatting about her newest novel, After the Red Carpet.

During her virtual book tour, Patricia will be giving away a $10 Amazon or Barnes and Noble (winner’s choice) gift card to a lucky randomly drawn participant. To be entered for your chance to win, use the form below. To increase your chances of winning, feel free to visit her other tour stops and enter there, too!

Bio:
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 forty books; her work has been translated into many languages, and she has received more than one hundred book honors. Her last novel, The Location Shoot, was featured on Ms. Career Girl‘s “10 Perfect Books to Get Your Fall Reading List Started” and was the 2023 Firebird Book Awards 1st Place Winner in 4 categories: Contemporary Novel, Pop Culture Fiction, 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.” Patricia lives in Maine. In addition to writing, she enjoys art, reading, and travel.

Welcome back to Reviews and Interviews, Patricia. Please tell us about your newest release!
This novel is a follow-up to The Location Shoot. (You can read that interview with Lisa here.) In that book, Hollywood star Finn Forrester and free-spirited philosopher, Ella Sinclair, fall in love on a film set in Sweden. The book ends with Finn’s proposal on the red carpet at the Cannes Fillm Festival. After the Red Carpet looks at what happens next. Ella and Finn vow to prioritize their romance and live an adventure of their own making. Ella moves into Finn’s Beverly Hills mansion and must adjust to his world. Finn, secretly afraid of losing Ella, is determined to make everything perfect for his betrothed. Meanwhile, Ella wants nothing more than to retain her own identity as they build their new life together. All the while, she is writing a philosophical treatise on love, exploring the question: when we love so deeply, where do we end and where does the other begin?

What inspired you to write this book?
I absolutely loved writing The Location Shoot. Honestly, it was the most fun I had ever had writing a novel. I didn’t want to leave Ella and Finn’s world. There’s a scene in The Location Shoot in which they take a bubble bath together and talk about their dreams for the future. So, I decided to write After the Red Carpet to see if their fantasies come true.

Excerpt from After the Red Carpet:
Finn and Ella strolled down the long red carpet at the famed Royal Albert Hall, arm in arm behind the rest of the Celebration team.

“Somehow I’ve never been here before,” Finn said.

“Well, you’re in for a treat. It’s extraordinary inside. Concerts here are wonderful.”

“I’ll have to get us tickets sometime.”

“Funny story about how this place came to be. Prince Albert wanted to create a hall to celebrate the arts and sciences, to bring culture to the people. He died before it was completed, and Queen Victoria insisted it should be named after him. They even wove the letter A into the stairway railings. Then of course she had that obscenely pricey, gold memorial statue created outside, across the road from the hall. She spent the rest of her life wearing black, to show her deep mourning.”

“She must have really loved him.”

Ella shrugged.

“What?” Finn asked.

“Oh, I don’t know. I’m sure she did love him, in her own way, but perhaps it would have meant more to simply realize his vision. He wanted this place to be about the arts, not about him. Love isn’t about gold statues or opulence. The grandest gesture is seeing someone for who they are and honoring what’s important to them.”

What’s the next writing project?
My novel Shooting Stars Above is the first book in a romance series I’ve written—The Celestial Bodies Romances. It will be out in March 2025. There are at least six novels in the series and we will be releasing one each Spring. For fans of After the Red Carpet, Ella and Finn’s story continues in a final book coming out in September 2025 but we’re keeping the title under wraps for now. One tidbit, it takes place thirty years after The Location Shoot.

What is your biggest challenge when writing a new book? (or the biggest challenge with this book)
I get very depressed when I complete a novel. At first when there’s a full draft it’s exciting. Revising is my favorite part of the process. But once I have revised and tweaked it to death, and I’m reading it and not making any new edits, I have to let it go. Leaving a story world you’ve been in every day with people you love leaves you with a profound sense of loss. It’s like a breakup, divorce, move, and grief all rolled into one. It always pushes me to start the next book, so I can get lost again.

If your novels require research – please talk about the process. Do you do the research first and then write, while you’re writing, after the novel is complete and you need to fill in the gaps?
I do research while I am writing, as things come up. My favorite is when a book takes place somewhere fabulous that I have to visit to do research in person. For After the Red Carpet, I went to London and had a tour of the Royal Albert Hall, visited The Tate Modern Museum, and other sites that appear in the book.

What’s your writing space like? Do you have a particular spot to write where the muse is more active? Please tell us about it.
I’m lucky to have a beautiful home office. It’s on the second floor of my house and there’s a balcony overlooking the backyard. Some of my favorite things in my office: photos of friends and artists I’ve been lucky to meet, awards that I’m proud of, and an antique writing desk which is the centerpiece of the room. I also have a cozy chair and ottoman in the corner when I want to curl up and read or take a little nap. When I need to shift my energy, there’s a beautiful Parisian-style café down the street. I’m a regular. I usually sit at a corner table, overlooking their outdoor area surrounded by greenery. I write there for hours. The treats are delicious too.

What authors do you enjoy reading within or outside of your genre?
There are so many. Colleen Hoover, Meg Donahue, Candace Bushnell. J. E. Sumerau, Laurel Richardson, just to name a few.

Anything additional you want to share with the readers today?
I can’t express how much I’ve loved writing Ella and Finn’s story. They’ve taught me a lot about the magic of love and the comfort of partnership. If you’re looking for a joyful escape, I hope you’ll check out their romance.

Links:
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