New interview with award-winning romance author Patricia Leavy

Award-winning romance novelist Patricia Leavy is back and today we’re chatting about Shooting Stars Above.

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 a 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 is an award-winning, best-selling author. Formerly Associate Professor of Sociology 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. She has also received career awards from the National Art Education Association, the American Creativity Association, the American Educational Research Association, and other organizations. 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.

Welcome back to Reviews and Interviews, Patricia. Please tell us about your newest release.
It’s a love story. Really, it’s about the power of love to help us heal our visible and invisible wounds, and the struggle to balance darkness and light in our lives. The story follows world-famous inspirational novelist Tess Lee and counterterrorism agent Jack Miller. Both have given so much to others, but haunted by past violence, neither has been able to find personal happiness. 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.” Really, it’s a book about love in all forms—romantic, friendship, and learning to love ourselves.

What inspired you to write this book?
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 wrote the first draft in only ten days, completely immersed in the story world. 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.

Excerpt from Shooting Stars Above (Tess and Jack meet in a bar):
“So, what do you do?” she asked.

“I’m a federal agent with the Bureau—counterterrorism. I joined the military right out of high school, Special Forces. I was in the field, often deep undercover, until about a year ago, when I took a desk job as the head of my division.”

“Wow, you’re like the real-life Jack Bauer. You even look a little like him, with that whole rugged, handsome hero thing you have going on,” she said.

He blushed and ran his hand through his light brown hair. “I promise you I’m no Jack Bauer, even on my best day. People thought that character was so tragic, but the real tragedy is that Jack Bauer doesn’t exist, and you’re stuck with guys like me.”

She smiled. “What made you choose that line of work?”

“My parents raised me and my siblings to value community, to be patriotic. My father was in the military and then became a firefighter. The idea of service always seemed important. I wanted to serve my country, to protect people. It’s hard to explain, but when I see someone innocent being threatened, I’m willing to do whatever is necessary to protect them. I know it sounds cliché, but I feel like it’s my purpose in life.”

“That’s noble,” she remarked.

He shook his head. “The lived reality often isn’t. When you spend most of your life in the abyss, it gets pretty dark.”

“A residue remains, right?” she asked.

He looked at her intently, a little surprised. “Yes, exactly.”

“I understand. You convince yourself it’s all been for something that matters more than you do, that whatever part of yourself you sacrificed was worth it, because it simply has to be.”

He looked at her as if she had read his innermost thoughts. “Yes,” he said softly. “Tell me, what do you do?”

“I’m a novelist.”

“What are your books about?”

“That’s a difficult question to answer. I guess I wanted to write about everything: what it means to live a life, why it’s so hard, and how it could be easier. To walk people through darkness, in a way. Perhaps my goals were too lofty, and in that respect, each book fails more spectacularly than the one before.”

The bartender smirked.

Tess wistfully said, “Maybe reality can never live up to our dreams.”

What’s the next writing project?
I loved writing Tess and Jack’s story so much that I could not stop myself. It quickly became a series called The Celestial Bodies Romances. Shooting Stars Above is the launch title but there are already six books written. I truly love each one more than the last. Each novel includes a preview of the next.  We’ll be releasing one every spring. I’m also releasing different romance novels each fall. On September 2, I’m releasing Cinematic Destinies. It’s a romance with multiple love stories, one of which takes place on a film set, and it celebrates love, art, and what it means to live a life. It’s the final book in a trilogy following The Location Shoot and After the Red Carpet. It can be read as a stand-alone but will have an added layer for people who read all three.

What is your biggest challenge when writing a new book? (or the biggest challenge with this book)
It’s different with every book. It never happens the same way twice, which is why I’m still so in love with writing. With this book, there are some intense emotional scenes that deal with past abuse and trauma. It was important to get those right. Writing about pain takes a toll. As the protagonist in the novel says, it leaves a residue. There are also some very fun and light scenes in the book. Getting the balance between the heavy and lighter moments is always tricky. I feel really good about how it turned out.

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?
When my novels require research, I usually do that as I go, although sometimes I do a little advance research that gets refined over time. Shooting Stars Above didn’t really require research. It came straight from my imagination.

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. It was when I was standing on that very balcony looking up at the stars that Shooting Stars Above came to me. 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. When I need to shift my energy, there’s a beautiful Parisian-style café down the street. I’m a regular. They even sell my books, which is so fun since I’ve worked on them there. I usually sit at a corner table, overlooking their outdoor area surrounded by greenery. I will write there for hours. The treats are delicious too, especially the macarons. My daughter got me into rose macarons, so they’re my favorite.

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

Anything additional you want to share with the readers today?
Shooting Stars Above wrapped me in the warmest embrace. I hope it does the same for readers.

Links:
Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | She Writes Press | Simon and Schuster | Amazon

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