Patricia Leavy

Patricia Leavy, PhD is novelist, sociologist, and arts advocate (formerly Associate Professor of Sociology, Founding Director of Gender Studies and Chairperson of Sociology & Criminology at Stonehill College). She is widely considered the world's most visible proponent of arts-based research, which merges the arts and sciences. Patricia has published over 50 books, nonfiction and fiction, and her work has been translated into numerous languages. She has received over 100 book awards. She 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 2016 Mogul, a global women’s empowerment network, named her an “Influencer.” In 2018, she was honored by the National Women’s Hall of Fame and the State University of New York at New Paltz established the “Patricia Leavy Award for Art and Social Justice.” In recent years, her passion has turned to penning romance novels.

To write Shooting Stars Above, did you create entirely fictitious characters, or have you borrowed from real world people you know?

They’re fictitious but we all borrow from life. As artists, everything comes through our filter.

Did the concept for this book come to you in a sudden moment of inspiration, or was it something that developed slowly over time?

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, hey, I was only ten. One night several years ago, 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 all my previous books. 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.

Shooting Stars Above is the first title in the Celestial Bodies Romances? Did you always know it was going to be a series?

No. In fact, when I finished writing Shooting Stars Above, I was incredibly depressed. The experience had been completely immersive. It was my favorite thing I’d ever written, and I loved the characters and longed to spend more time with them. Then the second story came to me a day later. After that it became clear it would be a series. There are six books written so far and we plan to release one every spring.

If Shooting Stars Above were adapted into a film, how would you want the cinematography to capture its emotional tone?

At the core, this is a story about darkness and light. It’s about learning to walk through the darkness in our lives so that we can find the light. In terms of the content, there are also emotionally heavy scenes as well as light-hearted moments that bring levity. I would love a film adaptation that captured the balance of darkness and light, and what that journey looks like and feels like. Much could be communicated with lighting, shadow, color, texture, and graininess.

Did you write any scenes that were particularly difficult, either emotionally or creatively, to get right?

The protagonist is in the lifelong process of healing from past abuse and there’s a long PTSD chapter. It was important to get that right, and I took it very seriously. There was also the issue of everything around it. Context is so important when addressing a sensitive topic. After this dramatic part of the book: When is it okay to bring some levity back into the story? When is it okay to bring romance back?

The novel explores deep emotional healing—what role do you think literature plays in helping readers heal from their own past wounds?

I think literature and art in general can play an enormous role in helping people heal from past wounds. It can help people feel less alone and feel that they are seen. It can also offer models of healing and hope. Tess, the protagonist in the novel is herself a novelist. She takes the pain from her life and transforms it into something inspirational to help others. I think that’s the real work of novelists.

Do you believe in fate when it comes to love, or do you think we shape our own destinies in relationships?

Both. Sometimes we meet “the right” person by happenstance, much like in the novel where the two main characters wind up in a bar alone because their friends cancelled on them last minute. Other times, we go searching for someone, for example with internet dating, which is how I met my husband. No matter how we meet someone, it’s really about who we are at that moment, whether our heart is open, whether we’ve done work on ourselves not only to recognize someone special but to be able to be someone special for them. Fate, kismet, and destiny all play a role, but we still have to do work on ourselves, or it won’t matter.

What’s the greatest lesson Jack and Tess learn from each other that readers might take into their own lives?

Love is not something we feel or say, it is something we do. We should all aspire to do love well—love in all forms—for our partners, friends, and humanity.

Your books often resonate with readers on a deep level. Have any early readers shared insights about this book that surprised you?

I’ve been deeply moved by what readers have shared with me. Many people have told me they found the book healing and comforting in ways they never expected from a romance novel. Others said it made them want to be kinder to their partners, their loved ones, and themselves. Many have also shared their personal stories of trauma and abuse. For a stranger to share their deepest pain with you is very humbling. One reader sent me a message on social media and told me she was raped as a teenager and she never told a soul. Reading the book set something free inside of her. She’s seventy-three years old.

Do you see Shooting Stars Above as an escapist love story, a guide to healing, or something else entirely?

Above all I see it as a love story. To me it’s a celebration of love in all forms, not just romantic love. Love of romantic partners, friends, chosen family, country, art. It explores love in all it’s textures, not just the happy parts. Love brings joy, excitement, pain, grief, comfort, warmth, affection, purpose. By looking at love in these ways, I do feel it’s also a story about healing.
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What do you hope lingers in readers’ minds long after they’ve finished the final page?

Kindness matters. You can never be too kind. Healing is possible. It’s important to let love into our lives. When that love doesn’t come from people, it can come from a movie, a song, or even a novel.

How does this book fit into the broader landscape of contemporary romance—what does it offer that others don’t?

Many contemporary romance novels involve enemies to lovers, fake relationships that become real, miscommunication, and so on. There are often toxic relationships. Shooting Stars Above doesn’t have any of that. This is a book about good people. They are hurt, but they do not hurt others. They don’t play any games with each other. They love with everything they have. To me, these are aspirational relationships that show the beauty of true partnership and unconditional love in practice. As a writer I think a lot about what I put into the world. The messages I send. I feel good about how I’ve used my voice in this novel and in all my romances.

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https://patricialeavy.com
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LINK for BOOK:
https://www.amazon.com/Shooting-Stars-Above-Celestial-Romances/dp/1647428548