Romance Novels Can Be Healing
Romance Novels Can Be Healing
I’ve never been a big romance reader, and I certainly never expected to be a romance novelist. Sure, my novels have always featured female protagonists, usually stumbling their way through life and relationships, but romance, not so much. This all changed a couple years ago. In a burst, a story came to me, a love story about two people with wounds—visible and invisible—who help each other heal. It turned into an epic love story—not only romantic, but a story that explores loves in all its forms and textures. I called it Shooting Stars.
At the center is the beautiful relationship between famed novelist, Tess Lee, and federal agent, Jack Miller. While these characters are aspirational in many ways, their struggles are all-too resonant. Don’t we all carry wounds? Hurt? Doubt? Don’t we all wonder if we’re enough?
The story came from the deepest part of my soul and wrapped me in the warmest embrace. I found that the love that lived on the pages, lived in me too. As the two lovers helped each other heal from their pasts, that healing also lived inside of me.
I was so swept up not only with the characters, but also the affect they had on me. I kept writing and before long, there were six short novels: Shooting Stars, Twinkle, Constellations, Supernova, North Star, and Stardust. With each book, the love on the pages grew, and it grew inside of me too. So did the healing. I compiled all the books into one love-filled, romantic, tragic, humorous, and ultimately uplifting collection called, Celestial Bodies: The Tess Lee and Jack Miller Novels. It’s my favorite thing I’ve ever done, and the notes I’ve received generous readers have meant the world to me. They’ve said things like, “It had my whole heart.”
That’s really the thing, isn’t it? When we’re immersed in a story-world, those feelings spring up in us too. It’s no wonder writing about love has brought me so much joy and a unique kind of peace. And I always hoped it might do the same for readers. Perhaps my protagonist, Tess Lee, said it best. In one of the books in the collection she’s giving a talk about literature, followed by a Q&A. Here’s what happens at the end of the scene:
The Q&A went smoothly and quickly, and before long, there was only time for one final question. A woman stood up and said, “Your characters are always fighting personal battles, many related to past traumas, but your books have hopeful messages. Do you believe that healing is possible?”
“I don’t think I’m any better equipped to answer that than anyone else in this room, but I will share this from my own experience. When I was in high school, I had a boyfriend who wanted to get married. I didn’t feel that way about him and ended the relationship. He told me, ‘No one will ever be able to fill the hole in your soul.’ I still remember those words like it happened yesterday. He was hurt and he wanted to hurt me in return. For a long time, those words haunted me like a shadow. Eventually, I realized that we’re lucky if we end up with a hole in our soul. You see, our wounds don’t start out that way. They’re jagged. They have rough edges. They are like flesh that has been ripped from our body. If we learn to let love into our lives, over time, the jagged edges become smooth, and only a hole remains. Sometimes that love comes from a friend’s laughter, the hug of a child, or the embrace of a lover who sees who we really are. Sometimes giving love freely and with your whole heart can heal you too. When there aren’t people to provide that love, it can come from a song, or a movie, or even a novel. And that is why I write.”
Celestial Bodies: The Tess Lee and Jack Miller Novels on Amazon
About Patricia
Patricia Leavy, Ph.D., is a bestselling and award-winning author. She has published over forty books, earning commercial and critical success in both fiction and nonfiction, and her work has been translated into many languages. She has received numerous accolades for her books. Recently, Celestial Bodies: The Tess Lee and Jack Miller Novels was the 2022 Firebird Book Award First Place Winner for Romance. 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 SUNY-New Paltz established the “Patricia Leavy Award for Art and Social Justice.”
Website: www.patricialeavy.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WomenWhoWrite/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patricialeavy
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PatriciaLeavy
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