Writing A Romance Series about Love and Healing Saved My Life

By Patricia Leavy

Let me tell you a little bit about my new novel and the series it launches. I wrote it in the hope of bringing joy, comfort, and maybe a little healing and inspiration to others. In fact, the novel has done all that and much more for me. I believe it saved my life.

Shooting Stars Above a love letter to love itself and the power of love to help us heal—love in all forms—romance, friendship, patriotism, love of art, and most importantly, learning to love ourselves. 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, the novel is 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 book, and the series it launches, are about love in all forms—romantic, friendship, and learning to love ourselves. 

Tess and Jack are two innately good people who have sacrificed themselves in service of others, and found little for themselves, until they find each other. There’s a saying that “hurt people hurt people” but Tess and Jack show us that hurt people can love each other in extraordinary ways. In essence, the couple, along with their dear friends, model what love looks like in action. Love is a verb. It is something we do. These characters do love well.

When I was about ten years old, I began to give serious thought to becoming a writer. I tried writing a novel at the time, an epic love story between people who help each other heal, but because I was ten, it didn’t pan out. By the time I became a professional author, I had long since abandoned the idea. Then one day, Shooting Stars Above came to me in a burst. In the past I would stew on an idea for a while, and then spend a year or two drafting a manuscript. Shooting Stars Above came to me quickly, and I wrote the entire first draft in ten days. 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. I was completely immersed, more than I’d been with anything before. It was magical. It was also cathartic.

After I finished drafting Shooting Stars Above, I fell into a deep depression for twenty-four hours. This was the best writing experience of my life, and I felt strongly that it was also the best thing I’d ever created. Finishing it was devastating. Would I ever feel that way again? My heart also ached for the characters that had become so near and dear to me. Waking up without racing into their world left me with a profound sense of loss. I missed them deeply. While I always experience some measure of sadness finishing a novel and saying goodbye to the characters that have occupied my days, this time it was worse. I knew more about them than I was able to share. I loved them more. And we only had ten days together. It wasn’t enough.

Standing out on my balcony looking up at the sky, I knew that I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to the characters. There was much more to explore. Again, in a burst, a new Tess and Jack story came to me. I immediately started writing. More books followed, six in total. I call the series The Celestial Bodies Romances. We’ll be releasing one each spring through 2030. Each book takes place a year after the last and explores love and another theme: healing, doubt, intimacy, trust, commitment, and faith. Together, it’s a study in the power of unconditional love. 

Looking back, I think Shooting Stars Above saved me in so many ways. I am a childhood abuse and sexual assault survivor. Like so many others, I’ve carried shame and suffered from deep depression. Recovery is a lifelong process. Sharing our stories can be a part of that recovery. Releasing the silence around violence in our lives and all it has cost us, can free parts of ourselves that we thought we had lost. While Tess is a fictional character and her story is not mine, in writing her story, I was able to release some of the hurt I’d been carrying for a lifetime. It helped me heal my invisible wounds. It’s also made me much better at balancing darkness and light in my life. Partly because I have somewhere to channel my feelings.

You see Shooting Stars Above did something else for me too. It gave me a new direction as a writer. It turned me into a romance novelist. The truth is, I had dreamed of writing romance novels since I was young girl. There’s nothing I ever wanted more. Yet for much of my adult life I lacked the bravery to write fiction. When I eventually became a novelist, I steered clear of love stories. While romantic love flitted across the pages of my early novels, none were romances. Shootings Stars Above changed everything. Since then, I’ve written more than fifteen romance novels. Each day I wake up to do something I truly love. For the first time, I know I am living my purpose. 

Years ago, when my first novel came out, I had the chance to meet musician Tori Amos backstage at one of her concerts. Her music has been a light in the dark for me for decades, and her work on behalf of sexual assault survivors is near and dear to my heart. When I met Tori for the first time, with tears in my eyes, I told her that her music saved me. She said, “No, you saved yourself.” In writing Shooting Stars Above, I think I did. 

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 a hundred book honors. 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 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.”

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Website: www.patricialeavy.com  

She Writes Press: https://shewritespress.com/product/shooting-stars-above/ 

Simon & Schuster: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Shooting-Stars-Above/Patricia-Leavy/The-Celestial-Bodies-Romances/9781647428549
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WomenWhoWrite/  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patricialeavy   

X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/PatriciaLeavy 

SHOOTING STARS ABOVE

For fans of Colleen Hoover comes an emotionally charged contemporary romance about an 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?

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Tags: featured, women writers

Category: On Writing