Goddess Fish Promotions Presents

Constellations
by Patricia Leavy

2 randomly drawn (US only) winners will receive a signed set of 3 novels: Shooting Stars, Twinkle, and Constellations – Enter Below

Constellations follows Tess Lee and Jack Miller after three years of marriage as they navigate the meaning of love and family over a series of holidays. Tess is a wildly successful and world-famous novelist. Her inspirational books explore our innermost struggles and the human need to believe that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Jack is a former federal agent. After spending decades immersed in a violent world, a residue remains. Both healing from past trauma, together they have finally built the life they wish to live. What will happen to their blissful union when Jack’s childhood family resurfaces? When Tess and Jack visit the Millers for Christmas, how will insecurity, a sense of missed opportunities, and the need for redemption test their relationship? When a terrible accident threatens everything in an instant, will they learn the true meaning of unconditional love? Their loved ones are along for the ride: Omar, Tess’s sarcastic best friend who calls her Butterfly; the female president of the United States, with whom Tess talks politics and bakes cookies; Joe, Jack’s friend from the Bureau who understands the sacrifices he’s made; Bobby and Gina, their younger friends who never fail to lighten the mood; and the Miller family. Constellations is a novel about family – those into which we’re born and those we create – the human desire to belong and feel connected, the true nature of intimacy, and the power of love to heal and redeem. Written as unfolding action, Constellations is a poignant novel that moves fluidly between melancholy, humor, and joy.

Guest Post: Writing A Serial about Love and Healing Forever Changed Me
by Patricia Leavy

The Tess Lee and Jack Miller novels are 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. Let me tell you a little bit about these books and then how I came to write them. Tess Lee and Jack Miller’s love story is the heart of these novels. Tess Lee is a world-famous novelist and philanthropist. Her inspirational books explore people’s innermost struggles and the human need to believe that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Despite her extraordinary success, she’s been unable to find personal happiness and is in the lifelong process of recovery from childhood abuse. Jack Miller is a federal agent. After spending decades immersed in a violent world, a residue remains. He’s dedicated everything to his job, leaving nothing for himself. He also struggles with grieving the death of his four-year old daughter, whom he didn’t know existed until she was on her deathbed. These are two innately good people who have sacrificed 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.

Penning these novels was unlike any other experience in my life—the way the story came to me, how quickly it happened, and the way I approached the writing. The truth is, I’ve always wanted to write a love story. 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 of writing about love. Then one day, Shooting Stars came to me in a burst, which was very different from the way my other novels have materialized. Usually, I stew on an idea for a while, and then spend a year or two drafting a manuscript. Shooting Stars came to me quickly, and I wrote the entire first draft in about 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. 

I spent every waking moment of every day and night mentally in this story’s world. It was an immersive, emotional, and cathartic experience. I’ve never enjoyed writing anything more. The writing process was completely different than my previous novels. In the past I had always drafted a rough outline and then written in chronological order. I viewed this one as a compilation of scenes, and that’s how I wrote it – completely out of order. The last chapter in the book was the first one I wrote, then I skipped around in the middle, and I finished by writing the first chapter. In fact, because there was no outline, I had no idea how many chapters there would be so I saved each one with names like “cake scene” or “cereal scene,” confident that in the end I would be able to string the scenes together. The structure of this novel is completely organic; there was no formula. By abandoning everything that had worked for me in the past, I was able to achieve something new. Shooting Stars could not have been written any other way. The process pushed me creatively and made me a better writer. How was I able to do this in ten days? It was possible because of the discipline and skills I developed over many years. When the moment of inspiration and opportunity presented itself, I was ready to serve as a scribe and allow the story to come through my filter. While I had experienced magical moments of discovery writing previous novels, those were just fleeting moments. With Shooting Stars, the entire process was magical—one of cocreation with a source of inspiration that somehow came to me as if it had been waiting all along.

Differing from previous works, Shooting Stars takes place entirely in real-time. I didn’t utilize some of the literary devices I’ve used in the past. There’s no interior monologue, nor are there any flashbacks. These choices were made so readers could experience these characters as they experience each other: together and in real time, through their interactions and dialogue. Instead of relying on flashbacks, I use storytelling as a way of providing backstory, in which characters share stories from their past with others. In terms of other literary tools, I also used foreshadowing, dropping subtle clues throughout. Themes were interwoven in numerous ways including through dialogue, symbolism, and metaphor. For example, the theme of darkness and light shows up through dialogue, but also through clothing, photography, the sky at different times of day, and other means. Let’s take clothing, which may seem innocuous at first glance, but was consciously chosen throughout. Tess and Jack only wear black, white, and gray—symbolizing darkness and light and their attempt to balance the two. The only time this changes is when they are in Hawaii, their special place, where they wear bright colors. 

After I finished drafting Shooting Stars, 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. 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 then 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, suddenly, I realized I wasn’t ready to say goodbye to the characters. I knew there was much more to explore. Again in a burst, Twinkle came to me. I immediately started writing. This time, I knew it wasn’t merely a sequel, it was a part of a serial. I drafted Twinkle in about twelve days, in the same manner as Shooting Stars—writing scenes out of order. I loved this book even more. Next, Constellations came to me. This one was my favorite. More books followed, five in total, each drafted in the same manner—out of order as scenes, in real-time, using dialogue, interaction, storytelling, foreshadowing, metaphor, and symbolism. It’s important to note that while these novels were drafted quickly, they were each revised dozens of times, in addition to receiving peer feedback and professional copy editing. Magic came in the first draft, polish in the many that followed. 

I’m so excited that Shooting Stars, Twinkle, and Constellations are out. I look forward to releasing future titles in the series: Supernova, and North Star. Each book can be read as a stand-alone novel. These books, perhaps Constellations most of all, have embraced me in the warmest hug, and now that they’ve been released, I hope they do the same for others. 

Excerpt

The next morning, Bobby, Gina, Joe, and Luciana thanked their hosts profusely for an unforgettable experience and then flew back to DC on Tess’s jet. Omar and Clay spent the next two weeks enjoying their luxurious honeymoon at the Four Seasons, meeting up with Tess and Jack several times. They spent the last day of their vacation at Tess and Jack’s house.

The foursome lounged on the beach under umbrellas, and Omar said, “Butterfly, do you want to take a walk?”

“Sure,” she said, rising. She slipped on her oversized straw hat and took Omar’s hand. They walked along the ocean’s edge, letting the warm water splash across their feet.

“You look so relaxed,” Tess said.

“Well, I’ve had two weeks of nonstop sex, days spent lying on the beach, and a steady flow of rum cocktails; who would have guessed that it’s a relaxing way to live?” Omar said with a smile. “Oh, and the ninety-minute massage I had yesterday wasn’t too shabby either. Don’t tell Clay, but wow, my masseur was quite the bit of man candy. If I weren’t married, I tell ya.”

Tess giggled. “Was the wedding and honeymoon everything you imagined?”

“More,” he replied. “I can never thank you and Jack enough for making everything so wonderful.”

“There’s no need. We’re so thrilled for you and Clay. When I see the two of you together, I could burst with joy.”

“That’s because you know how alone I felt for so many years. Only people like us could really understand,” he said. “Of course we’ve always had each other, which has been a lifeline in every way, but having someone to grow old with, someone to wake up with every day, it’s immeasurably special. I’ve had a lot of happiness in my life, sometimes more than you, ironically because I’ve so enjoyed your spectacular life. But happiness and contentment aren’t the same. Dare I say, I truly feel at peace now.”

Tess squeezed his hand.

“I knew you would understand,” he said.

“I was telling Jack the same thing recently. When you’ve had to take care of yourself for ages, you don’t take it for granted when you find someone you can count on to always be there. I think that’s why the connection is so strong between me and Jack. People don’t understand why we’re always so affectionate, but from the first night we met, we both knew the other had gone without a certain kind of love, that we had each survived unspeakable pain and loss. From the very beginning, we made an unspoken decision to just love each other with everything we have.”

“You make it look easy.”

“It is easy,” she replied.

“Watching the two of you these past few years is what really pushed me to make my commitment to Clay official. I’ve seen the change in your eyes, and I guess I wanted to experience it too.”

“I’m so glad you have it,” she said, smiling.

“You know, I was thinking about how you said our senior year Christmas together was your favorite holiday until you met Jack. Perhaps it was more sacred than I realized, that toxic, all-American meal of ours notwithstanding.”

She smiled.

“Promise me something, Butterfly.”

“Anything.”

“Promise me we will always have this,” he said, holding her hand in his and giving it a squeeze. “We will always have us, together with others and quiet moments alone.”

She stopped, hugged him tightly, and whispered, “Of course. Now you promise me the same.”

“I promise,” he whispered, squeezing her tighter.

When they parted, she said, “Are you ready to get back to our gorgeous men?”

“Well, I do love watching how they glisten in the sun. When they come out of the ocean all wet, holy hell.”

They both laughed.

“But I think I could use a little more time alone with you, Butterfly.”

She smiled. “Me too.”

Amazon

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Patricia Leavy, Ph.D., is a bestselling author. She was formerly Associate Professor of Sociology, Chair of Sociology and Criminology, and Founding Director of Gender Studies at Stonehill College in Massachusetts. She has published over thirty books, earning commercial and critical success in both fiction and nonfiction, and her work has been translated into many languages. She is also series creator and editor for ten book series with Oxford University Press, Guilford Press, and Brill/Sense, including the ground-breaking Social Fictions series. Patricia has received dozens of accolades for her books. Recently, her novel Film won the 2020 American Fiction Award for Inspirational Fiction, her 3-novel set Candy Floss Collection won the 2020 American Fiction Award for Anthologies, and her novel Spark won the 2019 American Fiction Award for Inspirational Fiction and the 2019 Living Now Book Award for Adventure Fiction. 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.” She has residences in Maine and Massachusetts where she lives with her husband, daughter (when she’s not away at college), and her dog. Patricia loves writing, reading, watching films, and traveling.

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