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Author Interview: Patricia Leavy

1. Have you ever had an imaginary friend?

I kind of think all my characters are my imaginary friends. I spend all my time with them, and I miss them when they’re gone. But even after a novel is done, I’m able to mentally visit them whenever I want. Sometimes I pop in on them to see what they’re up to. I like knowing about other chapters in their lives that no one else knows about.

2. Do you have any tattoos? Where? When did you get it?

Yes. I have one tattoo. It’s a butterfly above my bellybutton and I got it when I was a teenager. When I learned about the Butterfly Effect—the idea that a butterfly flapping it’s wings can impact something across the world—it just resonated. I had an appointment to get a second tattoo, but I bailed at the last minute. I’m glad. It would have been stupid and more visible.

3. How long have you been writing?

My whole life. I’ve always been a storyteller. Even before I could read or write, I would orally recite stories that an adult would type. Then I would illustrate them and bind them with scraps of wallpaper, glue, and staples to make them “books.” I started publishing poems and other short writings when I was young. I published my first book about 25 years ago. I never stopped. I’ve published over 50 books, and I have about 10 more already written and waiting to be released. I love writing more than anything.

4. What advice would you give to a new writer just starting out?

Develop a relationship with your work that isn’t dependent on anything external—positive or negative. Seek feedback from people you trust, take it to heart, and filter it. By the time you publish something, make peace with it and let it go.

5. Tell us about your main character.

Emerson Blue is 28 years old and the second most followed celebrity on social media. She rose to fame by starting a social media campaign with a close-up shot of her face and the caption, “Who is Emerson Blue?” The post went viral. Suddenly, her name and face were everywhere. She branded herself “a living piece of art,” starred in a reality show, and parlayed her fame into a career as an influencer. A master of social media, she inserts Easter eggs and double meanings into her posts and carefully constructs images for the media and public. Her fans consider her daily livestreams their religion. The world thinks she’s an open book, but Emerson has secrets.

SUGAR SAND LAND

by Patricia Leavy

GENRE: Romance

 

BLURB:

For fans of Ashley Poston and Abby Jimenez, a contemporary romance—with a twist—about a media-savvy reality television star and a canceled country singer.

Twenty-eight-year-old beauty Emerson Blue is the second most followed celebrity on social media. A self-proclaimed “living piece of art” who rose to fame as a reality star and then parlayed her celebrity into a megabucks career as an influencer, she seems to have everything.

Forty-eight-year-old Grammy winner Renn Walker is a fallen country music star. Years ago, he was canceled following allegations of sexual misconduct, and he has lived in seclusion ever since. Once a beloved figure, he seems to have lost it all.

When Emerson and Renn meet, sparks fly. Against all odds, a star obsessed with popularity and a recluse shunned by the world fall in love. Everyone in the public and media has an opinion and thinks they know Emerson and Renn. But in a world dominated by social media—a world that blurs the lines between what’s public and private, what’s real and what’s illusion—do we ever really know anyone?

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Excerpt:

They smiled at each other, but the moment was broken when several people eagerly approached the pair. A lanky woman with a brown bob and red lips, sporting a black turtleneck and cigarette pants, greeted Emerson with air kisses. “Darling, you look chic as always. I promised everyone it would be a star-studded opening. Thank you for helping me keep my word.”

Emerson smiled politely. “Glad to do my part, Miranda. You have one of the best spaces in Tinseltown, and the best eye. I’d like you to meet my friend Renn Walker. Renn, Miranda owns this wonderful gallery.”

“It’s a pleasure,” Renn said, extending his hand.

“I’m honored you would see fit to come to our little show,” Miranda replied, shaking his hand. Her eyes lingered on him with a mix of awe and confusion. After a moment passed, she stammered, “Uh, please allow me to introduce the artist, Lars Grant.”

She gestured to a tall man in black leather pants, a white T-shirt with a black peace sign, and dark sunglasses. “Hey. Thanks for coming,” he said. He flipped his glasses to the top of his head and stared at Emerson. “I’m mad for you. Your artistic impulse is singular. You’re ahead of the curve. Pushing the envelope.”

The others in the group started adding their words of praise. “You’re the embodiment of art,” one spandex-clad woman gushed.

“The embodiment of embodiment theory,” another added, looking quite proud of himself.

“Yes, you’ve taken performative to a whole new level,” another concurred.

Emerson smiled. “All our lives are really works of art. Don’t you think?”

The group nodded along, hissing oohs and aahs at her words.

A waiter walked over carrying a tray of flutes brimming with champagne and raspberry sparkling water.

Emerson grabbed a glass of the pink bubbly water. “Well, we’re going to take a little stroll around. Best of luck with the show,” she said, taking Renn’s hand.

“Nice to meet you all,” he said, and he followed Emerson through the crowd, smiling politely to people along the way as they admired the art, until they reached the back wall where they had privacy. They stood in front of a large canvas covered in rows of brightly colored paint and a clump of broken glass. Emerson leaned back on Renn, and he comfortably slipped his hands around her waist as if they had been together forever.

“Are those your friends?” Renn whispered.

“Hell no. People from the art scene,” she replied.

“Good,” he said, giving her waist a squeeze. “They were kind of . . .”

“Pretentious?” she asked.

He chuckled. “Yeah. I didn’t want to say anything to offend you, but . . .”

“What?” she asked.

“They’re so far up your ass. Do you think they have any idea how ludicrous they sound?”

She giggled. “That’s the thing about art and fame, they don’t really go together, do they?”

He huffed. “Funny. I never used to think about that at all. I just wrote songs, played my music. Everything else just fell into place. I never gave any of it a thought. Until it went away.”

“The art never goes away, though. For the real artists, that’s always there at the center. Even when the hype takes on a life of its own, at the core, in the eye of the storm, there’s always the art.”

“Em, you are very surprising,” he said.

“So, we’re up to nicknames now?”

“Yes,” he replied, dropping a kiss in her hair. “Is that okay?”

“Yes. It’s sweet actually,” she said.

“Good,” he said, dropping another kiss in her hair. “So, do you think art can survive fame?”

“It’s like this artwork.” She tilted her chin forward at the piece before them. “Miranda started a major publicity campaign to get this guy’s name out there, create buzz, brand him the next big find, and it’s all just spin. It could have been this guy or that guy or any other guy in some ways. Yet the art is real. This piece,” she said, gesturing, “it’s real.”

“Do you like it, this work?” Renn asked.

“Yes. It’s a commentary on the art world itself, or maybe even society as a whole. Pretty pictures and shattered dreams. The filtered image and the broken soul. Illusion and the crash of reality.”

They stood for a moment, looking at the piece, Emerson’s words in the air. Eventually Renn broke the silence and said, “Are you sure it’s not just some broken glass glued to a canvas?”

They both laughed.

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Patricia Leavy Bio and Links:

Patricia Leavy, PhD, is an award-winning, best-selling author. She is also the publisher and CEO of Paper Stars Press. 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 one hundred book awards. Her novel Shooting Stars Above was featured on People “10 Romance Books to Read After Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry” and was the 2025 Firebird Book Award First Place Winner in Contemporary Novel, Romance, and Summer Beach Read. Patricia 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.” Patricia lives in Maine. In addition to writing, she enjoys art, reading, and travel.

 

Website: www.patricialeavy.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WomenWhoWrite/ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/patricialeavy

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

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Sugar-Sand-Land-Reality-Romance/dp/B0GPDKB31P/

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/sugar-sand-land-patricia-leavy/1149520378

Simon & Schuster: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Sugar-Sand-Land/Patricia-Leavy/The-Reality-Star-Romance/9798896361565

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