Spotlight: Shooting Stars

Tess Lee is a 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. Despite her extraordinary success, she’s been unable to find personal happiness. 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. 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 that asks the questions: What happens when people truly see each other? Can unconditional love change the way we see ourselves? Their friends are along for the ride: Omar, Tess’s sarcastic best friend who mysteriously calls her Butterfly; Joe, Jack’s friend from the Bureau who understands the sacrifices he’s made; and Bobby, Jack’s younger friend who never fails to lighten the mood. Shooting Stars is a novel about walking through our past traumas, moving from darkness to light, and the ways in which love – from lovers, friends, or the art we experience – heals us. Written as unfolding action, Shooting Stars is a poignant novel that moves fluidly between melancholy, humor, and joy.

Patricia Leavy, PhD is an independent scholar, novelist, and public speaker (formerly Associate Professor of Sociology, Founding Director of Gender Studies and Chairperson of Sociology & Criminology at Stonehill College). She holds a PhD in sociology from Boston College (2002). A champion of arts-based research and public scholarship, she has published more than 30 books including the best-seller Method Meets Art: Arts-Based Research Practice (first, second, and third editions), Essentials of Transdisciplinary Research: Using Problem-Centered Methodologies and Fiction as Research Practice: Short Stories, Novellas and Novels and the best-selling novels Spark, Film, Blue, Low-Fat Love, and American Circumstance.

She is the editor for ten book series with Oxford University Press, Guilford Press, and Brill/Sense. Frequently called on by the media, she has appeared on national television, radio, is regularly quoted by the news media, publishes op-eds and is a blogger. She makes presentations and keynote addresses at universities as well as national and international conferences. She has received numerous national and international 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." (Bio courtesy of Amazon.)

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