I’m happy to welcome award-winning author Helene Matheson. Today, Helene shares her new release, The Rebellious Countess.

Blurb

Society may be run by the men of the ton, but six scandalous sisters are determined to take it by storm one gentleman at a time.

Máira Blair married for love, her honeymoon trip with the Earl of Dorset is a dream come true—until reality turns it into a nightmare. Máira wakes up to discover her husband isn’t an earl, but the captain of a pirate ship and what was supposed to be her honeymoon, is a voyage bound for war-torn France. If that isn’t enough to disparage her husband’s character, he abandons her in the middle of a French port where she must find a way to survive as she defends her virtue and her life. Just when she’s convinced of what kind of rogue she married, the pirate transforms into a hero on a quest to save her and the missing Earl of Astley.

Sir Elias Drake married for convenience, he needed a Scottish bride to complete his mission. He can resist his desire for his beautiful wife, especially after she discovers his true identity. Except Máira Blair was more than he bargained for. He needs her skills, cherishes her compassion, and is tormented by her passion, which only makes him want her and the life their marriage represents more.

It will require both of their talents to rescue the Earl of Astley, and it will take more than a war to defeat their hard-won love—if they can escape.

Excerpt

Her Scottish blood began to simmer. The mettle of her ancestors wronged by backstabbing, licentious English bastards was rising to a call so deeply ingrained in her soul, she wanted to fight. It didn’t matter her mother was English, she was a Scottish bastard through and through as far as the ton was concerned. One of the scandalous sisters. Even Iseabail’s marriage to a duke hadn’t been able to stop the label from spreading. Máira’s good-for-nothing husband had just added to her family’s ruination by making her a walking, talking scandal of the worst kind.

It was Ellison. There was no doubt. It didn’t matter that he wore clothes she didn’t recognize, or that a hat sat low over his brow hiding most of his features. It didn’t matter that the sun was going down and the only light in town was coming from the windows of The Happy Hag. It didn’t matter that she’d somehow slept the night and day away probably due to the bump on her head.

She knew it was Ellison by the tune he whistled and poetical way he performed it. He’d whistled that same tune the night of their wedding. How she remembered that she wasn’t certain, but it was him, of that there was no doubt. He could whistle like no one she’d ever heard in her life. Melodic, and sorrowful, his song spoke of love found and lost. It spoke to her soul, and she wanted to punch those sinful lips for making her feel anything but hatred.

Buy Links

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Books a Million

Author Bio and Links

Helene Matheson writes steamy Regency historical romance novels with intelligent, unstoppable heroines who don’t require an alpha male to save them—having one in their bed is another story.

Helene moved south for fun in the sun after she retired from public service and began pursuing her life-long dream of writing. She wrote the Amazon best-selling mystery series The Book Barn Mysteries for Lyrical Press and has written multiple award-winning romantic suspense novels under Kym Roberts.

In her spare time she can be found woodcarving by the pool or blogging for The Cozy Corner on Fresh Fiction. To contact her on social media, you can find her under KymRoberts911 on FaceBook, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest. Her books can also be found on her websites: HeleneMatheson.com or KymRoberts.com

Giveaway

Helene Matheson will be awarding a $10 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Find out more here.

Follow Helene on the rest of her Goddess Fish tour here.

I’m happy to welcome award-winning author Joie Lesin. Today, Joie shares her new release, The Passenger.

Blurb

She’s a 1940s ghost whisperer.

Burdened with her empathic gift, Elizabeth Reilly wants to be free of it and fit in with normal people. Nevertheless, when the spirit of an old man asks for her help, she travels across the country to help him return home.

He’s the son of a ghost.

Gio Clemente is still angry with his father who abandoned him as a child. To help the father pass on, Elizabeth must persuade Gio to let go of his anger. Though he resents her intrusion, they are both stunned to find themselves fighting a profound attraction.

Elizabeth can accept his headstrong brand of love, but can Gio accept her gift—and believe in her?

The Passenger, a 1940s ghost story set in the California wine country, tells a tale of family connections, life-changing choices, and love—lost and found.

Excerpt

Elizabeth’s stomach churned in nervous knots. She squirmed on the cloth seat, and her foot twitched. If he heard her erratic heartbeat, he’d realize how frantic she was—and hot. Perspiration built up on her forehead. Grabbing the metal handle, she rolled down the squeaking window, and inhaled the pure air. The fragrances of the forest filled her senses—the resinous scent of pine, the earthiness of soil, and damp detritus of fallen branches and decaying leaves. The surrounding land was alive, vibrant, and something more she couldn’t quite identify. Somehow, the vehicle they drove in and the path it traveled seemed out of place.

Gravel on the uneven road crunched and ground under the truck’s tires. Elizabeth sat straight in her seat and stole stiff, awkward glimpses at Giovanni. A frown marked his lips. His lean, well-defined face held soulful eyes bringing to her mind images of the sad little boy he must have been.

A thin red scar stretched down his right cheek and she itched to run a finger along the faded edges. She’d caress his stubble-shadowed chin and tell him how terribly his father missed him.

Instead, she stared out the truck window.

Buy Links

The Wild Rose Press Book Page | Amazon | Apple Books | Barnes & Noble | Kobo

Author Bio and Links

Award-winning, Minnesota-based author, Joie Lesin is a life-long fiction writer and poet. She is most recently the author of The Passenger (The Wild Rose Press, 2024) and her work is also featured in Scribeworth Magazine. She has long been fascinated by anything otherworldly including mermaids and ghosts. Joie writes character-driven, emotional, atmospheric tales about heartache and hope.

Website | Bluesky | Instagram | Facebook | TikTok | Goodreads Book Page

Giveaway

Joie Lesin will be awarding a $25 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Find out more here.

Follow Joie on the rest of her Goddess Fish tour here.

I’m happy to welcome Wild Rose Press author Lori Matsourani. Today, Lori shares her new release, Ghosted.

Blurb

When her fiancé’s infidelity prompts Bethany Hendren to map out a new path forward, her plans are disrupted by an unexpected encounter with Nick Dorsey, who convinces her to help search for the remains of a troubled eighteenth-century ghost. Nick is the handsome summer boyfriend who ghosted her years ago, and now he wants to rekindle their relationship.

Despite her reluctance to trust him, Bethany discovers he’s still the funny, caring person who captured her heart as a teen, but giving him a second chance is risky—it could lead to love and happiness or result in another devastating heartache.

Although Bethany wants a happily ever after with Nick, does she have the courage to trust him with her future?

Excerpt

The fountain that night was magical. Spotlights positioned at the edges of the narrow brick patio lit the cast-iron maiden as she filled her goblet from an urn with a never-ending flow of water.

Nick stopped and retrieved his dime. Bethany fished a penny out of her pocket, and they counted to three before flinging their coins into the pool.

After settling on a nearby bench, he drew her into his arms. Was this it? The moment she’d wondered about, waited for? She looked up into his eyes and inhaled, filling her lungs with the scent of sunscreen and salty air. His scent. Then he leaned down, touched her cheek with his index finger, and brushed his mouth against hers. His lips, spiced with traces of red pepper flakes, were softer than she had imagined. Without thinking, she lifted her face to his, hungrily snatching more kisses until she’d spent her last breath.

“My wish came true,” he’d murmured, tightening his arms around her as his mouth rested on hers.

She’d whispered back, “So did mine.”

The memory dredged up the old ache, now muted by time. Nick thought they were still friends, although he’d been the one who ended their relationship. Was it possible he still thought about her, and his heart still pounded with the chemistry that had pulled them together so long ago?

Buy Links

Books2Read | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Apple | WildRosePress

Author Bio and Links

Author Lori Matsourani is a romance addict. Give her stories with a touch of heartbreak and a spark of joy, and she’s happy. Throw in characters with a huge helping of heart and soul, and she’s up reading all night in romance heaven! While currently a Texas resident, Lori grew up near Baltimore and often draws on the historical flavor of Annapolis and Maryland’s Eastern Shore to inspire her story settings. She authored her first fiction story at twelve and has been hooked on writing ever since. Early on, her writing career focused on articles for magazines and newspapers before shifting to her first writing love—fiction. For Lori, connecting words to tell a story is like assembling a jigsaw puzzle, and she loves the challenge of creating every piece.

Website | Facebook | Instagram | Goodreads | Bluesky | Threads | X | TikTok

*Win a copy of the book at this Goodreads Giveaway. *

Giveaway

Lori Matsourani will be awarding a $20 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Find out more here.

Follow Lori on the rest of her Goddess Fish tour here.

I’m happy to welcome award-winning author Chrstine Amsden. Today, Christine shares her creative journey and new release, Knot of Souls.

Here’s Christine!

What was your inspiration for this book?

The idea for Knot of Souls came at the end of 2020, after a year of working social media for two state senate campaigns. Politics is always fraught, but in the midst of a global pandemic, trolls were out in force, leaving me wondering how two opposite sides could ever come together on anything. In November, I sat down at my computer, stared at a blank cursor for a minute, and typed out three words:

Write something happy.

Joy got a name before she got a plot!

Now, it’s hard to write something you don’t feel, and I didn’t feel happy at the time, but I did manage hopeful. The key hope I wanted to ignite? That two very different beings at cross-purposes can find a way to work together, and even become close.

What is the best part of being an author? The worst?

My favorite part of being an author are the times when someone sends me an email and tells me they loved my book(s). I recently got one from someone I’ve known for seven years who only just got around to reading me, and she said, “Why did I wait so long???” Those kinds of things put a smile on my face every time.

The worst part of being an author has been grappling with how big a role luck plays in success.

Describe your writing space.

I write in a basement office where the only light comes through a small, high window covered with stained glass sunflowers. Due to a visual impairment, I write almost exclusively on a desktop, using a very large monitor mounted on an arm that I bring so close to my face that my (hot pink) keyboard is under and behind it. The keyboard clicks. Click click click. I love the tactile and auditory feedback. On a table nearby, I place a jar candle that I light when I’m working on a novel. The scents vary; I like to keep things interesting. Right now it’s vanilla, but I’m probably going to move to something more woodsy soon.

If you had a superpower, what would it be?

Self-confidence. (Is that a superpower? It feels like a superpower!)

Besides writing and reading, what are some of your hobbies?b>

Games! I’ve been learning chess for a year or two, and I play some video games … they aren’t all accessible enough, but I’ve gotten into cozy ones like Stardew Valley. I read a lot, both fiction and nonfiction, and as I primarily read on audio I knit to have something to do with my hands. I also enjoy walking, yoga, and a good cup of tea.

Any advice for aspiring writers?

Never forget to play, and to take joy in your work.

Book Blurb

Two souls, one body …

When Joy wakes up in an alley, she knows three things: she was brutally murdered, she has somehow come back to life … and she is not alone. She’s been possessed by an inhuman presence, a being that has taken over her dying body. That being is powerful, in pain, and on the run from entities more dangerous than he is.

Shade, a Fae prince on the run, didn’t mean to share the body he jumped into. Desperate and afraid, accused of a murder he didn’t commit, he only sought a place to hide—but if he leaves Joy now, he faces discovery and a fate worse than death.

Forced to work together to solve multiple murders, including her own, Joy and Shade discover hidden strengths and an unlikely friendship. Yet as their souls become increasingly intertwined, they realize their true danger might come from each other … and if they don’t find a way to untangle the knot their souls have become, then even the truth won’t set them free.

Knot of Souls is a stand-alone buddy love fantasy that forces two very different beings to work together … and come out stronger on the other side.

Knot of Souls is available at Amazon.

Book Excerpt

Joy

The first thing I realized, after I died, was that my body could walk and talk and no longer needed my help for any of it. I was in there, able to look through my eyes and hear through my ears, but even the simple task of aiming my gaze had slipped outside my control. I was a passenger inside my own mind, an observer along for the ride.

Kristen had been right, I thought numbly as I struggled to make sense of my new reality. Had it only been lunchtime today when she’d told me I’d never get ahead if I didn’t learn to assert myself? “Take control of your life,” she’d said, “or others will take it for you.” She couldn’t have been thinking of anything quite so literal. Whatever was happening to me, it wasn’t because I’d failed to advocate for a promotion at work or refused to ask out a coworker.

Right?

My body reached my car and slid behind the wheel. A rattled thought—not my own—cursed as it tried to understand how the contraption worked. How much can cars have changed in only a century? Visions accompanied the thoughts, memories—again not my own—of a classic car, gleaming black and elegant, its top down, my bobbed hair whipping around my face as I laughed with glee, a white-faced young man at my side gripping the door, begging me to slow down. I did not.

Which brings me to the second thing I realized, after I died: I was no longer alone inside my own mind.

Whoever was in there didn’t seem to have noticed me yet. Fine. I slid into the smallest corner of my brain I could find, ignoring the intruder as they struggled to figure out how to work an automatic transmission. Maybe they’d get frustrated and give up and go find someone else’s body to possess.

Holy shit! I’ve been possessed by the ghost of someone who died in like 1930.

But why?

I tried to remember what had happened, but the images danced just out of reach. I recalled that the night had been unseasonably cold for October, the chill biting through my inadequate jacket as I hurried to my car, parked in a garage two blocks away from the shelter where I’d been volunteering. Hugging my arms around my torso for warmth, I took a shortcut through an alley and …

There was a noise. I’d startled, my heart pounding in my throat, already on edge because of the argument.

Wait. Back up. There’d been an argument. That seemed significant, but my scattered thoughts couldn’t piece it together as yet, not when a bodily intruder fumbled at the gearshift of my two-month-old Hyundai Accent with only fifty-eight “low monthly payments” left to go.

Low is such a relative word.

– Excerpted from Knot of Souls by Christine Amsden, Christine Amsden, 2025. Reprinted with permission.

About the Author

Christine Amsden is the author of nine award-winning fantasy and science fiction novels, including the Cassie Scot Series.

Speculative fiction is fun, magical, and imaginative but Christine believes great speculative fiction is about real people defining themselves through extraordinary situations. She writes primarily about people, and it is in this way that she strives to make science fiction and fantasy meaningful for everyone.

In addition to writing, Christine is a freelance editor and political activist. Disability advocacy is of particular interest to her; she has a rare genetic eye condition called Stargardt Macular Degeneration and has been legally blind since the age of eighteen. In her free time, she enjoys role playing, board games, and a good cup of tea. She lives in the Kansas City area with her husband and two kids.

Website | X | Facebook | Amazon Buy Link

Giveaway

Christine Amsden is giving away 2 epub sets of the 4-book Cassie Scot series (gifted through BookFunnel! This includes Cassie Scot: ParaNormal Detective, Secrets and Lies, Mind Games and Stolen Dreams. Enter here.

Terms & Conditions:

• By entering the giveaway, you are confirming you are at least 18 years old.

• Two winners will be chosen via Rafflecopter to receive one set of the 4-book Cassie Scot series (four books total).

• This giveaway starts July 1 and ends September 26.

• Winner will be contacted via email on September 26.

• Winner has 48 hours to reply.

I’m happy to welcome back multi-published author Petie McCarty. Today, Petie shares her new release, Christmas Watch.

Blurb

The Watchers Series

Fallen angels seeking parole for their betrayal . . .

Someone is watching Rachel . . . but who? And why?

Child psychologist Rachel Kelly has her Christmas stocking full of troubles this holiday season, both personal and professional. Recently separated from her boyfriend, Rachel still loves him but has no idea how to win him back. If that’s not enough to cause her sleepless nights, she’s uncertain how to handle her newest therapy client—a six-year-old boy who claims he talks to Watchers. And a Watcher is coming to help Rachel.

Lt. Jake Dillon has his heart broken when his fiancée Rachel, without warning, suddenly calls it quits. Yet when a stalker crashes Rachel’s Christmas party and takes her young clients hostage, Jake is the first person Rachel calls. Now he has a choice to make—stand back and wait for the cavalry to save her, or step in and try to save her himself. Time is running out, and Jake may be their only chance for rescue.

Unless Rachel’s young Watcher spy is telling the truth . . .

This romantic suspense tale with paranormal elements is Book 2 in The Watchers series . . . A captivating tale of small-town Christmas romance that will leave you looking over your shoulder and wondering, Is someone watching

Excerpt

Jake whipped his BMW into the Azalea Center parking lot and switched off his headlights in one smooth motion. Guided by the light from the few streetlamps, he coasted to a silent stop next to Wally’s Jeep, though his emotions had urged him to come screeching around the corner like the cavalry. Common sense and the need for stealth won out. He couldn’t risk driving the trespasser underground only to have him surface later after Jake had gone.

Clicking off his interior lights, he unlocked his glove compartment and drew out his Sig Sauer, then climbed out and quietly pushed the car door in until the latch held. He waited several seconds to let his eyes and ears take in the entire scene. Damn. All the landscaping crowded around the Center provided a multitude of places for a trespasser to hide.

He put a hand on the hood of Wally’s Jeep. Still warm, even in the cold night air. A brief stab of guilt hit him for dumping his team so abruptly in the Beef n’ Barrel. Couldn’t be helped.

He scanned the closest landscape beds for some sign of Wally. A stiff north breeze whipped across the parking area, stirring up leaves and debris. Barely visible through the treetops, the almost-full moon blazed bright.

He made his way past the large perimeter oaks to the interior sidewalk and began a slow circle of the building, checking sections of the garden as he paced. All the offices on the west side of the building were unoccupied, and all the windows were dark, with a few showing vestiges of their interiors due to adjacent emergency lighting.

Rachel’s office, just around the corner, faced the back of the property. At this time of night, her office interior would be entirely visible with her lights on. Jake knew this because he’d snuck over here enough times in the last few months to observe her office from the garden. He was pathetic and, every few weeks, needed a glimpse of her to get by. A wry smile twitched the edges of his mouth. He could’ve been called in as a trespasser on any one of those nights should someone have spotted him and cared enough to make the call.

Careful to remain off the sidewalk, he silently paced toward the back garden. If the trespasser was a stalker, then the perp probably knew the Center had no security guard and no security system. A fact that had always bothered Jake.

At the back corner of the property, he crossed the sidewalk to inspect the landscape areas adjacent to the building. With quick steps, he shifted from one landscape bed to another. Crouching as he left the larger camellias, he moved through the shorter azaleas and Indian hawthorn.

Clearing the corner, his position even with the back of the building, he paused to reconnoiter and stared at the faint pool of light cast by an overhead office. Rachel’s office.

As his gaze rose to the second-floor office, his eyes searched for the all-too-familiar figure. Without thinking, he straightened to his full height, clearly visible to anyone glancing out the window. Yet no one searched for a figure in the garden. All eyes in the office were busy.

Rachel stood with Olivia and her children on one side of the conference room. On the other side of the room, a man in a worn red jacket and baseball cap faced them. Pointing a gun.

This was Jake’s horrible nightmare.

Author Bio and Links

Petie spent a large part of her career working at Walt Disney World—”The Most Magical Place on Earth”—where she enjoyed working in the land of fairy tales by day and creating her own romantic fairy tales by night, including her new series, The Cinderella Romances. She eventually said good-bye to her “day” job to write her stories full-time.

These days Petie spends her time writing new Cinderella series tales, her new The Watchers series, sequels to her regency time-travel series, Lords in Time, and more contemporary romance standalones to go along with her two previous releases—Any Fin For Love and Ambush in the Everglades.

Petie shares her home on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee with her horticulturist husband and an opinionated Nanday conure named Sassy who made a cameo appearance in Book 2 of The Watchers, Christmas Watch.

Website | Facebook | X | Goodreads | BookBub | Amazon Author Page

Giveaway

Petie McCarty will be awarding a $10 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Find out more here.

Follow Petie on the rest of her Goddess Fish tour here.

I’m happy to welcome psychologist and author Susan Harris Howell. Today, Susan shares her debut novel, The Spirit of Vanderlaan.

Blurb

When beloved professor, Samantha Hayes, learns that her favorite four students live in as many of her old dorm rooms, she wonders how it happened and for what purpose. As she and her student entourage explore the possibilities, they uncover a death years ago and what appears to be the ghost of the dearly departed. All of this stirs up Samantha’s long-held fear that she was responsible for that death, challenging all she thought she knew about herself and the work she holds dear. They must figure out what happened before Samantha gets fired for “dabbling in the paranormal.”

Excerpt

As she walked to her first class of the day, Samantha congratulated herself that for the first time this semester she would arrive at her own class on time. A glance at her watch revealed she even had five minutes to spare. With Douglas Hall in sight and her classroom on its main floor, she was sure to make it on time—

“Samantha!”

Grrr! So close. Although showing up late for class frustrated her, she was mostly annoyed by the person who was about to detain her. If I ignore him, maybe he’ll go away.

“Samantha!” This time he was more insistent.

Samantha released a breath of resignation. She should have known better. He wasn’t the kind to be ignored. Samantha turned to face him as she reached the door of the building. She hadn’t been at Vanderlaan long enough to flout someone who carried the weight around here that he did. “What can I do for you, Len?”

Dr. Len Titus stood before her, dressed as always, in a suit with a starched white shirt and tie which he would loosen by afternoon. His graying hair with a precise part on the side had become his hallmark, along with his hands-on-hips pose and gravelly voice. Levi’s imitation of each was spot on, although professional decorum required that Samantha refrain from the encouragement her laughter would ensure. Since Len Titus was of slight frame, someone unfamiliar with this man might assume passivity or weakness. Not Samantha.

“I see we’re both teaching in Douglas Hall this semester,” he said. “Hope I won’t be in your way.” He peered over his wire-rimmed glasses. “Or you in mine.”

Samantha took a breath, gritted her teeth, and walked through the door. She would use the back entrance next time.

Author Bio and Links

I am a psychologist, speaker, and author of The Spirit of Vanderlaan, my debut novel released in December of 2024. This book is a fun, cozy, ghost story featuring a professor, Samantha Hayes, and her lively band of students who get caught up in solving a campus mystery. This book draws on my teaching career of over thirty years to capture the camaraderie and warmth between a professor and the assortment of personalities which inhabit her office.

I have also published extensively on equality between women and men. My first book, Buried Talents, explores the subtle ways women are discouraged from entering male-dominated occupations. Buried Talents was named a winner in InterVarsity Press’s 2022 Readers’ Choice Awards.

My husband and I have two grown children, a daughter-in-law, one adorable grandson, and an incorrigible beagle named Doc. While Doc doesn’t understand a word I say, he fully supports my books and their content.

Website | Instagram | Facebook | Amazon Author Page | Goodreads | BookBub | Email List & Monthly Blog | Amazon Buy Link | Barnes & Noble Buy Link

Giveaway

Susan Harris Howell will be awarding a $10 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Find out more here.

Follow Susan on the rest of her Goddess Fish tour here.

I’m happy to welcome award-winning, best-selling author Patricia Leavy. Today, Patricia shares her creative journey and new release, Shooting Stars Above.

Interview

What was your inspiration for this book?

When I was ten years old, I tried to write a novel. I don’t remember all the details, but it was a love story about two people who help each other heal. I wasn’t able to finish it at the time, being that I was only ten. One night in late 2019, I stepped out onto the balcony of my home office and looked up at the stars. Like a bolt, Shooting Stars Above came to, as a complete book, which was different than my previous novels. I wrote the first draft in only ten days, completely immersed in the story world. It was magical. I believe Shooting Stars Above is the novel I tried to write at the age of ten. I think the seed lived inside of me my entire life. It took years of writing other books to develop the tools to actualize that bolt of inspiration. There’s a saying that “hurt people hurt people,” but sometimes that isn’t true. Sometimes people in pain are able to love others in extraordinary ways. That’s the core inspiration for the book. Really, it’s about the healing power of love and learning to balance darkness and light in our lives.

What is your favorite quote?

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference.” Robert Frost

Besides writing and reading, what are some of your hobbies?

I love art. I spend most of my time at art museums, art galleries, watching films, and listening to music/going to concerts. I also love travel and I’m a total foodie.

Any advice for aspiring writers?

Develop a relationship with your work that isn’t dependent on anything external—positive or negative. That’s how you protect your creativity.

What are you working on next?

I fell so deeply in love with the characters in Shooting Stars Above that it became a series called The Celestial Bodies Romances. There are six books written to date and I genuinely love each more than the one before. We’ll be releasing one each spring. Shooting Stars Above includes the first chapter of the next book, Twinkle of Doubt. Each novel takes place a year after the last and follows the same characters, although some fun new characters are introduced across the series too. Each series title explores love and a different theme. The first book is about love and healing. Other topics include doubt, intimacy, trust, commitment, and faith. While there are different kinds of dramatic events that happen in each book, I can promise you each is filled with love, a few laughs, and hopefully a bit of inspiration. While each novel is a contained stand-alone book, and there are no cliffhangers, if you read the entire series there is also a larger narrative arc. Really, the series is about learning to balance lightness and darkness in our lives so that we may live in full color. Before the next series book comes out, I’m releasing a different novel called Cinematic Destinies on September 2, which is already available for preorder. It’s a romance with multiple love stories and a fun film shoot in Iceland. It’s a total feel-good for readers who enjoy Hollywood love stories with heart. I loved writing it.

Blurb

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

Excerpt

“So, what do you do?” she asked.

“I’m a federal agent with the Bureau—counterterrorism. I joined the military right out of high school, Special Forces. I was in the field, often deep undercover, until about a year ago, when I took a desk job as the head of my division.”

“Wow, you’re like the real-life Jack Bauer. You even look a little like him, with that whole rugged, handsome hero thing you have going on,” she said.

He blushed and ran his hand through his light brown hair. “I promise you I’m no Jack Bauer, even on my best day. People thought that character was so tragic, but the real tragedy is that Jack Bauer doesn’t exist, and you’re stuck with guys like me.”

She smiled. “What made you choose that line of work?”

“My parents raised me and my siblings to value community, to be patriotic. My father was in the military and then became a firefighter. The idea of service always seemed important. I wanted to serve my country, to protect people. It’s hard to explain, but when I see someone innocent being threatened, I’m willing to do whatever is necessary to protect them. I know it sounds cliché, but I feel like it’s my purpose in life.”

“That’s noble,” she remarked.

He shook his head. “The lived reality often isn’t. When you spend most of your life in the abyss, it gets pretty dark.”

“A residue remains, right?” she asked.

He looked at her intently, a little surprised. “Yes, exactly.”

“I understand. You convince yourself it’s all been for something that matters more than you do, that whatever part of yourself you sacrificed was worth it, because it simply has to be.”

He looked at her as if she had read his innermost thoughts. “Yes,” he said softly. “Tell me, what do you do?”

“I’m a novelist.”

“What are your books about?”

“That’s a difficult question to answer. I guess I wanted to write about everything: what it means to live a life, why it’s so hard, and how it could be easier. To walk people through the darkness, in a way. Perhaps my goals were too lofty, and in that respect, each book fails more spectacularly than the one before.”

The bartender smirked.

Tess wistfully said, “Maybe reality can never live up to our dreams.”

Author Bio and Links

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 one hundred book honors. Recently, her novel The Location Shoot was featured in Ms. Career Girl’s “10 Perfect Books to Get Your Fall Reading List Started” and She Reads in “Novels to Read if You Love Classic Movies” and was the 2024 Best Book Awards First Place Winner in Women’s Fiction. 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.” Patricia lives in Maine and serves on the board of the London Arts-Based Research Centre. In addition to writing, she enjoys movies, art, reading, and travel.

Website | Amazon Buy Link

Giveaway

Patricia Leavy will be awarding a $10 Amazon/Barnes & Noble gift card to a randomly drawn winner. Find out more here.

Follow Patricia on the rest of her Goddess Fish tour here.

Patricia Leavy is giving away copies of CINEMATIC DESTINIES, her upcoming romance from She Writes Press. How to get yours? It’s easy… just complete the Rafflecopter below and you’ll receive one from the author! Plus, one lucky entrant will receive a $150 Amazon gift card!

So, what’s the book about? Here’s the info:

For fans of Tessa Bailey and Hannah Grace, Cinematic Destinies is a feel-good, contemporary romance about a trio of adult children searching for love and beauty in the shadow of their parents’ legendary Hollywood fairy-tale romance.

Legendary actor Finn Forrester and his wife philosopher Ella Sinclair Forrester met on the location shoot for Jean Mercier’s film Celebration. The world has been captivated by their fairy-tale romance since Finn famously proposed on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival. As the couple now prepares to celebrate their thirtieth wedding anniversary, they wonder if their children will ever find love.

Eldest daughter Betty is excelling in a medical residency program in New York City—and has convinced herself that distancing herself from emotions is the path to success. Youngest son Albert, a recent college graduate, is trying to find his footing in Boston as he struggles with his identity. Free-spirited Georgia, her mother’s spitting image and an actress following in her father’s footsteps, has been cast in Jean Mercier’s final film, mysteriously titled Beauty. When she arrives on set in Iceland and meets her costar, sparks fly. Is history repeating itself? How has growing up in the shadow of the world’s most iconic love story affected each of the Forrester children?

Reviews

“If you’re a romantic with a brain and a heart, this is your jam . . . I closed the book with a full heart and a goofy grin.” Literary Titan, 5-star review

“Cinematic Destinies is a stunning and poignant celebration of romance, the magic of movies, and life itself. The exotic Icelandic film set, well-drawn characters, and smart writing make this book impossible to put down . . . This is a gorgeous novel.” —Laurel Richardson, author of Lone Twin

“Overall, the writing, the characters, the little nods of sizzle, and the brilliant family dynamic make this book a winner. Very highly recommended.”—Readers’ Favorite, 5-star review

“Leavy’s latest must-read novel features a trio of romantic storylines about the quest for love and identity in the shadow of a Hollywood fairy tale . . . Cinematic Destinies is a spellbinding ode to love, art, and what it means to live.” —Mary E. Weems, author of Blackeyed

About the Author:

Patricia Leavy is an award-winning, best-selling author. Formerly Associate Professor of Sociology 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 honors. Her most recent novel, Shooting Stars Above, was featured on People “10 Romance Books to Read After Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry.” She has also received career awards from the National Art Education Association, the American Creativity Association, the American Educational Research Association, and other organizations. 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.

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Cinematic-Destinies-Novel-Carpet-Romance-ebook/dp/B0DWNGNM1Z/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0

Patricia Leavy will award a free digital copy of her upcoming book CINEMATIC DESTINIES to the first 7500 people who enter the Rafflecopter and one lucky entrant will receive a $150 Amazon gift card.

Rafflecopter Giveaway: https://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/28e4345f5181/