Gina Rae Mitchell

Welcome to my stop on the Goddess Fish Promotions virtual book tour for

Celestial Bodies: The Tess Lee and Jack Miller Novels by Patricia Leavy

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Marianne & Judy at Goddess Fish for providing me with the information for this tour.

Book Details

Celestial Bodies: The Tess Lee and Jack Miller Novels by Patricia Leavy
Published by Paper Stars Press on 06/01/2022
Genres: Fiction, Romance, Women's Literature
Format: eBook, Paperback
Pages: 802

Heart-warming and wonderfully romantic, written with the sharp wit of Candace Bushnell and the sensitivity of Meg Donahue, comes best-selling author Patricia Leavy’s tour de force about learning to balance darkness and light in our lives.

Celestial Bodies is a series of six novels that follow the epic romance of Tess and Jack: Shooting Stars, Twinkle, Constellations, Supernova, North Star, and Stardust. An exploration of the power of love, each novel focuses on love at the intersection of another topic: healing, doubt, intimacy, trust, commitment, and faith. While external threats occur in each book, this is ultimately a story about internal threats—the audio playing in our own heads.

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. Despite her extraordinary success, she’s been unable to find happiness in her personal life.

Jack Miller is a federal agent who specializes 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 a beautiful 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 calls her Butterfly; Joe, Jack’s friend from the Bureau who understands the sacrifices he’s made; and Bobby and Gina, Jack’s younger friends who never fail to lighten the mood. Along the way, others join their journey: the female president of the United States, with whom Tess bakes cookies and talks politics; the Millers, Jack’s childhood family; and many others.

Celestial Bodies is about walking through our past traumas, moving from darkness to light, learning to live in color, and the ways in which love—from lovers, friends, or the art we experience—can heal us. Written as unfolding action, this collection moves fluidly between melancholy, humor, and joy. It can be read for pleasure or selected for book clubs.

 

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Excerpt from Celestial Bodies

Tess clung to Jack as they sped along the cliffside road on their Harley, winding around the last curve as they approached their house. When they arrived home, Jack carefully took off Tess’s helmet, kissed her, and grabbed the bag of fruit they’d bought at the farmers’ market. She pulled the scrunchie out of her hair, releasing dirty blonde locks down to her waist. They headed inside. “You thirsty, baby?” he asked.

She nodded.

He quickly tapped a coconut, stuck a paper straw in, and handed it to her.

“You’ve gotten so good at that,” she said, taking a sip.

“Yeah, just in time to go back to DC. I can’t believe we have to leave our Hawaiian paradise tomorrow morning. We’re crazy to leave Maui this time of year.”

“I know, baby. But we’ll be back in less than three months to throw Omar and Clay the tropical Valentine’s Day wedding of their dreams. Besides, it’ll be fun to see our friends.”

He smiled and kissed her forehead.

“Here, have some,” she said, handing him the coconut. “Let’s leave the pineapple out. We can grill it tonight for our Thanksgiving feast while we sit on the lanai and watch the sunset.” She kicked her shoes off, slipped her T-shirt over her head, and shimmied out of her shorts, revealing a hot pink string bikini. “Bet I can beat you to the ocean,” she teased, darting off.

Soon, they were splashing around in the warm water, the sun beating down on them. Jack wrapped his tanned arms around Tess and kissed her. They stared at each other, the energy between them electric.

“I could get lost in your big, brown eyes,” he said.

She smiled and said, “Come on, let’s dry off.” They walked to their pool and lay together on a chaise lounge.

“Jack?” Tess whispered.

“Yeah, baby.”

“I know you hold back sometimes, but you don’t need to.”

“Tess…”

“Baby, I know you do. There’s nothing that could ever happen between us that I wouldn’t want.”

He caressed the side of her face. “You’re so beautiful and delicate. I just want you to feel safe and loved.”

“I do and I always will.”

“You’ve been through so much. It wasn’t that long ago that Ray was stalking you; I know that brought up memories of your childhood abuse. I don’t ever want to be the cause of your pain or remind you of the ways you have suffered.”

“You couldn’t. You only push those thoughts further away. I trust you, Jack. Nothing could ever change that. I want to share everything with you. I’ve never felt as close to another human being as I do to you.” She ran her fingers through his wet, salty hair and said, “I still remember the first time we came here, before we owned this place. You took me in the shower and we were so free.”

He grazed his fingers along her cheek.

“I’m gonna rinse off,” she said. She untied her bikini top, let it fall to the floor, and headed for the outdoor shower.

Jack hustled out of his swim trunks and followed her. She flipped the water on, turned toward him, and smiled. He cupped her face in his hands, kissed her softly, and with one swift movement, swung her around and pulled her bathing suit bottom down. “Don’t let me hurt you,” he whispered. He pushed her against the wall and they made love passionately.

With his quivering body pressed tightly against hers, Jack kissed Tess’s neck and nibbled on her ear. Finally satiated, he turned the shower off and wrapped towels around each of them. He picked her up and cradled her in his arms as he carried her to a lounge chair. They resumed their tender kisses, Jack caressing the side of her face. He looked at her with unadulterated adoration.

“I love you so much,” he said.

“I love you too. More than anything.”

Excerpt provided by the author/publisher for use in this post.

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Purchase Links for Celestial Bodies

Amazon – OneLink for every country   

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Guest Post from the Author of Celestial Bodies

Why I Write, In the Words of My Protagonist

I’ve been writing since I was a little girl. To date, I’ve published around 40 books, both fiction and nonfiction, as well as countless essays, blogs, articles, and so on. I started publishing my work over 20 years ago, and I’ve been living as a full-time author for a decade.

I’m routinely asked why I write, and especially, why I infuse my books with love. I’ve given a range of responses to this question, but I finally decided to distill it down, and present it my way—hidden in one of my books. The following is a scene from Shooting Stars in the Celestial Bodies collection. The protagonist, Tess Lee, a world-famous author is taking audience questions at the end of a public talk. Here’s the scene:

The Q&A went smoothly and quickly, and before long, there was only time for one final question. A woman stood up and said, “Your characters are always fighting personal battles, many related to past traumas, but your books have hopeful messages. Do you believe that healing is possible?”

“I don’t think I’m any better equipped to answer that than anyone else in this room, but I will share this from my own experience. When I was in high school, I had a boyfriend who wanted to get married. I didn’t feel that way about him and ended the relationship. He told me, ‘No one will ever be able to fill the hole in your soul.’ I still remember those words like it happened yesterday. He was hurt and he wanted to hurt me in return. For a long time, those words haunted me like a shadow.

Eventually, I realized that we’re lucky if we end up with a hole in our soul. You see, our wounds don’t start out that way. They’re jagged. They have rough edges. They are like flesh that has been ripped from our body. If we learn to let love into our lives, over time, the jagged edges become smooth, and only a hole remains. Sometimes that love comes from a friend’s laughter, the hug of a child, or the embrace of a lover who sees who we really are. Sometimes giving love freely and with your whole heart can heal you too.

When there aren’t people to provide that love, it can come from a song, or a movie, or even a novel. And that is why I write.”

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I love my Amazon Kindle Unlimited Subscription. So many books, so little time!

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Here is my spotlight for Twinkle and Shooting Stars by Patricia Leavy 

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Amazon – OneLink for every country   

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Giveaway!

One randomly chosen winner via rafflecopter will win a $50 Amazon/BN.com gift card.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Visit more stops on this Goddess Fish tour for extra chances to win!

Official Tour Page for Celestial Bodies

Full Tour Schedule:

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