Spotlight & Giveaway: Sugar Sand Land by Patricia Leavy

Today it is my pleasure to Welcome author Patricia Leavy to HJ!

Hi Patricia and welcome to HJ! We’re so excited to chat with you about your new release, Sugar Sand Land!

 
Thanks so much for inviting me to talk about my upcoming novel, Sugar Sand Land.
 

Please summarize the book for the readers here:

Sugar Sand Land is a sweet and sexy contemporary romance with twists. Emerson Blue is a 28-year-old reality star, influencer, and social media pro. She’s made fame an art form and considers herself “a living piece of art.” Renn Walker is a 48-year-old canceled country music star. He lives in seclusion and doesn’t even own a computer. While they seem like opposites, they share an intense connection. Everyone has opinions about them, but what is real and what is an illusion? Sugar Sand Land is a novel about appearance and reality, and public myth versus private hurt. At the core, it’s a tender story about love and identity.
 

Please share your favorite line(s) or quote from this book:

Oh, I can’t share any of my absolute favorite quotes without spoiling things, so I’ll share a line from early on that Emerson Blue says, which I think gives a good sense of the character.

“Besides, a social media profile is like any other work of art. It’s a creation, a representation, an interpretation. It isn’t a mirror onto reality; it’s a carefully curated offering that delivers the illusion of reality. It’s more about misdirection. Sleight of hand. Trust me, I have my secrets.”

Please share a few Fun facts about this book…

I got the idea for the book when my husband and I took my daughter’s friend, Kayla, out to dinner. She was catching us up on her life and told us about something she’s learned to do, which I can’t share without spoiling anything, but as she was talking, I immediately got the idea for the title and the whole book. I couldn’t write it right away because I had other obligations, but as soon as there was time I started and it absolutely flowed. I’ve never had more fun writing anything. The novel is dedicated to her. I loved writing it so much, there is a sequel too. Together, they are what I’ve done that I love the absolute most.

What first attracts your Hero to the Heroine and vice versa?

They meet at a party and are instantly drawn to each other. They’re both gorgeous, but really, it’s more that they share an intense love for the arts and that bonds them. And while it seems like she’s an insider and he’s an outsider, sometimes looks can be deceiving, and who they really are also makes them grow close. They see each other in a way other people don’t.

Did any scene have you blushing, crying or laughing while writing it? And Why?

Oh, so many! I could not stop crying writing the last couple chapters, but I can’t share any of those without spoilers. Every romantic scene between Renn and Emerson had me blushing. They are super sexy, but I think those are best read on your own. So, we’ll go for laughter. I laughed every time there was a scene with Leo (Renn’s agent). Leo is a short, nearly bald older guy from Queens, NY, currently on his third marriage to a beauty pageant winner. He suffers from IBS and a million other things. He’s very frank, which makes him funny, at least to me. Here’s a snippet of one scene with him and Renn.

Leo popped a couple tablets in his mouth. “So, I’m having my breakfast this morning, this fucking sugar-free oatmeal shit Allison’s got the cook making for me, which has the consistency of spackle, and I’m drinking this coffee substitute crap made out of mushrooms or some bullshit, and I open the newspaper to distract myself. Who do I see on the front page? You and fucking Emerson Blue. Last time you were on the front page, I almost choked on a piece of bacon. It’s like you’re determined to fucking kill me. At least back then it was a breakfast worthy of a last meal.” Renn laughed. Leo plopped down on a stool and continued, “So, you decided to take my advice and stay away from Emerson?”
“She’s incredible,” Renn said, an irrepressible smile spreading across his face.
“She’s a walking infomercial. There’s no greater paparazzi magnet on the planet.”
“You’ve been telling me to get out of the house for years, encouraging me to meet someone,” Renn reminded him.
“Yeah, but not a chick that’s going to land you on the front page of every tabloid in the world. Maybe you’ve had an aneurysm and forgot, but the media hasn’t been so kind to you.”
Renn shrugged. “The media did me a favor.”
“Is that what we’re calling it now?”

Readers should read this book….

It’s a really beautiful, tender love story. The Hollywood and celebrity aspects are super fun, and the twist keeps the pages turning, but at the core despite larger-than-life characters, it’s a really human, relatable story about the pain we carry in private versus what we show the world.

What are you currently working on? What other releases do you have in the works?

My next novel, Constellations of Love, is coming out March 16, 2027. It’s the third book in The Celestial Bodies Romances following Shooting Stars Above and Twinkle of Doubt. Each book can be read as a stand-alone, but of course you can get even more out of them if you read the series. There are six books written to date and Constellations of Love has always been my favorite. It’s very cozy and takes place over a series of holidays. For readers who enjoy Sugar Sand Land, I’m excited to share there is a sequel! I loved writing it so much that I could not stop. I love the sequel even more than the first one, and together they are what I am most proud of in my catalog. It’s coming out in September 2027 so readers can watch out for it on my social media or website. I have a few more contemporary romance novels in the hopper, but I’m keeping them under wrap for now.
 

Thanks for blogging at HJ!

Giveaway:  A copy of Sugar Sand Land by Patricia Leavy

To enter Giveaway, please share this post on your Socials and Leave a comment below to this Q: In the age of social media do you find that you compare yourself to people online who you don’t actually know? Social media profiles are carefully curated—highlight reels of people’s lives with filtered images—so how do you know what’s real and that you’re not comparing your insides to other people’s airbrushed outsides?

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Excerpt from Sugar Sand Land:

While Leo was shuffling around papers in his briefcase, Renn’s eyes wandered, flitting from a group of well-known music producers huddled together to a Jeff Koons sculpture to a famous film director arguing with a woman who was definitely not his wife, and then his gaze landed on her: a stunningly beautiful woman sitting on a love seat next to someone, with a crowd standing around her, enrapt by whatever she was saying. She laughed and tilted her head back, and Renn found himself staring so intently his mouth was hanging open.
“Found the contract,” Leo announced, closing his briefcase. Renn didn’t respond, so he tapped his arm. “Hey, you okay?”
“Who’s that woman?” Renn asked, his eyes on her like a laser. “With the long spiral curls and piercing blue eyes.”
Leo followed his gaze. “Emerson Blue. You seriously don’t know who she is?”
Renn shook his head, unwilling to take his eyes off her.
“She’s only the most famous person on the planet, literally,” Leo explained. “How the fuck do you not know who she is?”
Renn shrugged. “Never heard of her. What’s her deal? Is she an actress?”
“She rose to fame on social media, starred in a reality show about her life, and parlayed it into a megabucks career as an influencer. She partners with fashion, cosmetic, and lifestyle brands. She gets paid seven figures just to show up on a red carpet or at a casino or nightclub opening. If she’s there, the place becomes huge. She’s a goddamn marketing genius. She has this shtick about being a living piece of art or some bullshit. People can’t get enough of it.”
“How old is she?”
“Twenty-eight. She hit it big about five years ago, right around the time you . . .”
“Yeah,” Renn muttered.
“I honestly don’t know how you haven’t heard of her.”
“I don’t go online.”
“This chick is everywhere. It’s impossible not to know her. Have you seriously not turned on a television or walked past a newsstand in the last five years?” Leo stopped to shake his head. “Don’t answer that. When you decide to shun yourself and live like a recluse and you can pay people to get your groceries or anything else you want, I guess it’s fucking possible.”
“Tell me more about her,” Renn said.
“She’s somehow made herself America’s sweetheart. Everyone loves her. Every teen and twentysomething on the planet wants to be her, but she’s got that eight to eighty appeal. The secret sauce as we say. The paparazzi can’t get enough of her. She’s earned over fifty million dollars. Everyone predicts she’ll be a billion-dollar brand.” Leo huffed.
“What?” Renn asked.
“You know how she got her reality show? She amassed a decent following on social media and then started this campaign with a spectacular close-up beauty shot of her face and the caption, ‘Who is Emerson Blue?’ The thing went viral, kids reposting, even some A-list celebrities commenting on it. Suddenly, her name and face were everywhere, a girl no one had ever heard of. She made herself famous out of nothing, like fucking magic, in front of the whole damn world.”
“Who’s the guy she’s next to?”
“Friend. Gay. The son of some Persian tech guru. He was on her reality show, but really, he’s a no one. It’s all her.”
“Is she with someone?”
“She’s been linked to a laundry list of big stars. Actors, musicians, athletes, they’ve all doggedly pursued her. I once heard some rich hedge fund prick tried to woo her by buying her a jet. Things have changed. I won over my first wife with a plastic ring. Came from one of those dollar toy machines in Coney Island, the kind where you try to retrieve something with that claw. Cost me four bucks. I had set my max at five.” Realizing he’d gotten off track, Leo said, “As for Emerson Blue, far as I know, she’s single. But who the fuck knows. Changes minute to minute. She could be dating anyone, or everyone.” He paused and looked at Renn, who still had not taken his eyes off her. “This is a bad idea. She’s not for you. You’re a shut-in. This chick doesn’t go anywhere without an entourage. She would take a film crew to a colonoscopy.”
“Emerson Blue? Is that really her name? It’s such bullshit.”
“Probably a fortune cookie name that stuck. Sounds like a porn star I once knew. Well, porn star is generous. More like a hooker who let guys film her. Listen, just stay here,” Leo said as he started scanning the crowd. “I’m gonna go find my client. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Leo walked off and Renn grabbed his drink and headed straight toward Emerson and her crew.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
 
 

Book Info:

“Sugar Sand Land by Patricia Leavy is a love story for the ages . . . It begs the question: what is real and what is illusory? This is first and foremost a beautiful love story, though, and it is one I thoroughly enjoyed. I highly recommend this book.”—Readers’ Favorite, 5-star review
Book Links: Amazon | B&N | iTunes | kobo |
 
 

Meet 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 and has received career awards from the National Art Education Association, the American Creativity Association, the American Educational Research Association, and more. In 2018, she was honored by the National Women’s Hall of Fame and SUNY-New Paltz when they established the “Patricia Leavy Award for Art and Social Justice” and in 2024 the London Arts-Based Research Centre established “The Patricia Leavy Award for Arts-Based Research.” Her website is www.patricialeavy.com. She lives in Kennebunk, Maine.
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