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.
Intrigued? Read on to discover the synopsis and an excerpt from Sugar Sand Land by Patricia Leavy, which releases on September 22nd 2026.
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?
EXCERPT
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.
