Constellations | A.I.

+ Q&A

Here are the questions I received either in the comments or messages, and I'd like to thank everyone for asking. This had a pretty good turnout so thank you so much :)

Q. Why was the story so fast? They fell in love so quickly.
A. Well, within the first few chapters, when they were on the hotel roof, they talked about their views on love. Ashton admitted he believed in love at first sight and Em said love was limitless, and it was subtly said throughout the entire story that they were falling in love more and more. Also, I think they just both needed someone. The story went fast, I suppose, because it took place during just one summer.

Q. Were they truly in love?
A. I think that's up to you. I created the characters based on my own thoughts and imagination, and so I can't really give you a real answer because I've never been in love. Maybe they were. Maybe they weren't. Maybe only one of them was truly in love. I guess we'll never know anyway.

Q. WHY THE [bleep] DID YOU [bleep] KILL EM?
A. My bio says, and I quote:
"I have a thing for plot twists & sad endings" :)

Q. Was Em chubby or skinny? You never really stated clearly what she looked like.
A. Ashton said a couple times that she was small in height, but he's a giraffe, so. Anyway, I envisioned Em as being pretty average. I didn't want her to be perfect and so I made a point to continuously say that she was "simply beautiful" just to show that she wasn't extraordinary in looks. Ashton didn't fall for her because of her looks, but he did think she was beautiful in the simplest way.

Q. Why was Ashton so obsessed with constellations?
A. I said earlier that I based the characters off of my own thoughts, and his obsession with the night sky stemmed off of that. I've always had a thing for the night time and so I thought it would be cool for a story, I guess.

Q. How did you come up with the story idea for Constellations?
A. I was staying the night with my cousin and it was like midnight I think. I couldn't fall asleep so I was listening to music and Ever Enough by A Rocket To The Moon came on. I started thinking about the band's name and somehow my thoughts switched to just the night sky alone. That was the 4th of July here in America and I remembered how beautiful the sky was that night and how gorgeous all the fireworks were. Long story summarized, I thought it would be a good story idea and that night also inspired the first night they met in the story when they set off firecrackers on Calum's deck.

Q. Did Michael and Lilly end up together?
A. Normally, I wouldn't tell you what I imagined. I would let you come up with your own answer, typically, but I will answer this because I was #Milly af. They did end up together because Michael finally got the balls to tell Lilly he wanted more than just her vagina. Happy ending.

Q. Did any of the other guys ever have a thing for Em?
A. Luke had a boner for everyone because he never got any.

Q. What will happen to Ashton now that Em is gone?
A. I don't know, and I don't think I ever will. He's really hurting, and he's not good at dealing with death. The only person who could truly help was Em and now she's gone. I think he will move on, but he will have a hard time ever falling in love again. Other than that, I have no idea.

Q. What were some of your favorite parts to write? Btw, this is one of my favorite stories ever.
A. First of all, thank you so much! As far as my favorite parts to write, I really liked writing the very ending because I'm good at writing more emotional things, and I just like unexpected/sad endings. I got really attached to this book. I overall liked writing the whole story, I'm pretty happy with it I suppose.

Q. Would you ever write a sequel?
A. No. Although I guess it wouldn't be that hard considering I could just explain how Ashton moves on and deals with it, along with going further into Lilly and Michael's relationship. Maybe Ashton could fall in love again even though he's extremely hesitant, with a girl who is kind of a badass but he keeps comparing her to Em because she's always on his mind. Or on the flip side, she could be almost exactly like Em and maybe even look like her to so he pushes her away so he doesn't get attached, but of course he does anyway. Or a continuation of Lilly and Michael's romance could be fun. Yeah, if anyone is interested in writing a spin off or sequel, please tell me! I'd love to read it :)

Q. Are any of the characters based off of anyone - even loosely - that you know in real life?
A. Yes. Em is a mixture of me and the girl I want to be. She's primarily me but there are some things (like her physical appearance) that aren't similar to me. Although, like I stated earlier, all of her thoughts reflected my own so she's very much based off of me. Lilly was based very much off of my outspoken but shy best friend in real life, Cat (fxckinghemmotron ), who tells it like it is but can't admit to her crush that she likes him ;). And Harper was 'inspired' by certain girls at my school :))))

Q. Do you think Ashton would be similar to that in real life?
A. Yes, but to a certain extent. I don't think many people realistically would be that in love with someone, guys especially. No sex-shaming, but let's be real here. Guys aren't as emotional and attached as girls are typically. I do think he'd be super cute and loving like his character in the book.

Q. What do you think of when you see a sky full of stars?
A. The song by Coldplay. Hahah, no but recently I constantly think of this book every time I sit on my roof and look at the stars, or anywhere for that matter. Like I said, I've always loved the night time and everything about it. So I just love the sight of it. I do hope that one day I'll fall in love with someone who likes the night time as much as me.

Q. Will you marry me?
A. Sure, but only if the after party is at Taco Bell.

Q. Why do they like Taco Bell so much?
A. Because my best friend Cat and I do, haha.

Q. Tell me about yourself? And please be kind of descriptive.
A. Since you asked so kindly, I will. My personal-ish tumblr is ineffable-sky which is really just a bunch of beautiful pictures, so I recommend following it anyway (self promo), and my icon is a picture of me if you wanna know what I look like. Cat tells me I'm hot all the time, so I guess take her word and imagine me as being kinda hot (I'm really not). I love to sing, play guitar, draw, paint, write, read, anything artistic. You name it, I've probably tried it. I dabble in too many things. Refer to chapter 4 and read Em's description of herself. That's me in a nutshell. Also, people mispronounce my name as Callie all the time. That's my life basically.