As Far as the Stars

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As Far as the Stars Page 33

by Virginia MacGregor


  When we stop kissing, we sit back and look at the stars Christopher made for the exhibition.

  And although we don’t say it out loud, I know that we’re thinking about Blake and Christopher’s dad. How they were booked onto that flight from Heathrow to DC, like all those passengers from the discarded tickets were booked onto flights too. And that those passengers made it. And that Blake and Christopher’s dad didn’t. And that no one will ever understand why.

  I feel Christopher’s hand slip into mine.

  I lean into him and rest my head on his shoulder.

  And we look up at the hundreds of paper stars that once belonged to people who flew through the sky.

  And, for a while, the world falls away.

  Acknowledgements

  This has been my hardest novel to write to date. Conveying the unbearable grief of two teenagers who lose those they love most, whilst simultaneously exploring how they find each other and fall in love, was a balancing act that threatened to defeat me many times over. But then I’m told that the stories we wrangle with are often those that end up touching readers most: I hope that is true.

  Thank you to my unwaveringly faithful agent, Bryony Woods, for reading oh so many drafts of this novel and for never giving up on me or on this story. Thank you to Charlotte Mursell, my new editor at HarperCollins, for taking over the project and putting so much love and creativity into getting my story out to readers.

  Thank you Darik Velez, for teaching me about dark energy, Type 1a supernovas and how tricky it is to work out the distance between us and the stars.

  Thank you to my dear friends who have cheered from the side lines and who encourage me, every day, to keep going in my life as a writer: Helen Dahlke, Aryn Marsh, Hannah MacBride, Jane Cooper, Karla Kittler, Margaret Evans Porter, Marjorie Burke, Steve Del Deo and Michael Herrmann.

  Thank you to the people who help me hold up the scaffolding of my life and so allow me to write. The wonderful staff at Live Juice and the Gibson’s True Brew Café who keep me fed and watered as I scribble. The incredible teachers at Woodside St. Paul’s who love and care for my little girls every day: Melyssa, Justina, Kelly, Maddie, Penny, Abby, Kathy, Carol and the rest of the amazing team. I couldn’t do it without you.

  Thank you, finally, to my dear, dear family. Mama, who reads and re-reads each of my novels and who believed I’d be a writer from the moment she named me. My wonderful, spirited little girls, Tennessee Skye and Somerset Wilder, who run me ragged and often make it feel like it’s impossible to write a single sentence, but who also provide the fuel that I need to keep creating – love, inspiration and endless, endless entertainment! My darling husband and soul mate, Hugh, who talks with me late into the night about my plot and my characters and who helped me rethink this novel a hundred times. Thank you for walking with me on this journey, my love, and for showing me the way back when I get lost.

  About the Publisher

  Australia

  HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.

  Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street

  Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia

  http://www.harpercollins.com.au

  Canada

  HarperCollins Canada

  Bay Adelaide Centre, East Tower

  22 Adelaide Street West, 41st Floor

  Toronto, ON, M5H 4E3, Canada

  http://www.harpercollins.ca

  India

  HarperCollins India

  A 75, Sector 57

  Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201 301, India

  http://www.harpercollins.co.in

  New Zealand

  HarperCollins Publishers (New Zealand) Limited

  P.O. Box 1

  Auckland, New Zealand

  http://www.harpercollins.co.nz

  United Kingdom

  HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

  1 London Bridge Street

  London SE1 9GF

  http://www.harpercollins.co.uk

  United States

  HarperCollins Publishers Inc.

  195 Broadway

  New York, NY 10007

  http://www.harpercollins.com

 

 

 


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