c2p-cmd/Good-Quotes-Authors huggingface dataset:
Dragons, for instance, have the right of safe conduct anywhere in Faërie. A reader may not like to read stories about dragons, she may be morally offended or aesthetically uninterested or simply sick of the subject; but at any rate she will not complain that the author has cheated by bringing in a dragon, because dragons belong in fantasy.
— Tom Simon
I'm serious, Jim. You need to put this crap away. You walk into school on Monday talking to me, or anyone else, about the city's pesky troll problem, and you're not exactly going to get a lot of people saying, 'Gee, thanks for the warning.' It'll spread faster than mono. You think things are tough for us now? Jim, this will be the end. I'm sorry if you had a crazy nightmare. I really am. But I can't let you ruin our lives.
— Guillermo del Toro, Trollhunters
Like the dark clouds above that promised rain but withheld it, her presence there was a lie. For in truth, this horrific slaughter had already damned the small race; their fate had already come and gone.
— S.J. Pow, The Calling
There is at least one truth in every myth.
— Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem
He paused in the hallway, sniffing the air. He scowled, sniffed some more. He pressed an intercom button on the wall.	"Betty, I distinctly smell sewage. Could you get a plumber out here ASAP?"	Several curly hairs fluttered in the air after he was gone.	I clutched at the arm of the dentist chair.	"This isn't a joke, Tub! I'm in trouble. We're all in trouble, the whole town, the whole world! You have no clue. You have no idea what kind of things we're dealing with here. There's a whole land of --
— Guillermo del Toro, Trollhunters
Let us consider Elfland as a great national park, a vast and beautiful place where a person goes by himself, on foot, to get in touch with reality in a special, private, profound fashion. But what happens when it is considered merely as a place to "get away to"?Well, you know what has happened to Yosemite. Everybody comes, not with an ax and a box of matches, but in a trailer with a motorbike on the back and a motorboat on top and a butane stove, five aluminum folding chairs, and a transistor radio on the inside. They arrive totally encapsulated in a secondhand reality. And then they move on to Yellowstone, and it's just the same there, all trailers and transistors. They go from park to park, but they never really go anywhere; except when one of them who thinks that even the wildlife isn't real gets chewed up by a genuine, firsthand bear.The same sort of thing seems to be happening to Elfland, lately.
— Ursula K. Le Guin, From Elfland to Poughkeepsie
Something warned me that what I might see would haunt me forever.
— Guillermo del Toro, Trollhunters
Oh get over it Cecilia! You are no longer human. Such decorum doesn’t exist amongst our kind
— Eve Masters, Close Friends
Is it...can we...is it safe?"	Tub checked the lot but he seemed unconcerned.	"Coach Lawrence nabbed him for practice. We live to fight another day, soldier."	"No...I mean, the thing...is it...?"	Tub frowned.	"The thing. Hmmm. Can you be more specific?	I clutched at the bumper and raised myself to unsteady feet. I patted the truck bed, taking solace in the cake of dust. It was real; I was not caught in a nightmare. I smeared the dust with my fingers and smelled it.	"If you lick that, we're no longer friends," Tub said.
— Guillermo del Toro, Trollhunters
This was a great book! It follows how Jason Walker is transported back to earth after spending months in Lyrian. He knows that he has things that he still must do in Lyrian. He decides to try and find a way back. The problem is that if he doesn't travel through the portal correctly, he will die. What happens next? You'll have to read the book to find out.
— Brandon Mull
When I dreamed about becoming a fantasy adventurer, I was always a max-level character with epic gear. Look at me. I’m wearing vendor trash.
— Noelle Alladania Meade
Forbidden fruit makes a wonderful wine." Vazco gave him a leading look. "But leaves a hell of a headache.
— Susan  Scott, Dragons Will Fall
With each step, one of them pulled off an earring or a hair extension or a bow and let it fall to the ground, so that by the time they reached the door they had left a trail of glittering accessories behind them. It looked like a grand parade had passed by, and no one had yet come to sweep up the confetti.
— Damian Wampler
You can't purchase me with a bunch of stones."	"I wouldn't dream of purchasing you." Cullen laughed low in his chest and smiled, this time showing even white teeth. "You're too much trouble. I thought I'd just steal you for a bit.
— Susan  Scott, Dragons Will Fall
Extinction is not an event, it is a chain reaction!
— Vadhan
Beauty and power was commonplace to the dragons as mud and manure to a stable boy.
— Susan  Scott, Dragons Will Fall
Depression, which lives below the horizon, is the result of painting and entertaining negative imagery - most of which has not taken place in reality. Get up, move, and appreciate that which is given. What is lacking is usually material and heavily influenced by external forces. Don't play yourself, save yourself.
— T.F. Hodge, From Within I Rise: Spiritual Triumph Over Death and Conscious Encounters with "The Divine Presence"
We do not fear the flame, though it burns us,We do not fear the fire, though it consumes us,And we do not fear its light,Though it reveals the darkness of our souls,For therein lies our power.-- Blood Oath of the Iron Elves
— Chris Evans
And there you stand-Far away from the distant reality,Far away in my breathing dream,Far away in the traces of my livid eyes,Far away in my hostile fantasy.
— Debatrayee Banerjee, A Whispering Leaf. . .
What has you roaring like a bull with his prick hung in a fence?
— Susan  Scott, Dragons Will Fall
You can't order me away, you pissant human--"	"I just did." Kas swept past him...
— Susan  Scott, Dragons Will Fall
Bubble gum on a turd, Madison! You’re a tutti-frutti enforcer. I am a warden. Trust me, I know what I’m doing.
— Rebecca Chastain, A Fistful of Fire
Screw fairy tales. My life was way more interesting.
— Rebecca Chastain, A Fistful of Fire
This is the right timeThey are the right peopleWill it be enough for mankind?From "The Rishis: Book of Secrets.
— Robert Delgado
How can something as necessary as breathing be immoral?
— Susan  Scott, Dragons Will Fall
It simply isn't an adventure worth telling if there aren't any dragons.
— J.R.R. Tolkien, J.R.R. Tolkien 4-Book Boxed Set: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings
You want fantasy? Here's one... There's this species that lives on a planet a few miles above molten rock and a few miles below a vacuum that'd suck the air right out of them. They live in a brief geological period between ice ages, when giant asteroids have temporarily stopped smacking into the surface. As far as they can tell, there's nowhere else in the universe where they could stay alive for ten seconds. And what do they call their fragile little slice of space and time? They call it real life.
— Terry Pratchett, A Slip of the Keyboard: Collected Non-Fiction
At the end of the day, I fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. If that makes me an outlaw, so be it. I’ve been called worse.
— Angela Parkhurst, Forget Me Not
Even though this world is narrow, it is wide... to those who understand. This world isn't the only one.
— CLAMP
What use is Order without Chaos to challenge its rule? And by the same standard, what lies ahead for us if nothing opposes our ways?
— Louise Cooper, The Master
If there's a place you should be able to put yourself first, it's in your own sexual fantasies.
— Alyssa Brugman, Alex As Well
Why Is It That When You Wash Two Socks You Only End Up With One? Is There Life After Death? and Where Did The Other Sock Go?
— Margaret Weis
Good books are never finished but abandoned.
— Marc Alan Edelheit, Stiger's Tigers
What’s not to love? I made friends with a pretty girl and now we get to plan a castle break in. This beats the day to day kill, eat and survive.
— Emilyann Girdner, The Labyrinth Wall
*I don't want the body,* she whimpered. *It hurts.**Not always, sweetheart. Not always. Without the body, how will you hear a bird's song? How will you feel a warm summer rain on your skin? How will you taste nutcakes? How will you walk on a beach at sunset and feel the sand and surf under your... hooves?*
— Anne Bishop, Daughter of the Blood
Every day is an adventure, or it's just some thing you do. It's your choice.
— Barry L. Hughes, Bitter/Sweet
The dust of thirty years hung lifeless in shafts of morning light, the gilding of perfectly prim pages shone incanescent, the shriek of rolling ladders mourned in perennial soliloquy.
— Michelle Franklin, Tales from Frewyn: Volume 2
If I had known how difficult it was to edit my book, I would have done that first then written the story.
— Edwin D. Ferretti III, The Darkside of the Medallion
I am staring into eyes so dark and compelling that I feel as if I could easily lose myself within them. He moves me slightly away from his body but doesn't let go. Energy, just like in the forest a few nights ago, ebbs and flows betwen us.
— Jennifer Sucevic
Melisande lay in bed in the loft of her cottage in Graebrok Forest north of Odr. Wide awake and blinking in the dark, she listened to the mice above her head. Nearly a moon past, her swordsman had repaired a crack in the eaves before returning to the towers and yards of Merhafr, the great port on the Njorth Sea, where he served as a King’s Ranger. His name was Othin, taken from a god of wisdom, trickery and war. What such a one knew of carpentry, well, that was open to question. But he knew other things. Nice things.
— F.T. McKinstry, Outpost
Caelfel squared her shoulders. “I’m not afraid.”Geri turned away. “Good, because if you were, you are definitely in the wrong place.
— Kelly R. Michaels, Prince of the Vale
Fantasy for the most part is really just reality reflected through a storybook lens.
— Michelle Franklin
The world is Absolutely Brilliant. Difficult sometimes. Confusing often. But humorous almost always.
— Henry L. Walton, The Journals of Thaddeaus Shockpocket - Albion 77
It is neither poor handling nor the weather that turns the pages of a book a fine sepia. It is the reader's imagination.
— S.A. Tawks, The Spirit of Imagination
This is the beginning of a new time,” Torius said, “a great moment for us. One of us has learnt the Tongue and freed a princess. I have saved him and killed the guards. No longer will we be slaves. No longer will the guards tell us what to do. No longer will we listen. We will fight till we get what we want!”A roar exploded from the children around him.“This is a revolution,” Torius went on. “You all remember the pain that you have felt when the guards have touched you. You all know the shame we carry within us at being treated like this. No more! We will stand!
— Y.K. Willemse, Rafen
If I'm damned, what's the point of pretending that I'm not?
— Rosamund Hodge, Crimson Bound
Depression is a funny thing. Some days you have the strength to get up out of bed and attempt to live your life as a normal human being, but others…you just don’t want to leave your room and socialize with the outside world—the world that you hate on days like this. You stay secluded in a tiny space, left alone to the thoughts that eat at your brain until you finally sit down and let them be thought.
— Ashley Earley, The Darkest Light
We need heroes, however outlandish, because although we might not be slaying real dragons, we all have our quests.
— Russ Thorne
My mind screams for me to run, but my feet are planted where they are. This can’t be happening. This can’t be real. There’s no way this is real!
— Ashley Earley, The Darkest Light
How do you know I’m any different from the broken, beaten slave you found over seven years ago? - Corin
— Claire M. Banschbach, The Wildcat of Braeton
I wanted her to notice me, to pay attention to me. It was an irrational desire, one I‘d never experienced before.
— P.I. Alltraine, Heartbound
Realism is knowing fantasy and reality intersect constantly. Realism is living with the awareness that every act changes the world.
— Ales Kot
Because. Because in all the breadth of time, in all of this scattered light and infinite darkness, in all these millions of years and circumstances and changes and challenges, in the order and chaos, it's brought me to you. How can you see something like that as anything but beautiful?
— Brandon R. Chinn, Third Trial
Miss Breland was fairly tall for afemale. She had to be about 5'10." The black skinny jeans that shewore made her legs even more impossibly lengthened. The jeanswere paired with a soft gray Angora sweater that hugged herpetite frame. Just before she turned to take her seat, she lookedup directly into my eyes, and smiled shyly. She was a beautifulcreature.
— Erika G. Edwards, The Guardian Chronicles: Guardian
His agility surprised Phoebe Ash. She saw the plaster cast on his right leg. Funny messages in ink—“Go break the left one, tiger!”—had been written on the off-white plaster.
— Ed Lynskey, The Quetzal Motel
Still want you?” I repeated quietly. “Phoenix. I have wanted you since the moment I first laid eyes on you. Since the fire of our magic ignited when we touched for the first time,” I pulled him gently to his feet, making him face me. “You are my soul mate, Phoenix. You are it. You are my home, my heart. Literally, the other half of my soul.” I gripped him by his lapels. “You are written into my DNA and you ask if I still want you.” I let him go and smiled. “The answer is, and always will be, yes.”He kissed me fiercely, pressing me into his body. I ignored the twinge of my knife wound and kissed him back as I felt the fire in my soul begin to awaken once again.
— Aprille Legacy, Soul Blaze
He's special, but not the kind anyone wants to be. I don't know what to do about that.
— Brandon R. Chinn, Second Stage
It‘s quite simple, actually.”‖ He thought of a way to explain things to his friend in a language that Dez could understand. “Imagine that Khevala‘s a girl you fancy…”‖“Oh, now that I do understand!”‖“But she‘s put you in the friend zone,”‖ he resumed, unable to stop a little smirk from appearing on his face. “With no benefits of any kind, besides.”‖ The smirk turned into a dry chuckle as he watched the disappointed look that his explanation had put on Dez‘s face. “Only friends, Dez, that‘s it. You can go out with her, enjoy her company all you like, but you‘ll always have to keep your hands to yourself.”‖“I can look but I can‘t touch? Not even a little kiss, every now and then?”‖
— Tito Barberi Martinez
They're only memories, Sam. They might comfort us on days of self-loathing, but that's all. We have to consciously move forward.
— Brandon R. Chinn, Second Stage
Don't be afraid of the dark, it's a place where you can hide.
— August Verona
It is man who has abandoned God, not God who has abandoned man.
— Angelia Griffin, The Crystal Keys: Champion of Destiny
You know that when a utility company is going down the fantasy route, they are likely hiding some illegal activity that they are engaging in. Fabricating fictional stories to their government regulator is just one of the many illegal activities that they engage in.
— Steven Magee, Curing Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity
I have knowledge; I'm responsible. If I sit by and do nothing while I have the ability to change, to help, then I'm just as much a criminal as any. Power begets responsibility...You should know that.
— Brandon R. Chinn, Third Trial
Hope had only revealed herself to him when he was immersed in darkness
— Soroosh Shahrivar, The Rise of Shams
Ms Rainn, when was the last time you visited a library for the books and not the free Internet it offers?
— S.A. Tawks, The Spirit of Imagination
Kognition? It's just another world, another wanderer, another curvature of time and space. Now we understand that the complexities of universes exist in more than just observable space. If the origin of time was light and fire, then it must be the same for all of us. Light in our eyes, fire in our chests. There are no mistakes in the universe; there are no mistakes in the natural world. There just -is-. Mistakes, even order and chaos, only exist in the observable space of human sight. Philosophies are just how we approach things we don't understand.
— Brandon R. Chinn, Third Trial
Reading is not passive. It is only when the reader brings his/her own experiences to the work and breathes life into the author’s words that they consummate the relationship and together bring the story to life.
— Chuck Miceli, Amanda's Room
Everyone writes the book he or she loves to read. Great authors write the books others love to read.
— Chuck Miceli
There seldom is a single wave. Another way to look at it is, 'when it rains, it pours.' Good luck or bad luck often followed by more of the same. Whatever path you begin, it's almost impossible to change your direction. You're sent hurtling through space, crashing through experiences decided by the first few decisions you ever made. Binary choices set against something as simple as a yes or no in your earliest stages of development. As a Future Child, that would be your primitive choices in Genus. Actions, friendships, whether to smile in one moment or frown in the next. Those are all paths that, once set upon, are entirely unchangeable. At least, that's what I was designed to think.
— Brandon R. Chinn, Third Trial
No. It's choice. Every time, no matter what happens, I would choose you. Even if we had to repeat this for eternity, I would choose you, every time.
— Brandon R. Chinn, Third Trial
That’s what it means to be in love, Marin. It means doing everything in your power to ensure that the one you love lives to see another day, because the world would be that much darker without them.
— Aida Jacobs, Dragon Guardian: Water
Last words? I'm sure it has been an eventful journey. Someone will want to make your eulogy creative, I have no doubt. I can only wonder what will happen to the mind of the person that is forcefully debugged with their consciousness this deep into the WoAnLiNe. It's going to make an interesting case study for some boring old zero that has that kind of time. I should erase your Animus while I'm at it. It would keep these sorts of problems from happening in the future, troublemaker.
— Brandon R. Chinn, Second Stage
She didn't fear the night, though she found little comfort in its dark hours. It was the time when she slept, the time when she stalked and killed, the time when the stars emerged with glittering beauty and made her feel wonderfully small and insignificant.
— Sarah J. Maas, Throne of Glass
She may have been the one whose name meant music, but his sounded like it. Saying it made her want to sing it, to lean out a window and call him home. To whisper it in the dark.
— Laini Taylor, Daughter of Smoke & Bone
Riley Blackthorne - kicking hell's ass one demon at a time.
— Jana Oliver, Forsaken
Fight with me again and let us prove that we will keep what is ours! - Corin
— Claire M. Banschbach, The Wildcat of Braeton
My heart was oaken before you set it on fire. It will continue to smolder, long after the flame that ignited it has gone.
— Natalia Marx, Fire & Raine
Maybe Adalwulf truly has nothing tae fear for I see before me only cowards willing tae sacrifice everything for the sake of their lives! - Aiden
— Claire M. Banschbach, The Wildcat of Braeton
Just as foreplay is the key to good sex, preparation is essential to achieving victory in battle. Right, lieutenant?
— Natalia Marx, Fireheart
Like a dried up spring, magic trickled forth with less and less strength, until one day, the people awoke and there was simply no more to be had.
— Natalia Marx, Fireheart
Already she knew that an idea could pain him like a bruise. He had grey eyes that showed every thought, and sometimes Charlotte worried that he might be hurt in some way that she would not be able to prevent.
— Lauren Owen
Monch was on no simple retreat. The journey he had plotted for himself was much longer, and took him many buckets away from Appollon to Angarr's Sorrow, the land of fetid bogs in southeastern Sarthiss. This was a world far away from everything he knew... from everyone he knew. Granted, the list of people he knew was exceptionally short, especially since Monch was horrible with names and only slightly less horrible with faces. Regardless, he did not wish to accidentally advertise his inexperience to anyone he might possibly know, which is why he travelled so far afield.There were ruins in the swamps, ruins hidden under years of neglect and heavy with decay. Things lurked in those ruins, inhuman beasts with forbidden hungers. He intended to use the dangers of the swamps as the whetstone that would hone his abilities to a razor-keen edge. Monch would test his blade against and come back all the stronger......or dead.No... that wasn't right. Given the fact that he was immortal, death really wasn't an option. So then, he would come back stronger......or something something horrible. Monch decided to fill in those particular details later on, when he had time to ponder his autobiography at length. He would tidy up that particular idiom later.
— D.F. Monk, Tales of Yhore: The Chronicles of Monch
His mother's words faded to myth, concocted by a gentle soul to delight the imagination of a boy.Until one day, they were no longer a myth. One day, he would wish he had never heard them at all because they spelled his happiness--and his eternal sorrow.
— Natalia Marx
The best thing to do when someone is trying to argue with you is to repeatedly state "Stay Away" and video record the entire event. You may need that video for the police afterwords when the aggressor starts fabricating fantasies about the event.
— Steven Magee
She would stay there, flying across the sea like a mermaid with wings, until the end.
— Natalia Marx, Fire & Raine
He hated her because she was young and pretty and sexless,because he wanted to go to bed with her and would never do so ...
— George Orwell, 1984
With a blade at your throat, a well-connected uncle or a wealthy mother could not save you. Only you could save yourself.
— Natalia Marx, Fireheart
Thou, my slave,As thou report'st thyself, was then her servant,And for thou wast a spirit too delicateTo act her earthy and abhorred commands,Refusing her grand hests, she did confine thee,By help of her more potent ministersAnd in her most unmitigable rage,Into a cloven pine, within which riftImprisoned thou didst painfully remainA dozen years; within which space she diedAnd left thee there, where thou didst vent thy groansAs fast as mill wheels strike.
— William Shakespeare, The Tempest
The Quetzal Motel was a father/daughter operation, and they hurt for money but with just enough to stay in groceries. But who could tell? After tonight, their fortunes might perk up. It was better to look on the bright side. She took a deep breath and plunged back into Philip Nostrum’s realm of futuristicdoings.
— Ed Lynskey, The Quetzal Motel
Science fiction is when we see into the future of our planet, fantasy is when we believe humanity will survive.
— Kaz Lefave
Sometimes I wish I had never saved your neck from decapitation in Faroe. Then I could just descend into lewdness in peace.
— Natalia Marx, Fireheart
Leliana advanced like a predator, hair lashing like a whip behind her. She abandoned the reins, riding the horse like they had merged into one charging centaur.She aroused images of deities on winged horses, of untamed forests in a windstorm, of legendary heroes of legendary quests. Burning desire shot straight to his loins at the sight of her.He ached for this woman, this goddess that streaked across his vision like a figment of his imagination, of his deepest desires and most guarded wishes. He could lose himself, mind, body, and soul, to a woman like that. Any sane man would.
— Natalia Marx, Fireheart
The soft, fluttering cry of a barn owl rose over the churchyard. Silent men flowed out of the dark.
— Parke Godwin
Syldor was not a land of oppressive rules, roles, and labels. Here, love and power were open to, for, and between all; woman or man, rich or poor. What mattered was the sharpness of your mind, the speed of your blade, and the heat of your touch.
— Natalia Marx, Fireheart
By fate or forgery, our dances are entwined for eternity.
— Natalia Marx, Fire & Raine
A writer's role was never just to tell stories, but to create a world to encompass and share with others.
— Solange nicole
You? Harmless?” Tam snorted. “What? You don’t think I could pull it off?” Aiden accused. “Well, the fact that you’re practically a walking armory had me convinced otherwise.
— Claire M. Banschbach, The Wildcat of Braeton
It must be a great comfort tae him, and tae all, that you have helped so considerably with matters of the Clan,” Aiden said. To his left, Ranulf choked on the contents of his tankard and Adalwulf’s eyes narrowed.
— Claire M. Banschbach, The Wildcat of Braeton
It was more than the war that changed me - Corin
— Claire M. Banschbach, The Wildcat of Braeton
How much Romance do you like in your Fantasy? And, respectively, how much Questing do you like in your Romance?
— Paula Millhouse, Dragonstone
We are not so different, and yet we are worlds apart." Ahkeel/Akil, The Veil Series prequel.
— Pippa DaCosta, Wings Of Hope
Far more beguiling than the idea that evil can be destroyed by throwing a piece of expensive jewelry into a volcano is the possibility that evil can be defused by talking. The fantasy of justice is more interesting than the fantasy of fairies, and more truly fantastic.
— Terry Pratchett, A Slip of the Keyboard: Collected Non-Fiction
Every time I had things straight in my head abouthim, I saw him smile or crook an eyebrow, and all my sensible reasons on why I couldn’t have feelings for him seemed redundant.
— J.A. Ironside, I Belong to the Earth
Maybe because I knew Haze and Kate so well by then the passage leapt out at me, clear and sharp as di
— J.A. Ironside, I Belong to the Earth
Where was his knife, upon which he relied? He had cut cheese for their noonday meal, and had packed the knife away with the cheese.Aillas said: 'Sir, before we continue with this matter, may I offer you a bite of cheese?''I care for no cheese, though it is an amusing concept.''In that case, allow me a moment while I cut a morsel or two for myself, as I hunger.''I have no time to spare while you eat cheese; prepare instead for death.
— Jack Vance, The Green Pearl
What they teach you as history is mythology, and true mythology is far from fantasy - every kind reveals true fragments of our real history. A bulk of our real history can be found in Egyptian and Greek mythology. Yes, myths reveal to us worlds of other dimensions that make up our true reality. History books teach us that the minds of the past operated on the same frequency, dimension, or level of consciousness as we do now. Not true at all.
— Suzy Kassem, Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem
Oh r-really? Do t-tell?” I quirked an eyebrow back at him.“Well, usually it’s best to take your shoes and socks off before you step in the stream, better balance on an uneven surface. Also, you avoid that unpleasant squelchy feeling when you wear the shoes againlater.” He paused, smirking. “Also, ifI was going to paddle barefoot “I was going to paddle barefoot upstream in Yorkshire, I’d wait until at least May before I tried it. But you go ahead, love. You’re clearly a Spartan lass.
— J.A. Ironside, I Belong to the Earth
The rhythm of fraught footsteps and fervent heartbeat orchestrated a symphony of anticipation and dread.
— Brian A. McBride, Dominion
Hey now, wait a second. When will I see you again? You can’t leave a poor lad dangling like that!”His look of bewilderment made me bite my lip to keep from laughing.“Why would you w-want to?” The words were out before I could stop them. A rare occurrence for me. And now I seemed pathetically needy. Very attractive.“Because I love a pair of pretty green eyes.” He grinned.
— J.A. Ironside
This is m-me.” I indicated the lonely track.“Really? What’s up there?” He peered over my shoulder in genuine curiosity. “Is there a house up there? You’re not a sylph or something that really does live wild, are you?
— J.A. Ironside, I Belong to the Earth
From Bralloc’s mounted position he could see over the heads of most of his men, but the thickening darkness of evening coupled with the storm made it impossible to see more than a few yards. He jerked at the reins and swung his horse around, pushing into the crowd. The large grey charger was nearly as mean-spirited as her owner; she snorted and bucked her head, then nipped, stomped and shoved her way through, giving every indication that she was enjoying herself. His men drew to either side, and the crawling excitement in Bralloc’s belly became an angry swarm of insects. The scout – the ballsy woman whose name he could never remember - stood several paces away. Bralloc paid her no heed, however, and the mixture of nervousness, relief and fear on her face didn’t even register in his mind: his eyes were locked on the captive at her side. His lips twitched into a smile and he licked them, like a ghoul eyeing a fresh corpse. He forced himself to move slowly, deliberately – sucking each individual drop of marrow from the bones of his anticipation..."-From 'Feral
— T.B. Schmid
Too much alleged ‘fantasy’ is just empty sugar, life with the crusts cut off.
— Terry Pratchett
I write in a fantasy world so I can make up my own rules and can change facts when I want to. It's all about having control.
— C.S. Woolley
Oh r-really? Do t-tell?” I quirked an eyebrow back at him.  “Well, usually it’s best to take your shoes and socks off before you step in the stream, better balance on an uneven surface. Also, you avoid that unpleasant squelchy feeling when you wear the shoes again later.” He paused, smirking. “Also, if I was going to paddle barefoot upstream in Yorkshire, I’d wait until at least May before I tried it. But you go ahead, love. You’re clearly a Spartan lass.
— J.A. Ironside, I Belong to the Earth
The imagination simplifies our endless desires and causes us to fantasize that they can be fulfilled.
— David Brooks
How did you get so scratched up then, Emlynn?” He looked at me uncertainly again.I felt wildly like laughing. Too many swooping highs and plummeting lows. What a weird fewdays. Weird being a massive understatement.“Cr-Crawling through gorse bushes.” I took a perverse delight in answering his questions in a way that told him nothing at all. I’d never paid much attention to boys before. Maybe Grace was onto something after all.“Crawling through gorse,” he repeated. “Part of your action-girl antics, no doubt?”“N-no doubt.” I smirked again.
— J.A. Ironside, I Belong to the Earth
He peeled out the banknotes from inside a billfold held on a chain and paid her. Andy Jackson’s eyes were X’d out. For an edgy instant she wondered if his money was counterfeit. She also noted his missing middle finger, and a skull tattoo decorated his sinewy wrist.She put down the card key. “You’re in Seven, straight down the courtyard.”He slid the card key off, but it fell to the floor. "Oops. Ihaven’t gotten used to this high gravity.”“I beg your pardon?”“Nothing. I’m just punchy from all the driving.
— Ed Lynskey, The Quetzal Motel
Oh, how long were the days of a man.When he strode upon the broken land.He sailed as far as a man could steer.And he never wished to lose his fear.For the fear of man is a thing untold.It keeps him safe, and it proves him bold!Don’t let fear make you cease to strive,for that fear it proves you remain alive!I will walk this broken road,and I will carry a heavy load!So come at me with your awful lies,I’m a man of truth and I’ll meet your eyes!
— Robert Jordan
Some books mirror reality while others are entirely fantasy. My favorite are those that manage to weave both into a world.
— Richelle E. Goodrich
Tangled onto the shuttle, we were being woven back and forth to create the same tapestry of despair and heartbreak and loss. It was so muchbigger than I could see before, and all I had done was stand at the centre of the web and feed it my anger and frustration and jealousy.
— J.A. Ironside, I Belong to the Earth
Dad looked more sheepish than I had ever seen him look in his life. It made him appear younger.“A scent. Your mother’s shampoo.
— J.A. Ironside, I Belong to the Earth
Light or Death!
— Brian A. McBride, Paradox
My love, a person is better judged by how they treat their inferiors than their betters. That is the true measure of a man, or a woman. Think you that you are so far above Lata?""If I am to be your wife then I shall be far above her and she had better do as she is told if she wants to stay employed here!""I've ruined you. My poor little mango seller." Nadir let go of my wrist and stepped away, his face hardening. "You shall not be my wife if you cannot treat people with the respect they not only deserve, but earn every day by working so hard for it!"'Mangoes
— J.A. Ironside, Reading is Magic
Once I finished reading a good book, it gives me a hard time coping up with reality.
— Nathalie M. Llanto
This was a Darkness born of fire.
— Brian A. McBride, Dominion
Such a distant, forgotten thing, this Light.
— Brian A. McBride, Dominion
From now until eternity meets its end, you will walk by faith and not by sight.
— Brian A. McBride, Paradox
Being on the edge is always worse than going through.
— Joseph Brown
The only things worth seeing are beyond what you can actually see.
— Joseph Brown
As the daydreams grew longer, the distinction between what was real and what was imaginary grew less. Soon I existed in a blissful world of my own creation.
— Fennel Hudson, A Waterside Year - Fennel's Journal - No. 2
The sun does not abandon the moon to darkness.
— Brian A. McBride, Dominion
I could not recall the last time I had been so flagrantly insulted.Don't make enemies, I told myself.Swallow your pride.Hold your tongue.But the fact was, I had real difficulty with those particular virtues.
— Jen Crane, Rare Form
The Evasive Cartwheel ™ © etc., Bartimaeus of Uruk, circa. 2800 B.C.E. Often imitated, never surpassed. As famously memorialized in the New Kingdom tomb paintings of Ramses III— you can just see me in the background of The Dedication of the Royal Family before Ra, wheeling out of sight behind the pharaoh.
— Jonathan Stroud, The Ring of Solomon
Among the great struggles of man-good/evil, reason/unreason, etc.-there is also this mighty conflict between the fantasy of Home and the fantasy of Away, the dream of roots and the mirage of the journey.
— Salman Rushdie
Err on the side of awesome.
— Brandon Sanderson
Am I your weakness?""Of course you are.
— Brian A. McBride, Dominion
At his words not my body, but my soul bucked, decimating barriers that until then had been untouched.
— Jen Crane, Rare Form
You’re injured.” He flicks his chin at my bleeding leg.“We need to get that cleaned up.”“It’ll be fine,” I wave it off. “My mom will descend upon me with a bottle ofperoxide the second I hit the door.
— M.A. George, Aqua
With a tremendous effort, Areop-Enap opened all its eyes. " I am sorry to leave you alone and defenseless."Perenelle sealed the spider Elder into the huge cocoon of web, then turned and strode across the room. The tiniest breeze swept the floor clean before her. " I am Perenelle Flamel, the Sorceress,"she said aloud, unsure whether Aerop-Enap could hear her. "And I am never defenseless.
— Michael Scott, The Sorceress
Perhaps when I first arrived on this world so long ago I may have known more. Now, though, I do not have knowledge of as much as I used to. The years, many of them, have changed this world and the great societies flourish with change. Although I feel nothing but pride for this, I am saddened as well. For as the changes occur my knowledge of this world dwindles. As such, I seek to learn, to regain that which I have lost. Do you now understand?" ~ except from "Raging Land", book 2 of 3 in the "Patrons of Earth" Trilogy by A. N. Jones (quote is subject to change)
— A.N. Jones
Choose well how to live the next moment.
— D. Thourson Palmer, Ours is the Storm
I'm not a clever man, but I'm willing to listen to people who are, and I think you are. Just don't try poking me in the direction you want me to go. I don't like that Master Balwer.
— Robert Jordan
He’s close enough now that I can hear his footfall on the pavement, and I knowmy chances of outrunning him are slim. I’m practically in a full sprint, and mypounding heart is begging me to take it down a notch. I try to will my feet to keep pace with its beat; but I think it’s humanly impossible to run that fast. And then it dawns on me that my footsteps are the only ones I hear. Somewhere along the way, Tristan’s must have come to a stop. And I can’t quite explain why I’m running this fast in the first place. I slow to a jog, intending to just pick up with my original pace; but I can’t seem to suck in breaths fast enough to propel my feet any further. My molten shoes stutter to a stop, as my hands come to rest on my knees. I’m still wheezily sucking in breath after breath of thick, humid air, when I warily turn tolook over my shoulder.Tristan’s standing about fifty feet back, hands on his hips and a comp
— M.A. George, Aqua
Archomai is where believing is being.
— T.A. Cline, Archomai
She was the lover of two mighty kings.She was their Chalice.The certainty of the knowledge settled over her shoulders like a weighty mantle. She might not know where she came from, but she knew where she was going. She knew who she wanted to be, who she was.She was the queen of Amendal, leader and protector of the dal.Time to start acting the part. She stood and pulled them up with her. Amendal was still in danger, and she would not stand for it any longer.By Aiea, and all the gods of Odren, no more would die today.
— Elizabeth Varlet, Abounding Dawn
He patted the side of the wyrm's head. The animal did not react: it was a stone fallen from the sky, still smoldering.
— Zachary Jernigan, Shower of Stones
The irony of life is we always compare our fantasies with reality, rather than accepting the reality as is and transforming it into a paradise....
— Ramana Pemmaraju
He’s close enough now that I can hear his footfall on the pavement, and I knowmy chances of outrunning him are slim. I’m practically in a full sprint, and my pounding heart is begging me to take it down a notch. I try to will my feet to keep pace with its beat; but I think it’s humanly impossible to run that fast. And then it dawns on me that my footsteps are the only ones I hear. Somewhere along the way, Tristan’s must have come to a stop. And I can’t quite explain why I’m running this fast in the first place. I slow to a jog, intending to just pick up with my original pace; but I can’t seem to suck in breaths fast enough to propel my feet any further. My molten shoes stutter to a stop, as my hands come to rest on my knees. I’m stillwheezily sucking in breath after breath of thick, humid air, when I warily turn to look over my shoulder.Tristan’s standing about fifty feet back, hands on his hips and a comp
— M.A. George
A word is a small song.
— Larry Good, The Land of Walking Through Cake
Leaves lift trees.
— Larry Good, The Land of Walking Through Cake
I am ready for battle. I am ready to fight.
— Ashley Earley, The Darkest Light
As one of the little streams starts snaking my way, inching closer to the toe of my shoe, I hop over the spreading puddle and out of its reach. I don’t look back to see if it’s going to follow me. I’m already three blocks away and still gaining speed
— M.A. George, Aqua
All kidding aside…” I focus back on Pyke, genuine sincerity in my tone.“Thank you…for everything. For dragging my ‘clueless ass’ through the ocean, andover hill and vale, when you knew it was futile and stupid—but that I’d still try to do it, with or without your help. Thanks for tracking me down when I was alone and helpless; and for giving me a voice when I thought all hope was lost—”“Ugh, for crying out loud…Enough already,” Pyke squirms, a nauseatedgrimace twisting his hairy face. “Now you’re going way overboard with thegratitude…That kind of gushy crap is meant to be dished out in small doses,” he gripes. “Please make it stop…before I have to snap my own neck, just to end the suffering.” He backs away into the crowd, giving Tristan’s shoulder one more slap with a sly wink. “Hurry up, Man, and do something. Kiss her, muzzle her…shove a sock in her mouth—
— M.A. George, Aqua
Fair enough…No inhaling battery acid,” I smirk. “We can’t breathe batteryacid, can we?
— M.A. George, Aqua
Closed head trauma is about as much fun as nude paintballing.
— D.C. Farmer, The 400lb Gorilla
Matt shrugged. It was a good shrug, too. All it was missing was a beret, a stripy shirt and a Gauloise cigarette.
— D.C. Farmer, The 400lb Gorilla
War is an infidel; it holds no loyalties, neither to king nor countryman. She is a whore, selling herself to the highest bidder. Victory is bought in blood and steel.
— Brian A. McBride, Dominion
Men aren't an inexhaustible resource, even for a king. Soldiers must have faith that their sacrifices are worthwhile.
— C. J. Brightley
Most of the time romance isn't even about love, anyway. It's about escape. Fantasy. Salvation from the mundane. Save me from boredom, from exhaustion, from my undersexed body, from microwave dinners and reality TV, from going to bed alone with a vibrator or a cat. Save me from my desperately ordinary life.
— Leah Raeder, Black Iris
Nightmares are seldom a foreshadowing of real events, but always a showing of real fears.
— Criss Jami, Healology
Your embrace feels like slipping the key in the front door.
— LeAnne Mechelle, Write like no one is reading 2
He danced across my heart like a pirate,Constantly discovering my secrets,Turning over every hidden treasure,Drowning me in his fantasy.
— Tanzy Sayadi, Write like no one is reading 2
Mean people are meaningless.
— Alice Hoffman, Nightbird
It was a miracle to live as birds do, except for one thing: anyone seen in flight would surely be captured, perhaps even shot down like a crow flying above a cornfield. It's always dangerous to be different, to appear as a monster in most people's eyes, even from a distance.
— Alice Hoffman, Nightbird
I crossed oceans for you,Turned over every rock,Climbed the highest mountains,Holding on to the words you said,Reliving your touch inside my head,The taste of you on the tip of my tongue,Only to be left with you as only a fantasy inside my head.
— LeAnne Mechelle, Write like no one is reading 2
Fine. Fine. Let’s try. You asked why bad things happen to good people. Well, the simple answer is, there are no bad things and there are no good people. Nothing bad ever happens to anyone and people are neither good nor bad. A person is nothing. A person does not exist. There are no people.
— Dorothy Gravelle, Paradox Love
My Ona Elena once told me something important," Adam said, hesitant now that the force of Levec's anger had deserted him. "Happiness is like a seed." Before Levec could speak, Adam lifted a hand. "She said that anger and hatred and love are like seeds as well. All the things we feel that endure, are.""And we are?""Dirt," Adam replied."I might agree with that statement, but I'm certain you intend to go elsewhere with it.""We are earth. But we are like different types of earth, in different climates. Not all seeds that fall from a tree take root. Not all things that take root survive. We cannot be given happiness. Only the seed of it. We might not recognize the seed," he added. "Because we can't see the tree it might become. We are surrounded by trees, and the seeds in our hands looks nothing like them."For some, the earth is damp and fertile, and all seeds take root. But for others, the earth is hard, and water scarce. Elena believed that no man--or woman--starts life as a desert. But without trees, any many or woman can become one." - Adam
— Michelle West
Hjuki and BilHjuki and Bil chased the moon,With waters from Byrgir’s well,Upon their shoulders they did share,Simul the pole and Saegr.‘Mani,’ they cried and chased the sky,‘From Byrgir whence we came,To water the earth and water your drink,And water the seas with rain’.Hati looked back and Skol ahead,But Mani gave no reply,For Hjuki he took, and bent his crook,And Bil was taken thereafter.Hjuki and Bil still chase the moon,From Byrgir whence they came,To water the earth and water the drink,And water the seas with rain.
— Angela B. Chrysler, Dolor and Shadow
With mouths agape, they stared in awe at the floor of fire and wall of flame. Atop a horse of golden flames that whipped and licked the leather reins, untouched by the fire that twisted and burned, sat Heimdallr, guardian of the Bilrost.
— Angela B. Chrysler, Dolor and Shadow
I should kill you,” Kallan whispered, “and watch your blood run with the cries of my people. If I kill you, all my troubles end. And I go home to Lorlenalin, my father’s death avenged.
— Angela B. Chrysler
In death we vanquished enemies,In death, we slew our foes.Blood soaked rage engulfed our blades,When blood lust took its hold.–In death, a darkness troubled one,In death, concealed, undone.Deep in darkness dragons wait,When blood would set the sun.–In death, we glorified his name.In death, we saw too late,When drink, to him, we raised in praise,The dragon sealed his fate.–In death, we lived. In death, we fought.In death, we grew to hate.In death, the blackened wraith released,The blinded shade beneath.–In death, his darkened eyes grew dim.In death, his mind was lost within.With blackened eyes, he slew his kin,In death, we lost to him.–In death, I took up sword and slew.In death, the dragon’s wrath ensued.We had no choice. The dragon fumed.In death, he was consumed.–In death, our brother’s blood deplored,In death, our brother, did I gore,When I rose up and killed one more.His blood ensconced my sword.–From death, his mutterings are weak.From death, his voice, to me, it speaks.Entombed within my brother’s keep,Revived in death, he sleeps.
— Angela B. Chrysler, Dolor and Shadow
Think back to the oldest era your mind can fathom, back beyond everything we can remember, when gods were still men who had not yet lived the deeds that would deify them.
— Angela B. Chrysler
I'm trying to find someone who doesn't want to be found.""That can be as hard as looking for a shadow.
— Alice Hoffman
He was withdrawing. I think it was getting harder for him to accept his fate. Like a bird in a cage, he grew silent.
— Alice Hoffman
James had a theory about caged birds, one he hoped to prove when he became a scientist someday. He believed that all birds that had their freedom taken from them eventually lost their voices. Once that happened, they could never find their true song.
— Alice Hoffman
I head a bitterness that hadn't been there before. Something was changing inside him. He'd had enough of following the rules.
— Alice Hoffman
The prophecy has come true! You put the sea salt in the soup...You are the one!
— PanOrpheus, Songs and Stories from Tesla's Tower
Lilith came to Longinus in the night, as she often did, and the darkness of the cave was filled with the lustful sounds of their passionate couplings. Afterwards, as he lay back with his eyes closed, she ran her cool fingers playfully across his chest and whispered honeyed words in his ear.
— Alan Kinross, Longinus the Vampire
It's still horrible to wish the worst on anyone. I'm sure she had her reasons. Maybe people hurt her feelings, the same way I was hurt. A single word can feel like a rock being thrown at you.
— Alice Hoffman
Why?"He stopped pacing and looked at her as if she'd just asked him to count every leaf on every tree in the Old Place. "Because... you're you.
— Anne Bishop
He is the one pocket of warmth in a sea of ice.
— Susan Ee, World After
A dream? With you, reality is always as a dream. There is no greater fantasy, no grander epic, than being with you.
— Zechariah Barrett