c2p-cmd/Good-Quotes-Authors huggingface dataset:
I always assumed it owed more to the fact that he didn't like me.
— Rick Yancey, The Monstrumologist
I had turned to leave and he had called after me. “Miss Maria, I kin no other woman who could be wearing men’s trousers and be dripping such as ye are and look quite so lovely. It’s a right shame your mother is marrying you off to that great sot!”I had turned to call back to him, “I doubt very much we will have to worry about that after today!
— Gwenn Wright, The BlueStocking Girl
Why did you shoot him?""You weren't around," I replied, my teeth gritted in pain. "If you'd been here I'd have shot you instead.
— John Connolly, Every Dead Thing
I like to write literature that reads like pulp fiction.
— Nike N. Chillemi
You life is a book
—  make it a bestseller.
Brannagh Maloney had lived with disappearances all her life. They were as familiar to her as the changing of the Fundy tides. People who disappeared left cast-off shadows of themselves, murky tremblings that slunk out of corners on drizzly autumn afternoons. They lurked offstage, silent or sighing or reaching out to run a finger across her arm. They were the curtains fluttering in the window on a breezeless morning, the musty scent that arose when opening an abandoned cellar door. LET THE SHADOWS FALL BEHIND YOU (Kunati Books)
— Kathy-Diane Leveille, Let the Shadows Fall Behind You
You can make a day of any size.
— Mario Iezzoni, Kracker Flats
An hour before his world exploded like a ripe tomato under a stiletto heel, Myron bit into a fresh pastry that tasted suspiciously like urinal cake.
— Harlan Coben, Darkest Fear
Random lines, Beyond the Darkness: "Playing 'tag, you're it' against a car is a bad idea.
— Jaime Rush, Beyond the Darkness
Myron lay sprawled next to a knee-knockingly gorgeous brunette clad only in a Class-B-felony bikini, a tropical drink sans umbrella in one hand, the aqua clear Caribbean water lapping at his feet, the sand a dazzling white powder, the sky a pure blue that could only be God's blank canvas, the sun a soothing and rich as a Swedish masseur with a snifter of cognac, and he was intensely miserable.
— Harlan Coben, The Final Detail
The missing girl—there had been unceasing news reports, always flashing to that achingly ordinary school portrait of the vanished teen, you know the one, with the rainbow-swirl background, the girl's hair too straight, her smile too self-conscious, then a quick cut to the worried parents on the front lawn, microphones surrounding them, Mom silently tearful, Dad reading a statement with quivering lip—that girl, that missing girl had just walked past Edna Skylar.
— Harlan Coben, Promise Me
As they gently lowered it into the earth, all stared silently at the coffin but one: a young woman of twenty-five who glanced absentmindedly into the distance where an unknown figure stood – watching, waiting, his face buried in the shadow of his hat. Whether by intuition or paranoia she could not tell, but the presence of the man troubled her and her eyes were fixed on his motionless body and would not stir. Tourists rarely came to a town as small and uneventful as theirs, let alone to visit a funeral where they did not introduce themselves and only beheld the spectacle from afar.
— Renate Linnenkoper, Exogenesis
We will grow old and die, eventually.Then I'll see you in Heaven.
— Barbara Avon, STATIC
Her lips were burning with the lies she spoke and yet, he longed to kiss the fire.
— Barbara Avon, The Christmas Store
Like a consolation prize, the broken heart is often granted wisdom.
— Barbara Avon, The Christmas Ornament
Dragged from your room. A red crease of sleep visible down your cheek, eyes foggy with the adjustment from a state of rest to a state of arrest. You said nothing. Even when your face was mashed into the carpet, your rights read out, their knees and elbows pressed in your back. Your nightie rode high up your thighs. No underwear. The indignity of it all.
— Ali Land, Good Me, Bad Me
You turned your head to the side. Faced me. Your eyes never left mine, I read them with ease. You said nothing to them, yet everything to me. I nodded.But only when no one was watching.
— Ali Land, Good Me, Bad Me
I remember Chap saying Jesus was a lifeline. And I needed one. Had needed one for a long time, I guess. So I prayed for the first time in my life and let Jesus rescue my soul from the depths.
— Jessica R. Patch, Deep Waters
Trust Him in the Deep Waters! ~Jessica R. Patch author of Deep Waters.
— Jessica R. Patch, Deep Waters
…He rocked against her, his body shuddering against hers again and again, until he collapsed on top of her and buried his face in her hair.Brooke felt his heart beating against her chest as they lay there, boneless. For two people who preferred to speak in quips and sarcasm, that had been unexpectedly…intense.She wasn’t quite sure how to feel about that.Then Cade spoke.“I think this is the first time I’ve ever used this table,” he said, against her neck.Brooke began to laugh. My God, he was still inside her and she was already giggling. “I take it you don’t do a lot of formal entertaining.”He pulled back, his dark hair falling across his forehead. “Were you not entertained, Ms. Parker?
— Julie James, Love Irresistibly
His eyes were dark. “Brooke.”She knew what he was asking. “Yes.”Immediately, Cade took her hand and led her – quite briskly – along the sidewalk.“Thank God I’m not wearing the red high heels today,” she said.“In two minutes you’ll be wearing nothing,” he said in a low voice.Well, then.
— Julie James, Love Irresistibly
She has done for me at last, Rachel my torment.
— Daphne du Maurier, My Cousin Rachel
They are from another world, another way of life that somehow has merged with our own. These worlds are kept separate for the safety of everyone. " "And yet, I connect them." "You do.
— Meredith T. Taylor, Churning Waters (The Churning Waters Saga)
She was a femme fatale with creative license, and she was sharpening her pen just for me.
— M.K. Williams, The Games You Cannot Win
And suddenly, there were the shapes of many people lurking out of the woods, light glowing from their hands.
— Serena Winter, The Zodiac Turner: The Five Trials
Her suspense was terrible.
— Thomas Hardy, The Mayor of Casterbridge
It is a miserable thing to live in suspense
—  it is the life of the spider.
As she descended below the floor level of the loft, her former partner in juvenile crime was revealed to her from scuffed paniolo boots, up a long, muscled body that appeared to go on forever, to a venerable black Stetson. His cowboy look was new to her and it suited him. When she backtracked to his Hawaiian-sky blue eyes, she swayed under the impact and abruptly sat down. Any stair step would do." Noelani Beecham, Pele's Tears
— Sharon K. Garner, Pele's Tears
They would take your soul, if they could . . .
— Jaye Frances, Redemption
My mistake was that I didn't kill you.
— Kayla Krantz, Alive at Sunset
There is always something behind patience and impatience! Be careful enough to understand these two things any time you meet anybody
—  the patience and impatience of the person!
This wasn't the last of it. Now that Finia was carrying his baby, they would be together forever, whether she liked it or not.
— Yawatta Hosby, Twisted Obsession
How dare she not give in to his "vulnerability." There was only so much rejection he could take.
— Yawatta Hosby, Twisted Obsession
Finia glanced towards her bedroom, wishing the darkness would swallow her whole.
— Yawatta Hosby, Twisted Obsession
Reunion will come.
— Atsuko Asano
When Danny finally got off his knee, he took her by surprise again. He immediately began to tap a number on his mobile. Beth knew only too well who would be on the other end of the line. 'She said yes!' Danny announced triumphantly. Beth smiled as she held the diamond under the light and took a closer look.
— Jeffrey Archer
I wonder if my kidnappers know who my father was in Haiti, or if they know what powers they are dealing with.
— Marc Ashton
Don't sit back and watch other people live out your dreams
— JoAnn Michael Young, Broken Hallelujah
I am a great husband because I am very afraid she may kill me
— Gillan Flynn, Gone Girl (405)
His youth was a wingless Dodo.
— Lawrence Osborne
My lover is dead.And they think I killed him.I'm running rogue. Hell bent on both revenge and redemption. Whatever it takes, I'm going to finish a job that began nine months ago. An unauthorized assignment that turned horribly, devastatingly wrong. My miscalculation. My fault. My heart left shattered into incomplete pieces which will never wholly fit back together again.But first I have to outsmart my former organization and the hired killer they've sent after me; a ghost from my past who knows my every move, who’s been inside my head, my heart, my dreams and memories: Jaxson.I'm the traitor, Kylie. The rogue mercenary, Jaxon's newest assignment. And this is our love story.
— Michele Mannon, Rogue
I guess we all have our own realities
— D.J. Jouett, Must be Murder
I crossed the yard, wherein the constellations looked down upon me, I could have thought, with wonder, the first creature of that sort that their unsleeping vigilance had yet disclosed to them; I stole through the corridors, a stranger in my own house; and coming to my room, I saw for the first time the appearance of Edward Hyde.
— Robert Louis Stevenson, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
The texture of her skin was phantom silk, not human., not blood-warm, but dizzyingly hot anyway.
— Erin Kellison, Shadow Touched
An artist's domain was private, a haven for practicing and experimenting, the one place where failure was still allowed.
— Emma Raveling, Breaking Measures
What anger wants, it buys at the price of soul.
— Dana Marton, Flash Fire
Flash fire."	She turned her head as far as she could, trying to look at him. "I don't know what that means."	He shifted on the branch. "First time I was on a submarine, we had a flash fire. It's a combustion explosion. A flammable mist builds up in the air, then suddenly, bam. Think super high temperatures and a rapidly moving flame front. It kills by asphyxiation. Burns up all the available oxygen. It's devastating.
— Dana Marton, Flash Fire
Something was wrong. I felt a cold shiver. I didn’t know what at first. Something was just… wrong. I thought of Azrael for some reason, the Imposter, in that cowl, pretending he was Batman. It was that same sick feeling, a crazy kind of panic sparking deep beneath the surface, ready to erupt any second but held in check for the moment by the cold shiver getting colder by the minute.My fingers were so cold… against the warmth of Bruce’s chest… and then the realization came, right underneath those cold fingertips, I knew what was wrong.“When did these heal?” I whispered.
— Chris Dee, World's Finest: Red Cape, Big City
Never give up no matter how tough the road seems,keep going and visualize yourself in the realm of what you are going to achieve.
— Sharyan Alleyne, Our Lives
Recent global challenges suggest the themes in "The RISING SEDITION" foreshadow fiction becoming reality!! RT
— Richard Trevae
She growled.	He gave her a considering look. "That's almost sexy.
— Dana Marton, Flash Fire
I can't find the words." She stared daggers at him.	"Don't hurt yourself trying.
— Dana Marton, Flash Fire
You're not horribly terrible."	He shook his head at her. "You say the nicest things." He held her gaze for a moment. "You're not trying to get into my pants, are you?
— Dana Marton, Flash Fire
Like a phoenix rising through the fire, my Robbie, my Tesoro rises forward, and I hope and pray that he can take him out.
— M.R. Field, Splinters
I want him now and always, and I want our always to start right now.
— Yara Greathouse, Dismantled
This act would cost them. It was forbidden, in her world and his, but all he wanted was to hear her moan.
— Cindy Skaggs, Untouchable
Not today. Not sitting next to Quinn who was semi-casual in black slacks and a gray sweater pushed up to his muscular forearms. Seriously, why did forearms have to be so sexy?Why did he have to be so sexy? And why did she have the ridiculous urge to reach out and stroke his… sweater. She just wanted to see if it was as soft as it looked.Right.
— Katie Reus, Sworn to Protect
You are free to choose, but not free from the consequences of your choice." Anonymous
— Janice Coy, The Smallest of Waves
Sometimes sharing your pain helps the hurt and the guilt more bearable. You need to feel that way. I need you to feel that way.
— Yara Greathouse, Dismantled
Sometimes sharing your pain helps the hurt and the guilt become more bearable. You need to feel that way. I need you to feel that way.
— Yara Greathouse, Dismantled
I'm just not sure that I'm good enough for her. She's a top shelf drink, I'm a house poured shot.
— Yara Greathouse, Dismantled
In the stillness, our eyes do all the silent talking. Our chests move with heavy breathing and desire pours out through our pores. It's unmistakable.
— Yara Greathouse, Dismantled
Suddenly, a car zoomed out of a side street to their right, slamming into the side of the car with a loud metallic crash. Tires screeched. The passenger window shattered, showering glass over Pam as the other car’s momentum pushed them towards the opposite side of the road. Pam shrieked as the car tumbled over the edge of the road into the embankment. The car rolled until it came to a rest in the bottom of the ditch with creaks and groans. Neither Pam nor her mother stirred.
— C.B. Cook, Paralyzed Dreams
The truth remains quiet inside us,floundering like a battered bird,desperately wanting to spread itswings and fly away.-TARA
— Amita Trasi, The Color of our Sky
It took me most of my childhood to realize that traditions have infinite power over us.-MUKTA
— Amita Trasi, The Color of our Sky
I wonder if every girl yearns for her father’s love,almost like waiting to catch the moon hiding in the trees—beautiful, yet so eternally elusive.-MUKTA
— Amita Trasi, The Color of our Sky
Elron: These were happy woods. The entire place was happy from the house to the gardens to the woods. But this one little garden had something extra. It was excited. Something odd for plants and trees. They were prone to joy, happiness, sorrow and tranquility but not something as active as excitement. Someone had spent a lot of time here and a bit of their personality had seeped into the place. That someone was excited about life and probably young. Strange. Few youth of any race knew enough to transmit their feelings. The trees whispered about a person, moving and bending with change. The plants gossiped about tenderness shown them but the air breathed words of rage and despair in my ear. The plants didn't know gender but I got the impression of a woman, a young woman. The altar indicated she was a witch. A good witch.
— N. E. Conneely, Witch for Hire
Michelle: Phone. That had to be my phone waking me up. My hand swept across the nightstand until it found the vibrating hunk of silicone. "Hello." "Michelle, It's Gordon from the Cobb County Sheriff's Office. We need you to deal with some illegally bred magical creatures."The sound of barking and shouting followed his voice."What are they?""We don't know. I can tell you what they look like. Henri was one of the responding and he's never heard of these things. I think they're new."Blech. I rolled out of bed to start getting dressed. Henri was an old vampire. I'm not sure how old. But old enough to take his word on something like this."Gordon, tell me what these things look like.""I'd say someone found the stupidest chihuahua in the city and then did something to give it wings and magic.""Great! How do I get there?" I wrote down the address and a few directions. "That's the mayor's place, isn't it?"Yep and he's not happy.
— N. E. Conneely, Witch for Hire
Sifting through scattered memories is like sifting through sand. Some remain, some simply slipaway…– TARA
— Amita Trasi, The Color of our Sky
We all draw different lines. Sometimes they intersect. Sometimes they don’t. We agree on forms of evil, but judge degrees of it, saying only the worst of humanity is truly bad. And everything along the gray lines is subject to opinion. These are the lines I constantly live on, crossing through intersections that lead down paths I barely remember. And at certain times, for unknown reasons, the grim reality of consequence decides to rear its ugly head at me, and forces me to see what I’ve done. And I find myself staring at…THE DEVIL.
— Mike Wech, SEVEN-X
Michelle: It wasn't my house. It was owned by a brownie couple who owned it and rented out suites. There were a few long-term renters, like me, but it also functioned as a bed and breakfast to people and magical creatures passing through. A renter, like myself, was entitled to two meals a day, which made up for the microscopic kitchen. Being something of an indifferent or terrible cook, those kept me from eating fast food every day. I walked inside, barely pausing to wipe my feet on the mat. I swung to the right and stumbled into the dining room, hardly looking at the long table or who might be at it. I made a bee-line for the tea and slurped down half a mug. The hot, caffeinated beverage forced my eyes open and gave my movement some energy. While topping off my mug, I looked around and saw two unicorns, a dwarf and five shifters.
— N. E. Conneely, Witch for Hire
We're here and we prey on you.We target you.We groom you.
— Lisa Scottoline
Sometimes, 'someday' means 'I know it will never happen'.
— Rhein Fathia, Gloomy Gift
It seems like hours pass, both of us staring into each others eyes. I have no idea what she sees that holds her, but I can't look away either. She's giving me the look again, the one that makes me feel like a superhero.
— Ashley Stoyanoff, Two Truths and a Lie
I'm a sensual adventurer, Sue. I want to explore the passion I feel, really dig into the heart of it, the dark parts, too. I wanted to take you on that journey with me. But if you don't want to go, that's fine.
— Wodke Hawkinson, Zeke
As we plotted Zeke and Sue’s course, we utilized an atlas. But, if you tried to recreate the trip, it would drive you crazy since we changed the names of not only the highways, but also most of the towns.
— Wodke Hawkinson, Zeke
Oh my God. I didn't. I couldn't have. No. no, no. Holy Crap, I did. I just shot Jason Pierce in the chest with a taser.
— Ashley Stoyanoff, Two Truths and a Lie
Take me inside. Show me if a fireman knows how to start a fire.
— Vonnie Davis, For the Love of a Fireman
Passing him with frightening speed, I see him sailing downward with his open parachute. “It won’t open!” “Pull harder!” Looking down, I estimate that at this speed it will only be a matter of seconds before I collide with the black lava rocks below. They rigged it! is all I can think. President Volkov won. I lost. I failed Gemma. I failed Nicholas. I failed myself. All of a sudden, someone rams into me from behind and hooks his arms and legs around my body. I look back and see Cory. “You’re crazy!” I scream as we spin out of control.“I know!” He smiles like he really is, but he feeds off of this kind of insanity. “Hold on!” The ground is so close and I can see the green grass and smell the scent of it mixed with the sulfur. He helps me turn around and I lock my arms around his thick shoulders, my legs around his firm hips. We’ll die together, and he doesn’t seem to care one bit. He really is insane!
— E.J. Squires, Savage Run
What is the silence of six and what are you going to do about it?
— E.C. Myers, The Silence of Six
Her breathing hitched and his all but seized in his lungs for the want of her, the taste of her, the feel of her under his hands. His lips whispered against the curve of hers, where her cheek ended and her very sexy mouth began.
— Vonnie Davis, For the Love of a Fireman
Sher just laughed, shaking her head in genuine bemusement. “Just think it through Ace. I’m sure the answer will come to you… eventually.” Jake sat there in silence, staring at the closed door to Sher’s bedroom. What had just happened here? Well, he’d just knocked back Sher’s invitation to have sex for starters. Oh my God, what had he just done?
— Jane Cousins, Two For The Show
Tell me to stop, Sugar, or I'm going to start a firestorm of emotion neither one of us will know how to handle."	She smiled. "I've always loved storms."	He jerked her face closer and her heart rate kicked up. "Then it's time you were introduced to a Florida hurricane.
— Vonnie Davis, For the Love of a Fireman
Quick! What aisle are the douches in? I've got three bitches at the beach cottage and they all stick to high heaven."...	"You do carry Massengill, don't you? That's the best brand, according to my research."	"Ah..." What kind of man researches douches? A man who goes to bed with three women...	"Would you mind checking your inventory in the back? I'll need more."	"I'm not allowed to leave the register, but I'll be happy to page our stock boy."	Douche-man grunted and flipped the package around. "It's gonna take at least two boxes for Loa. She's big. Got wide hips. Skinny legs, though. Kinda like a twenty-gallon tank on toothpicks.
— Vonnie Davis, For the Love of a Fireman
You always were the hot head. You got a temper in you that can't be tamed, yet you also got a soft spot for stray dogs, kids in trouble and damsels in distress. See why folks label you a complex conundrum.
— Vonnie Davis, For the Love of a Fireman
A smart woman knows when to listen to her man."	Her man? "He is most definitely not my man. He's not my type."	"Type? If he was any more your type, he'd have you sitting in his lap.
— Vonnie Davis, For the Love of a Fireman
Ice Man, his friends had called him. She'd give him a different nickname, like Sex on a Stick or Horny Toad.
— Vonnie Davis, For the Love of a Fireman
She wondered what he really saw when he looked at her. God, she hoped she didn’t look like his mother or anything. That would be veering into a Hitchcock shower scene that she really didn’t want to be the star of.
— Jane Cousins, Two For The Show
She tugged on his hair. "I'll have you know I'm no weakling."	He grinned and kissed her forehead. "No, it takes a strong woman to kill a truck.
— Vonnie Davis, For the Love of a Fireman
The battle rages everyday. In the Arena of God
— Brian Oldham, Arena of God
It feels as though it were just yesterday Grandfather exited my life like a bullet, leaving a bleeding hole behind.
— Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Oleander Girl
Asif Ali maneuvers the gleaming Mercedes down the labyrinthine lanes of Old Kolkata with consummate skill, but his passengers do not notice how smoothly he avoids potholes, cows and beggars, how skilfully he sails through aging yellow lights to get the Bose family to their destination on time. This disappoints Asif only a little. In his six years of chauffeuring the rich and callous, he has realized that, to them, servants are invisible.
— Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Oleander Girl
Anything and everything made her think about him. He was so much a part of her, embedded in her soul. [Mina and Diego]
— Maria Grazia Swan, Ashes of Autumn
Let's make this a slow ride, shall we?"The deep purr of her voice brought a sassy grin to his face. The long slant of his eyes grew languid. "You have the reins, cher. You can whip me with them if you like.
— Nancy Gideon, Remembered By Moonlight
The reason stories have dramatic tension is because LIFE has dramatic tension.
— Donald Miller, A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I Learned While Editing My Life
She fully expected to see a maniacal killer raising his arms with a plastic bag in his hands to suffocate her
— Elle Klass, Eye of The Storm: Eilida's Tragedy
He shook his head. “Did you tell him he should expand the Odessa-Brody oil pipeline up to Poland?”I smiled. “Yes. Yes, I did. You should definitely expand the pipeline. Think of all the money you could make if you sold your oil to the EU. You could build a whole new children’s hospital and a research center. You’d have enough money to buy real toilets for the university so women don’t have to crouch over those holes in the floor.” I shook my head. “I’d like to see you try that in five inch heels!
— K.S. Ruff, Broken Wings
Kadyn groaned. “I cannot believe this. I’m on lockdown over here, Patrick. I can’t leave.”“I know,” Patrick responded. “I’ve seen the news.” Patrick lowered his voice to a whisper. “You don’t think there’s a connection, do you?”Kadyn’s eyes locked on Phil’s as he collapsed into the chair across from Phil’s desk. “Kri has a stalker with terrorist connections, the Pentagon has been peppered with bombs, and Kri’s gone missing. Of course there’s a connection.
— K.S. Ruff, Beautifully Broken
Then it’s decided. In the end, we are just as mortal as man. But while God will save a few, we will corrupt and destroy the rest of them. That is the best way to hurt Him. While many worship what you represent, most will come to believe that the existence of God is a myth.”	The woman spoke up. “But if they think He is a myth, won’t they think that you don’t exist either?”	The Chairman smiled broadly this time.	“Exactly.
— Glen Robinson, The Champion
Muslims make pilgrimages to Mecca. Dylan fans make pilgrimages to Hibbing.
— Rick Novak, The Doctor and Mr. Dylan
Barefoot, exhausted and bloody, Harris Borden turned and left the underground prison that had been his home for the past twelve years and walked out into the Nevada desert.
— Glen Robinson, Elijah
Sin is the monster we love to deny. It can stalk us, bite a slice out of our lives, return again and again, and even as we bleed and hobble, we prefer to believe nothing has happened. In Jesus Christ we are forgiven and empowered to overcome sin...but toying with an animal that is actually toying with us is a sure way to lose part of ourselves.
— Frank E. Peretti, The Oath
The guilt over his secret was eating him up alive, but hell, the feel of her in his arms threatened to override all of it. This was Maria, the woman he’d fantasized about for almost a decade. In his arms.He shifted again and tried to pull his hips back, but Maria snuggled tighter against him, hooking one leg over his hip.Fuck.Yeah, he had to get out of here. It was still dark outside, so maybe he could salvage a few hours and get some rest in his own bed. She’d just asked him to stay until she fell asleep. Which he’d done. Now it was time to relocate.Slowly he reached back and lightly grasped her wrist, moving her hand so that she wasn’t wrapping her arm around him. Next, he tried to do the same with her leg. Grasping her silky-smooth thigh, he froze when she let out a tiny moan in her sleep. And when she practically ground against him, he groaned.Couldn’t help it. She felt so good the sound just escaped—and woke her up.
— Katie Reus, Bound to Danger
Damn it, Harper, I can’t be away from you for even an hour without going out of my fucking mind,” he said against her mouth. “How am I supposed to do my job when all I can think about is getting back to you?
— Mandy Baxter, One Night More
I don't know,when they were giving out best friends at the carnival, he was all they had left-Nate
— Alana Henry, Behind Bars
Cade shifted against the sheets, trying to ease his painful erection. He was going against every protocol there was. Sleeping in the same bed as the woman in his protective custody? Genius plan. It would be one thing if he was simply trying to comfort her, to make her feel at ease. Yeah, it would still be breaking some rules, but he was intensely attracted to her. Had been from the moment they met all those years ago.
— Katie Reus, Bound to Danger
If she’d thought cutting ties with Galen would help her get on with her life, Harper knew that after today, she’d never, ever get him out of her system. He was a drug she couldn’t kick, an addiction she was willing to die for. And as he drew her clit into his mouth and sucked gently, Harper reasoned that there were much, much worse ways to die.
— Mandy Baxter, One Night More
If the Mob was after you, the last thing you felt was alive. If the Mob was after you, it was only a matter of time before you were as dead as a doorknob. But standing outside in the middle of winter, with the world in a coma, she felt alive.
— Chrys Fey, 30 Seconds
Blood doesn't make a family.
— E.C. Sheedy
She went weak in the knees and could barely walk as she followed him, trembling with fear. Her hopes for a happy future with Jordan came crashing down. Whoever had told Jordan she was free to travel under the name of Maria Brooks must have misled him.
— Dianne Harman Cornered Coyote
You need time for the grief to heal, for the memories to fade in sharpness, time to adjust your expectation for the future. Be gentle with yourself, you'll make it.
— Dee Henderson, The Guardian
Distance and time and a whitewashed mind hadn’t kept a child from growing, from existing, from demanding a place on this earth.
— V.S. Kemanis, Homicide Chart
Rage and despair shook her for minutes or hours. She was unaware of the passage of time. Finally spent, she retreated inward and collapsed onto the floor in a fetal position, the letter in shreds around her. The room had grown dark. Like a gentle snowfall, the cold mantle of an unbearable silence descended.
— V.S. Kemanis, Homicide Chart
...she had a new handbag to go with her new attitude.
— Cara Marsi, Murder, Mi Amore
Idrith didn’t want to go back to his cold lonely room, with all its unanswered questions. He took the glass and sat down. For a long while they sat without speaking, watching the flames and sipping their drinks. Idrith would have felt at peace if it weren’t for the book in Harmion’s lap.
— Michelle Frost, First Light
The finger in the jar atop the entertainment center served as a reminder: death was far kinder than the fate Juanita could have suffered at the hands of that other man.
— Heidi Glick, Dog Tags
...hero or not, he wanted to hold her forever and not let go.
— Heidi Glick, Dog Tags
Real suspense comes with moral dilemma and the courage to make and act upon choices. False suspense comes from the accidental and meaningless occurrence of one damned thing after another.
— John Gardner
Cooper came back down to the darkened room about half an hour after Lucky had freed his hands. The boat was still rocking, the wind was blowing and Sawyer called out, "Dude, you can't leave the boat on auto-pilot in this kind of weather. Jesus is not here to take the wheel.
— S.E. Jakes
The afternoon's glory was tainted by the voice on the other end. "I was so very sorry not to have the pleasure of meeting you, Mr. Haines. You're not living up to your part of the bargain.
— Davis Bunn, The Lazarus Trap
Where you look you follow so never look back and never look down. This quote is especially useful if you happen to be riding a horse.
— Maureen Gregory, Beware the Seventh Wave
Alexa's heart jumped and skittered. She was at her favorite star's concert. And he was holding her hand!
— Jennette Green, Her Reluctant Bodyguard
I write to raise the curtain on life's endless possibilities. Because you asked, "Pourquoi?
— Peggy Kopman-Owens, Never Change - Montmartre
Don't quote me on that
— Maureen Gregory, Beware the Seventh Wave
Death. It is a strange stalker, one that we spend our whole lives running from, some more successful than others.
— Alessandra Torre, Do Not Disturb
Ruth knew very well what the killer thought he had heard: he'd heard the sound of someone trying not to make a sound - that's what he'd heard.
— John Irving, A Widow for One Year
It never was about the musician or the instrument - it was about the laser notes in a hall of mirrors, the music itself. It was going to change the world for the better and it has. Maybe not as fast or as much as we wanted, but it has and it still will. Whether your name is Mozart, or Django Reinhardt, or Robert Johnson, or Jimi Hendrix, or whoever is next; who you are doesn't matter so long as you can open that conduit and let the music come through. It is the burning edge, whatever it sounds like and whoever is playing it. It is the noisy, messy, silly, invincible voice of life that comes through the LP on the turn-table, the transistor radio, or the Bose in your new Lexus that makes you want to get up out of whatever you are stuck in and dance. It is Dionysus and the Maenads all over again. No one can control it and I pity whoever tries. I am old now and only a house cat sunning herself in the window - but I was a tigress once, and I remember. I still remember.
— G.J. Paterson, Bird of Paradise
I carefully returned the files to my mother’s drawer and left the house with one objective: find Christina Georgia. 
— July 14th was today.
You need to take some acting classes to learn to hide your huge crush on my husband better
— Mary Papas, 14 Twisted Tales To Enthrall
Bakersville was never going to be the same. She'd been to other small towns where the residents all thought serial killers looked like monsters, that no member of their community could hide such dark desires. Once upon a time, she'd lived in one.And the monster there had ripped her life apart.
— Elizabeth Heiter, Hunted
He walked to the bathroom and looked into the mirror, trying to see himself through her eyes. It was time to change his style, throw off the shroud of timidity and start living his life.
— Rubianne Wood, Gracie's Inheritance with Part 2 Lydia's Legacy
He thought that it was all over, finished, done with. Andrew had never yet had reason to observe the first tiny bubble of fermenting yeast, in which was contained an inevitable, alchemical transformation.
— J.K. Rowling, The Casual Vacancy
I've been thrown into a turbulent triangle, but even though I have deep feelings for Shiray doesn't mean my feelings will disappear for Melanie immediately. Fate has really dealt me a cruel hand of cards.
— B. Truly, Sonar The Crashing
One day, you’ll fall for somebody. At first, you’ll fight it, because you won’t understand. But when you do, Tess, you’ll know that he’s the one--the one you would die for.
— Jalpa Williby, Chaysing Dreams
Elsa's mother no longer spoke to her of men and love, but of duty and fate and accepting one’s burden. As far as Elsa could tell, if love really was the inherited female domain, then women were saddled with the biggest burden of all. It was pressing down upon them, the way the sea pressed down upon the creatures of the deep.
— Kathy-Diane Leveille, Standing in the Whale's Jaw
This was no regular dream
—  this was a waking dream. Who was I? It had to have happened in my lifetime. I could feel it in my soul.
If I find out that you went within even fifty feet of her, ever again, your ass is mine. Do I make myself clear?
— Jalpa Williby, Chaysing Dreams
Now remember, they say if two people go together to visit the Taj Mahal, that means they will always be together. Are you ready for that?""Guess I'm stuck with you then.
— Jalpa Williby, Chaysing Dreams
She would keep playing the role of the winner as long as the audience believed her.
— Mary Papas, Take Off Your Mask
Let me make it clear. There will be no repeat of that night. Absolutely not! Not ever, do you understand?” "Who are you trying to convince, Tessnia? Me or you?
— Jalpa Williby, Chaysing Dreams
There will always be ups and downs, twists and turns in our lives. But we have to find the strength to keep moving forward. The past is done, it’s over, and you can’t change it. You can hold on to your memories and learn from them. Look at what’s in front of you, focus on your vision, and run toward it! Because when it’s all said and done, only you are in charge of your strength, your peace, and your happiness.
— Jalpa Williby, Chaysing Dreams
He's been injecting the anti-aging hormone into his wife.
— Dianne Harman, Blue Coyote Motel
Whatever the unknown in Europe, it had to be better than the known in a small town, where truth was hidden behind smiles, pleasantries, and an abundance of stretch lace at weddings. Whatever, the yet-to-be-written truth about her own life, it seemed certain to be waiting elsewhere on a blank page, somewhere people made no attempt to predict the future based upon a person's past. Quote from: A Summer Abroad, Mrs. Duchesney's First Real Mysteryc. 2013 Peggy Kopman-Owens
— Peggy Kopman-Owens
He could still remember how the first sip of wine made him feel.
— Dianne Harman, Blue Coyote Motel
Please don't look for me. You won't find me.
— Jalpa Williby, Chaysing Dreams
Do you really want me to show you how you're pushing me, Tessnia? What you do to me?
— Jalpa Williby, Chaysing Dreams
I would rather die than hide like a coward.
— Jalpa Williby
You know, nice guys finish last, don't you?""I guess I'll finish last.
— Jalpa Williby, Chaysing Dreams
She's alone, Inserted so deep in her blankets; I'm going to need a map to find her.
— Tanya Watt, Saving Sara
Be careful, if I didn't know better, I would think you're sounding jealous.""Good thing you know better.
— Jalpa Williby, Chaysing Dreams
Support Imagination. Read a book.
— Robbi Sommers Bryant, Dream
Hot damn, Diego Santero looked fine soaking wet. Everything about him radiated potent masculinity, from the slick, dark hair that drew emphasis to the angles of his cheeks and jaw, to the water beading off his forearms and the soaked black shirt and cargo pants that clung to every curve of muscle and flesh below.
— Melissa Cutler, Tempted into Danger
Calm down. If I wanted to hurt you, I wouldn't need this knife to do it.
— Melissa Cutler, Tempted into Danger
Am I in trouble? He chortled, "well, a bunch of not-so-friendly thugs were waiting to ambush you and blow up your apartment. If that doesn't qualify as trouble, I don't know what does.
— Melissa Cutler, Tempted into Danger
The greatest compliments I’ve ever received were complaints from readers that I made them stay up all night reading.
— H.E. Fairbanks
Faces close, they breathed into each other, their bodies slick with water and sweat.
— Melissa Cutler, Tempted into Danger
Tonight, after we're done with the bank, we're going to finish this. Somewhere it's just the two of us. But if I keep kissing you right now, I'm not going to have enough blodd left in my brain to keep you safe at the bank.
— Melissa Cutler, Tempted into Danger
I'll carry you." But she was already holding on, and though she knew she'd have to soon, she didn't see how she'd ever be able to let go of him.
— Melissa Cutler, Tempted into Danger
She had a hand on his belt, ready to show him exactly what she had in mind for the night, when he lowered to his knees between her legs, his hands spanning her ribs. Nervousness had vanished from his expression, replaced by eyes that gimmered with tenderness and perhaps even a hint of joy.
— Melissa Cutler, Tempted into Danger
Do not tell me what I think you're going to or I swear to God, I'm going to fly to Brazil and go all black ops on this guy for cheating on you.
— Melissa Cutler, Tempted into Danger
They were opposite in so many ways, but it was the kind of difference that was balancing-her softness with his steel, his instinct and her logic. He was teaching her by example to have courage in the face of fear, and she badly wanted to help him give voice to his grief and understand it was all right to feel pain.
— Melissa Cutler, Tempted into Danger
And if we don't keep moving, we won't make it to a computer in time to stop the submarine sale because we'll have to spend a second night in the jungle, surrounded by friggin' pit vipers. In the rain. And I am sick and tired of the rain. I want to get a roof over our heads and dry clothes for you because I can see right through your damn shirt and it's driving me crazy.
— Melissa Cutler, Tempted into Danger
She touched him everywhere she could reach. The rounded hardness of his biceps and chest, the ripped contours of his back, his thick, damp hair, until touching with his hands wasn't enough.
— Melissa Cutler, Tempted into Danger
How much the pain grew inside him after Ossie died until the only way to deal with it was to throw himself into the fray. And the whole time, Vanessa's body was wrapped around him like she was the only one being strong as a shield while he stripped his life bare.
— Melissa Cutler, Tempted into Danger
He liked the sound of her voice, husky and low in a way that got him thinking about pinning her to the rock and setting his mouth to work on the hollow of her throat, proving to her which of them was in control. Then again, feelings didn't get much more out of control that his were at the moment.
— Melissa Cutler, Tempted into Danger
She dribbled water over his neck and back. The towel didn't quite soak up all of it, and drops raced down his back, trailing the curve of his spine. She loved that curve, framed on either side by ripple after ripple of muscle, and she especially loved the way it dipped in at his waist before flaring onto his perfect, rounded backside.
— Melissa Cutler, Tempted into Danger
She wanted his strong, capable hands on her blody and those soft lips locked with hers. She wanted to be held tight and kissed until she could forget-if only for a few precious minutes-that her life as she knew it had evaporated in a cloud of smoke and flame and violence.
— Melissa Cutler, Tempted into Danger
Her gaze slid up the thick muscles of his arm, imagining her hand doing the same, imagining what it would feel like to explore a body of such raw, masculine energy. No doubt about it, he was man built for battle. Yet she could seein his sharp, dark eyes, and in the glimpses of humor and caring he'd let slip, that there was so much more to him than the fight.
— Melissa Cutler, Tempted into Danger
we're going balls to the wall, guys. Our sneak-and-peak just turned into a hostage rescue.
— Melissa Cutler, Tempted into Danger
Her immediate impulse was one of self-preservation. She was tied up in this somehow, she didn’t know why or how, but there was something waiting for her on the other side of this crowd.
— V.S. Kemanis, Thursday's List
There was a bright flash of brilliant white light, like the midday summer sun reflecting off of a freshly cleaned mirror.And then it was gone.
— Raymond Rice, Time in a Bottle: The Resonance
She hit the button again, holding her breath this time until she heard it.Soft, sibilant, as insubstantial as the breaths that came before: Shannon. The voice whispered Shannon. The blood rushed out of her head. Her heart knocked hard in her chest. Her knees buckled and she grabbed the counter to keep from falling. She was starting to hyperventilate, had to calm it down before she was taken by a full-blown panic attack. Paper bag. Think. Think! Drawer below the silverware, next to the sink. Over the nose and mouth. Breathe slowly, slowly.Holding the bag against her face, Shane slid to the floor with her back against the cabinets, legs splayed, lungs heaving. It couldn’t be him. It couldn’t be Jordan. Jordan was dead.
— Jane Taylor Starwood, Shattered Blue
We're going balls to the wall, guys. Our sneak-and-peak just turned into a hostage rescue
— Melissa Cutler, Seduction Under Fire
There is a distinct difference between "suspense" and "surprise," and yet many pictures continually confuse the two. I'll explain what I mean. We are now having a very innocent little chat. Let's suppose that there is a bomb underneath this table between us. Nothing happens, and then all of a sudden, "Boom!" There is an explosion. The public is surprised, but prior to this surprise, it has seen an absolutely ordinary scene, of no special consequence. Now, let us take a suspense situation. The bomb is underneath the table and the public knows it, probably because they have seen the anarchist place it there. The public is aware the bomb is going to explode at one o'clock and there is a clock in the decor. The public can see that it is a quarter to one. In these conditions, the same innocuous conversation becomes fascinating because the public is participating in the scene. The audience is longing to warn the characters on the screen: "You shouldn't be talking about such trivial matters. There is a bomb beneath you and it is about to explode!" In the first case we have given the public fifteen seconds of surprise at the moment of the explosion. In the second we have provided them with fifteen minutes of suspense. The conclusion is that whenever possible the public must be informed. Except when the surprise is a twist, that is, when the unexpected ending is, in itself, the highlight of the story.
— Alfred Hitchcock
But suspense presupposes uncertainty. No matter how nightmarish the situation, real suspense is impossible when we know in advance that the protagonist will prevail (as we would if Woolrich had used series characters) or will be destroyed. This is why, despite his congenital pessimism, Woolrich manages any number of times to squeeze out an upbeat resolution. Precisely because we can never know whether a particular novel or story will be light or dark, allegre or noir, his work remains hauntingly suspenseful.("Introduction")
— Francis M. Nevins Jr., Night and Fear: A Centenary Collection of Stories by Cornell Woolrich
Depression is not dramatic, but it is total. It’s sneaky - you almost don’t notice it at first. Like a cat burglar, it comes in through an open window while you’re sleeping. It takes little things at first; your appetite, your desire to return phone calls. Then it comes back for the big stuff, like your will to live.Then next thing you know, your legs are filled with sand. The thought of brushing your teeth fills you with dread, it seems like such an impossible task. Suddenly you’re living your life in black and white – nothing is bright, nothing is pretty anymore. Music sounds tinny and distant. Things you found funny seem dull and off-key.
— Lisa Unger, Sliver of Truth
Feel it, deal with it, then throw it away
— Reyna Hawk
He and his brothers were heroes at heart - even if they were all bad boy on the outside
— Anne Marsh, Burning Up
Her body was spattered with tiny bits of the reverend’s flesh and blood, like someone had combined shrimp and tomato soup and then forgot to put the lid on the blender.
— Chelsea Cain, Kill You Twice
Leaning forward he placed his lips over hers. She told herself he was breathing life into her, but the truth was he'd always been sucking it out, slowly, one breath at a time. - From ENGRAVED
— Amber Garza
Robbins had opened Gabby up. Her charred skin was peeled back, and her ribs were removed. She was pink inside, like steak that had been burned on a high heat but remained raw in the middle.
— Chelsea Cain, Kill You Twice
I thought about the current contamination of beaches, raw sewage spilling into oceans and streams, the hole in the ozone, forests being stripped, the toxic-waste dumps, the merry plunder of mankind added to the drought and the famine that nature dishes up annually as a matter of course. It's hard to know what's actually going to get us first. Sometimes I think we should just blow the whole planet and get it over with. It's the suspense that's killing me.
— Sue Grafton, J is for Judgment
It’s easier to spew hatred, but actually watching yourself doing it is a whole different story.
— Imani Wisdom
Time can be cruel if you don’t use it wisely ~ Imani Wisdom, Zion's Road: A Love Story about Faith and Redemption.
— Imani Wisdom
All your doing is keeping wayward teenage punks off the street. You should leave the real investigative work to us big girls with the pens and paper.
— Diane Moore
Sunflowers for Sarita is a fast-paced, high caliber romantic suspense. I couldn't stop reading!
— Mary Alice Monroe
The real you suffocates under the layers of your learned identity. Uncover the layers so you can truly breathe again from the true center. Being aware of your infinite potential and access awakens the Master with the Master Key within. You have always been settled in oneness with All.
— Franklin Gillette
Harry was left to ponder in silence the depths to which girls would sink to get revenge.
— J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
I will hurt you for this. I don't know how yet, but give me time. A day will come when you think yourself safe and happy, and suddenly your joy will turn to ashes in your mouth, and you'll know the debt is paid.
— George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings
My name is Inigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die!
— William Goldman, The Princess Bride
Revenge, the sweetest morsel to the mouth that ever was cooked in hell.
— Walter Scott, The Heart of Mid-Lothian
The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.
— Marcus Aurelius, Meditations