“There is only one plot — things are not what they seem.”

~Jim Thompson

“The shadowy light of her eyes (like a wood rayed through with sunset).”

~R. D. Blackmore (Lorna Doone)

“Just write every day of your life. Read intensely. Then see what happens. Most of my friends who are put on that diet have very pleasant careers.”

~Ray Bradbury

“The leader of the gypsies, a splendid looking fellow who sat his horse like a centaur.”

~Bram Stoker (Dracula)

“When your story is ready for rewrite, cut it to the bone. Get rid of every ounce of excess fat. This is going to hurt; revising a story down to the bare essentials is always a little like murdering children, but it must be done.”

~Stephen King

“Despair descended on her like some dark, malevolent bird, its wings widespread, covering her completely.”

~Sandra Brown (Mean Streak)

“There is no finer contribution you can make to this world than fulfilling your highest potential.”

~Debbie Ford (The Best Year of Your Life)

“The tireless wind swept across the green land. It came driving inland from the sea, herding a flock of rain clouds before it.”

~Morgan Llywelyn (Lion of Ireland)

“Don’t expect the puppets of your mind to become the people of your story. If they are not realities in your own mind, there is no mysterious alchemy in ink and paper that will turn wooden figures into flesh and blood.”

~Leslie Gordon Barnard

“This is a place of mystery, Daniel, a sanctuary. Every book, every volume you see here, has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it. Every time a book changes hands, every time someone runs his eyes down its pages, its spirit grows and strengthens.”

~Carlos Ruiz Zafon (The Shadow of the Wind)