Rosemary Clement-Moore

“For the first time ever, I'd managed a great parting line and a grand exit. And it still felt like crap.”

“You have a funny way of showing how much you don't like me.""I don't like gophers, either, but I wouldn't leave one to suffer. I'd shoot it to put it out of its misery.”

“How about this?" I said, because now it was the principle of the thing. "I'm sorry, jackass.”

“There was something so . . . stalwart about Ben. I'd only known him two days and he'd managed to infuriate me most of that time. But there I was, protected by the curve of his arm, and grateful for it. And not just because it for nice, though it did.”

“I didn't say I was going to find the Mad Monk.""But you will," he said, placing his worn and stained Stetson on his head. "You've got that look about you."What look is that?" I asked, tired of his family maligning mine. "A Goodnight look?""A responsible one." He adjusted his hat, in a motion I'd seen Ben make a dozen times that day, right before he drove home his point. "Like you're the girl who takes care of things. So take care of it, dammit.”

“That was the thing about the Goodnight world. No matter what the label said, you could never assume anything only worked like magic.”

“Being in on the secret might be a lot of fun when you're a kid, but not so much once you realize how often life hinges on everyone agreeing--at least outwardly--on the same reality.”

“Focus, Amy. Just because he looked great in the saddle did not mean he wasn't an axe murderer.”

“i should take my dog for a walk now. i can only handle one bitch at a time”

“Oh My God," I blurted, grabbing onto Phin as we faced the open bedroom door. "It's the axe murderer.""I doubt he would knock," she said, but she was whispering, too, and didn't move away from me.”

“You're not hurt, are you?""Only my delicate sensibilities.”

“Faith isn't absence of doubt. It's belief without proof, not without question.”

“I was the designated grown up in a family that operated in different reality than the rest of the world.”

“[W]hen Ben was kissing me, the whole world retreated. I felt things I'd never felt before, in places I never knew were connected.But I was pretty sure that whatever was buzzing against my thigh was not normal. For one thing, it was ringing.Ben dragged his mouth away from mine and mumbled a curse that was a little shocking and kind of hot."Ignore it," he said.That was easy for him to say when his cell phone was rounding third base. If anyone got a home run tonight, I didn't want it to be Verizon Wireless.”

“That was easy for him to say when his cell phone was rounding third base. If anyone got a home run tonight, I didn't want it to be Verizon Wireless.”

“He rose to his feet in one fluid move, the better to look down at me. “You don’t know me, princess.Some people have reasons for doing things, and don’t just go wherever they’re told or drift whicheverway they’re pushed.”

“Emery cut in impatiantly, "For crying out loud. Who do you think you are, Nancy Drew?"Hey," I snapped, because no one sniped at my sister but me, and Mark echoed with a stern "Chill, dude."Phin was unperturbed. "Those books were highly unrealistic. Do you have any idea how much brain damage a person would have if she were hit on the head and drugged with chloroform that often?”

“I was generally pro-bat, except when I was trekking through the dark trying not to think about the dire fate of every horror movie character stupid enough to go into the dark with a flashlight and check the fuses.”

“From what I could tell, whenever an archangel or a burning bush turns up, it's generally not to say, 'Hey, go out and have a happy and uncomplicated life.”

“My major vice is sarcasm with a side of caffeine addiction.”

“She was the only creature in the world who would really care if something happened to me, even if it was only because I was the bringer of kibble.”

“Long-haired Chihuahuas have no notion they are bite-sized.”

“Screw you, John.""Sorry, Sylvie. Can't—they frown on that kind of thing between step-siblings.”

“Good writing is good writing. In many ways, it’s the audience and their expectations that define a genre. A reader of literary fiction expects the writing to illuminate the human condition, some aspect of our world and our role in it. A reader of genre fiction likes that, too, as long as it doesn’t get in the way of the story.”

“Is Lisa going to the prom?"I shelved my worries for the moment. "I don't know, Mom. We don't talk about the You-Know-What. We made a pact.""You could go together, if you didn't want to mess with dates and things.""I don't want to mess with the prom at all, Mom."She ignored me, placidly eating popcorn, piece by piece. "Some girls in my high school class did that and had a wonderful time. They weren't lesbians or anything. Not that it would matter if they were.""That's nice, Mom. I'm glad you're so open-minded." I grabbed my Coke and the popcorn bowl and headed for the stairs, because I could go my whole life without ever hearing my mother talk about lesbians again."Maybe you could take Justin to the prom," she called after me, laughter in her voice. "He is such a hottie."Shoot me now.”