“...a private hell was something you lived with alone, even when someone else's casual questions nudged old, raw wounds within yourself.”

“Americans see democracy as a remedy for all ills-to be taken three times daily like prescription medicine. It works for them. Ergo - it should work for the world. What America naïvely forgets is that for democracy to function, most of a populace must have something personally that is worth preserving.”

“Don't put down too many roots in terms of a domicile. I have lived in four countries and I think my life as a writer and our family's life have been enriched by this. I think a writer has to experience new environments. There is that adage: No man can really succeed if he doesn't move away from where he was born. I believe it is particularly true for the writer.”

“If you love someone, why would you want that person to change?”

“Winners will be losers if they don't support the losers.”

“Life after love was possible. I was proof. Loss taught you about yourself, burrowed in the dark parts of your soul and ate you from the inside out.”

“Forgive me, Old One." Vaughn stifled a yawn. "Is there a point to this bedtime story?"Rhys picked up the fork from Vaughn's plate and drove it into his brother's thigh. "There. I've made four points for him.”