“It was a smile that spelled trouble. With a promise.”
“His black eyes sliced into me, and the corners of his mouth tilted up. My heart fumbled a bit and in that pause, a feeling of gloomy darkness seemed to slide like a shadow over me. It vanished in an instant but I was still staring at him. His smile wasn't friendly. It was a smile that spelled trouble. With a promise.”
“That was the trouble with life—it never quite fulfilled its promises.”
“There was a species of middle pretty who smiled at everything: happy smile, disappointed smile, you're-in-trouble smile.”
“A writer’s promise is like a tiger’s smile”
“Something always happens. You still have to promise stuff anyway. If you have to work to make the promises true... it's like a spell. You have to say the words every time you want the results.”