“New Mexico, New Jersey, New Hampshire; there isn't a New Texas because we got it right the first time." -Donna Irwin”

“Critics in New York are made by their dislikes, not by their enthusiasms.”

“It is a gift when someone can challenge you and open your mind to new ideas.”

“(About beginning to write after moving from New York to Texas...) Honestly, there wasn't much else to do there.”

“Mrs. Reilly called in that accent that occurs south of New Jersey only in New Orleans, that Hoboken near the Gulf of Mexico.”

“Laine slowly rolled out of bed. The queen size was one of the few new things in the house. But now, even the new bed felt tainted. It was an inner-spring monument to lies, a petri dish of mendacity she had shared with her faithless husband, and shared now with creeping dreams that flew from the light but left harsh scratches and diseased black feathers. Laine promised herself that, as soon as, she could, she would rid herself of this house, this bed, her clothes, her jewelry - everything but the flesh she lived in. She would scrub herself clean and flee to start a new life whose first and only commandment would be: Never let thyself be lied to again.”

“There is more important work to be done here. The strong must lead us into a new energy age before our world dies out. Who's going to do that? You, Caleb? Your face bears new marks–you are not ready to win such a battle. - Adrian”