“That’s sad. How plastic and artificial life has become. It gets harder and harder to find something…real.” Nin interlocked his fingers, and stretched out his arms. “Real love, real friends, real body parts…”

“Real confidence has a realistic view of itself. It knows what it is capable of and not capable of. Real confidence does not need to overcompensate for anything, it doesn’t have to try harder to be more than what it already is. Real confidence does not beat itself up when it makes a mistake. Real confidence is secure enough to let someone else take the credit for something, without losing its own identity. Real confidence is humble. Real confidence recognizes its weaknesses and limitations, and is secure enough to admit when it is wrong."'Living With Confidence: From Fear To Love”

“I was caged in our body and caged in his arms and, somehow, the former was the real prison.”

“The harder I try to realistically portray real things, the more the things that appear in my work have a tendency to become unreal.”

“That was real?”His arms tightened. “Yeah. The stench of all that bloodoverwhelmed you. It’s to be expected, you being a new mate.”“I think it was the flying body parts.”His mouth curved into a smile. “Life with me is neverboring.”

“If you are here because you think writing will always be fun, you're in for a disappointment. Writing -- real writing -- is among the most difficult work you will ever face in your life. The irony is that the harder you work at it, the harder it gets.”