“Clever's not enough to hold me - I want characters who are more than devices to be moved about for Effect.”

“He's a clever little thing, isn't he?"She leaned in to drop a kiss on the kitten's soft head, reaching to move him off Griffin's chest. He reached for her hand, stopping her."And what about me?" he asked, his eyes burning into hers."What about you?""Am I not clever enough for a kiss?" His voice was gruff.She favored him with a shy smile."You're more than clever enough, Griffin Channing.”

“People who smile tend to manage, teach and sell more effectively, and to raise happier children. There's far more information in a smile than a frown. That's why encouragement is a much more effective teaching device than punishment.”

“As we passed his table, I saw that the device that imprisoned the book was clever but wicked-looking, as though the critic were holding the work - and it's author - in bondage.”

“I want to be with someone who understand me, who at least cares enough about me to try to understand.”

“Anna is the sort of woman who writers write about, Tom. Somewhere in the third act, women like her save characters like you and me from ourselves. She's the loveliest literary device in the world.”