“A man can lose his life falling off a mountain or falling off a hill. In the end it will not matter how he died, but how he lived. The important thing is to grab the life you can and make the most of it. - Gold Mountain”

“I realized a long time ago, with a certain amazement, that no mattter how important something is in your life, no matter how huge it is, how much space it takes up in your heart and in your thoughts, unless you mention it to other people, they have no idea it exists.”

“You look like my every fantasy come to life,’ he whispered, his voice deepening.‘How?’ she whispered back.‘Wicked. Abandoned. And…’She heard his hesitation, was intrigued by it. ‘And what?’‘Here,’ he admitted. ‘Now. On my bed after too long. Waiting for me to make love to you over and over again.”

“Most important thing in life is learning how to fall.”

“Maybe I should keep you in a walled garden so you can't ever leave.'The image this conjured up was so vivid that for a moment he couldn't think how to answer. He glanced down at her, his mouth open as if to speak, but no words came out. The truth was, he thought, feeling humble, feeling stupid, he didn't think he would mind any more than the raelynx did being kept in perpetual service to the princess. 'Men generally don't make very good pets,' he said at last, and she went off in a peal of laughter.”

“Because Christmas did something to the world at large and to individuals in particular. It crystallized all your hopes and fears. It made you yearn and wish and dream. And no matter how hard you tried—it made you realize all the things you were missing in life.”

“Life is not orderly. No matter how we try to make it so, right in the middle of it we die, lose a leg, fall in love, or drop a jar of applesauce.”