“I think experienced makes me sound like an aging hooker.”

“Gabriel: Bethany lacks understanding about the ways of the world. She still has much to learn and that makes her vulnerable."Beth: "Do you have to make me sound like a full-time babysitting project?"Xavier: "I happen to be an experienced babysitter. I can show you my resume if you'd like.”

“I love this time of day,' Josh says-talking to me, he's talking to me!-and I try to think of the right thing to say. 'I love you' sounds a little intense for the conversation. 'Can we make out?' sounds like something Jackson would say, and even if I am thinking it, I never want to sound like Jackson. Ever. 'Me too,' is what I come up with. Brilliant, right?”

“I, too, like the sound of the rain on the roof. I also like the lightning. It's like some great cosmic flashlight. It makes me think that someone is searching for me. And I don't mind the BAM of thunder because that makes me think that, perhaps, I have been found. That's the way a good book makes me feel, as if I have been found, understood, seen. --Maureen O'Toople in the short story "Your Question for Author Here”

“I uprooted my daughter and left my job and moved house for you, and you treat me like a hooker you don’t have to pay.”

“I work in a hotel. I know what you’re probably thinking, and no, I am not a hooker. Not unless you’re not a cop.”