“Weren't your friends the family you got to choose?”
―
Karen Swan,
Christmas at Tiffany's
“Hope you got your things together.’” I sang, stabbing a pillow with my spear. Feathers exploded into the air. “‘Hope you are quite prepared to die!’” I spun in a dazzling whirl of lights, landed a killer back-kick on a phantom Shade, and simultaneously punched the magazine rack. “‘Looks like we’re in for nasty weather!’” I took a swan dive at a short, imaginary Shade, lunged up at a taller one——and froze.Barrons stood inside the front door, dripping cool-world elegance.I hadn’t heard him come in over the music. He was leaning, shoulder against the wall, arms folded, watching me.“‘One eye is taken for an eye . . .’” I trailed off, deflating. I didn’t need a mirror to know how stupid I looked. I regarded him sourly for a moment, then moved for the sound dock to turn it off. When I heard a choked sound behind me I spun, and shot him a hostile glare. He wore his usual expression of arrogance and boredom. I resumed my path for the sound dock, and heard it again. This time when I turned back, the corners of his mouth were twitching. I stared at him until they stopped.I’d reached the sound dock, and just turned it off, when he exploded.I whirled. “I didn’t look that funny,” I snapped.His shoulders shook.“Oh, come on! Stop it!”He cleared his throat and stopped laughing. Then his gaze took a quick dart upward, fixed on my blazing MacHalo, and he lost it again. I don’t know, maybe it was the brackets sticking out from the sides. Or maybe I should have gotten a black bike helmet, not a hot pink one.I unfastened it and yanked it off my head. I stomped over to the door, flipped the interior lights back on, slammed him in the chest with my brilliant invention, and stomped upstairs.“You’d better have stopped laughing by the time I come back down,” I shouted over my shoulder.I wasn’t sure he even heard me, he was laughing so hard.” ― Karen Marie Moning, Faefever
“It was dusk and the light had an ultra-violet quality to it, a final burst of pigmentation as night and day rushed at each other in a clash of colour prisms before darkness finnaly, inevitably won out.” ― Karen Swan, Christmas in the Snow
“Friendships come down to chemistry, not orders.” ― Karen Swan, Players
“We don't choose whom we love,” he told Maura, so gently that she knew he knew. If she wasn't going to be loved in return, she would have liked not to be pitied for it. She got neither of these wishes. “But people have this advantage over swans, to put their unwise loves aside and love another. Not me. I'm too much swan for that.” ― Karen Joy Fowler
“But the past was over, was behind her, was composed of ghosts and memories and dreams, and he was real and alive and there. His eyes held hers, encouraged her, willed her, compelled her. She’d given him her loyalty. She’d trusted him with her life.” ― Karen Robards, The Black Swan of Paris
“When life gives you something, you have to take it. Because there will be other days when it takes away. You have to recognize the opportunities to be happy and take them, even if on paper it doesn’t make sense.” ― Karen Swan, The Christmas Postcards
“One Mother’s Day, he gave Mom a music box that played the theme from Swan Lake. She cried for days over it.” ― Karen Joy Fowler, We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves
“In those days family had been a given, a fact of life that she took for granted, like air to breathe. The coming storms that would tear them apart, tear everything apart, were not yet even a cloud on the horizon.” ― Karen Robards, The Black Swan of Paris
“One thing Genevieve had learned was that the people you loved were never lost. They became a permanent part of your soul.” ― Karen Robards, The Black Swan of Paris
“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him’ G. K. Chesterton” ― Karen Swan, The Spanish Promise: Escape to Sun-soaked Spain with This Perfect Holiday Read
“Life is so much simpler when people just talk honestly.” ― Karen Swan, Players
“There’s no shame in crying, you know. You’ve been so strong, my brave girl, but you don’t have to be strong now. There’s nobody here but you and me, and you’ve had a hell of a night. Actually, a hell of a few years. Cry all you want.” ― Karen Robards, The Black Swan of Paris
“Their gazes locked again and she had it again – that sensation of falling, far scarier than anything she’d ever known on a rope; a tension seemed to exist between them that paid no heed to barriers the factor had warned must keep them apart.” ― Karen Swan, The Last Summer
“You need to know that your worst moment can turn out to be your best. In every life, there is a defining moment of surrender where you must make the choice to let destiny happen. You have to give yourself up to what must be.” ― Karen Swan
“Escaping, traveling...it was all one and the same to her, somehow, this freedom always came at a cost; she had to loose someone close first, someone vital.” ― Karen Swan, The Christmas Lights
“Home is wherever you are, it may not be exciting or glamorous, but this (indicating the vast view) is the biggest life.” ― Karen Swan, The Christmas Lights
“She knew better than anyone that sometimes it was silence that was the lie. That sometimes it was silence that could kill.” ― Karen Swan, The Rome Affair
“We just understood each other. We didn't need a bank of memories and shared experiences to know exactly who the other one was; you don't often get that with people in this life.” ― Karen Swan, The Rome Affair
“Hope you got your things together.’” I sang, stabbing a pillow with my spear. Feathers exploded into the air. “‘Hope you are quite prepared to die!’” I spun in a dazzling whirl of lights, landed a killer back-kick on a phantom Shade, and simultaneously punched the magazine rack. “‘Looks like we’re in for nasty weather!’” I took a swan dive at a short, imaginary Shade, lunged up at a taller one——and froze.Barrons stood inside the front door, dripping cool-world elegance.I hadn’t heard him come in over the music. He was leaning, shoulder against the wall, arms folded, watching me.“‘One eye is taken for an eye . . .’” I trailed off, deflating. I didn’t need a mirror to know how stupid I looked. I regarded him sourly for a moment, then moved for the sound dock to turn it off. When I heard a choked sound behind me I spun, and shot him a hostile glare. He wore his usual expression of arrogance and boredom. I resumed my path for the sound dock, and heard it again. This time when I turned back, the corners of his mouth were twitching. I stared at him until they stopped.I’d reached the sound dock, and just turned it off, when he exploded.I whirled. “I didn’t look that funny,” I snapped.His shoulders shook.“Oh, come on! Stop it!”He cleared his throat and stopped laughing. Then his gaze took a quick dart upward, fixed on my blazing MacHalo, and he lost it again. I don’t know, maybe it was the brackets sticking out from the sides. Or maybe I should have gotten a black bike helmet, not a hot pink one.I unfastened it and yanked it off my head. I stomped over to the door, flipped the interior lights back on, slammed him in the chest with my brilliant invention, and stomped upstairs.“You’d better have stopped laughing by the time I come back down,” I shouted over my shoulder.I wasn’t sure he even heard me, he was laughing so hard.” ― Karen Marie Moning, Faefever
“It was dusk and the light had an ultra-violet quality to it, a final burst of pigmentation as night and day rushed at each other in a clash of colour prisms before darkness finnaly, inevitably won out.” ― Karen Swan, Christmas in the Snow
“Friendships come down to chemistry, not orders.” ― Karen Swan, Players
“We don't choose whom we love,” he told Maura, so gently that she knew he knew. If she wasn't going to be loved in return, she would have liked not to be pitied for it. She got neither of these wishes. “But people have this advantage over swans, to put their unwise loves aside and love another. Not me. I'm too much swan for that.” ― Karen Joy Fowler
“But the past was over, was behind her, was composed of ghosts and memories and dreams, and he was real and alive and there. His eyes held hers, encouraged her, willed her, compelled her. She’d given him her loyalty. She’d trusted him with her life.” ― Karen Robards, The Black Swan of Paris
“When life gives you something, you have to take it. Because there will be other days when it takes away. You have to recognize the opportunities to be happy and take them, even if on paper it doesn’t make sense.” ― Karen Swan, The Christmas Postcards
“One Mother’s Day, he gave Mom a music box that played the theme from Swan Lake. She cried for days over it.” ― Karen Joy Fowler, We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves
“In those days family had been a given, a fact of life that she took for granted, like air to breathe. The coming storms that would tear them apart, tear everything apart, were not yet even a cloud on the horizon.” ― Karen Robards, The Black Swan of Paris
“One thing Genevieve had learned was that the people you loved were never lost. They became a permanent part of your soul.” ― Karen Robards, The Black Swan of Paris
“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him’ G. K. Chesterton” ― Karen Swan, The Spanish Promise: Escape to Sun-soaked Spain with This Perfect Holiday Read
“Life is so much simpler when people just talk honestly.” ― Karen Swan, Players
“There’s no shame in crying, you know. You’ve been so strong, my brave girl, but you don’t have to be strong now. There’s nobody here but you and me, and you’ve had a hell of a night. Actually, a hell of a few years. Cry all you want.” ― Karen Robards, The Black Swan of Paris
“Their gazes locked again and she had it again – that sensation of falling, far scarier than anything she’d ever known on a rope; a tension seemed to exist between them that paid no heed to barriers the factor had warned must keep them apart.” ― Karen Swan, The Last Summer
“You need to know that your worst moment can turn out to be your best. In every life, there is a defining moment of surrender where you must make the choice to let destiny happen. You have to give yourself up to what must be.” ― Karen Swan
“Escaping, traveling...it was all one and the same to her, somehow, this freedom always came at a cost; she had to loose someone close first, someone vital.” ― Karen Swan, The Christmas Lights
“Home is wherever you are, it may not be exciting or glamorous, but this (indicating the vast view) is the biggest life.” ― Karen Swan, The Christmas Lights
“She knew better than anyone that sometimes it was silence that was the lie. That sometimes it was silence that could kill.” ― Karen Swan, The Rome Affair
“We just understood each other. We didn't need a bank of memories and shared experiences to know exactly who the other one was; you don't often get that with people in this life.” ― Karen Swan, The Rome Affair
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