“Always remember there is more to be lost from standing still than there ever was from risking it all.”
―
Martha Randolph Carr
“At a quarter to twelve on that Friday, Patty Jefferson died. In the final moments, Jefferson’s sister Martha Carr had to help the grieving husband from his wife’s bedside.13 He was, his daughter recalled, “in a state of insensibility” when Mrs. Carr “with great difficulty, got him into the library, where he fainted”—and not for a brief moment. Jefferson “remained so long insensible that they feared he would never revive.” When he did come to, he was incoherent with grief, and perhaps surrendered to rage. There is a hint that he lost all control in the calamity of Patty’s death. According to his daughter Patsy, “The scene that followed I did not witness”—presumably “the scene” unfolded in the library when he revived—“but the violence of his emotion, when, almost by stealth, I entered his room by night, to this day I dare not describe to myself.”14 (Patsy was writing half a century later.) A” ― Jon Meacham, Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power
“This is life, I suppose. You stick to the moment you’re in whether it’s good or bad. Next” ― Martha Carr, The Leira Chronicles: The Complete Austin Series
“black wolf” ― Martha Carr, Shadow in the Backwater
“Kindness should be immortalized every bit as much as power.” ― Martha Carr, The Mom Identity: An Oriceran Urban Cozy
“First rule of life, Idina. Everybody screws up. What matters is whether we let that stop us in our tracks or we tell it to fuck off so we can get back on our feet and keep going.” ― Martha Carr, Chaos and Gunfire
“How much does the energy know about me?” “Absolutely everything. More than you know but without the useless judgie parts. Nature doesn’t know right or wrong, only consequences. The magic blends with you even as you resist getting out of the way. Your part is to make a choice about using magic in the first place. Magic doesn’t intervene without being invited into the party.” ― Martha Carr, The Leira Chronicles: The Complete Austin Series
“That’s how we learn, ain’t it? Accidents ‘n mistakes ‘n it’s all worth knowledge s’long as we keep from grinding ourselves down in the gutter over it.” ― Martha Carr, Magic in the Marsh
“You are not your potential, Idina. You’re not your intelligence, or your determination, or your drive, or your physical prowess. You’re not your special abilities. You certainly aren’t your family members. Merely a product of them.” “Yeah, I get that part. What does that have to do with the easy way being the hard way?” Slowly, the doctor leaned forward on her bouncy ball and fixed her patient with a wide grin. “Because they’ve trained you to believe that the only way is the hard way. Or that all avenues require strength, determination, persistence, steely willpower, and keeping up with yourself so you don’t fall behind. According to your standards and expectations.” Idina removed her elbow from the armrest to fold her arms instead, frowning. “You make it sound like all I have to do is stop trying.” “Exactly.” “Then I’d never get anything done.” Sullivan nodded, her eyes widening as if she could see the lightbulb flipping on above her patient’s head. “Wrong.” ― Martha Carr, Chaos and Gunfire
“You brought us to a pawnshop.” “Somethin’ like that, yeah.” “Ooh, hey. Johnny.” Luther trotted up to his master, his tongue lolling. “I know. You’re gonna sell the shifter dwarf.” “Say what?” Charlie’s eyes widened. “What?” “Now where the hell did you get an idea like that?” “We saw it on some show, Johnny. That’s what pawnshops are for, right?” Rex leaned toward a display of tiny porcelain dogs and dog bones before he pressed his nose against the glass and snorted. “You take in what you don’t want and get money for it.” “No one pawns their cousin.” Johnny clicked his tongue, then smirked. “Although” ― Martha Carr, Dwarf ‘Em All
“Normalize cruelty and cheating and mix it with power. Legitimate power works the best. Stir in as much chaos as possible and before you know it, old norms are gone, and everyone is off kilter.” ― Martha Carr, The Leira Chronicles Boxed Set #2: Books 7-12
“I stop thinking that overworking, overmanaging, over-volunteering is necessary for my part of the world to keep running. For everyone I care about to be okay. It turns out that the universe is requesting a much more manageable amount of contribution from me. A kind of spiritual arrogance where I put myself at the center holding things up. In fact, it has happened that when I do less, more good has actually opened up for me. Go figure. Like a spiritual magic trick instead and the best kind. If I’m not spending time trying to figure out how to help, how to make things better, how to get more done by myself, that leaves chunks of time to ponder doing something else. Like – something fun. Suddenly hobbies are possible. Time opens up to sit still on my back deck watching the flowers grow. Reading a good book just because. And the more I let myself try those things, the more fun things I think up to do. Kayaking on the lake, learning to ride a bike again. Yeah, you heard me, learning to ride a bike. Turns out that old cliché is wrong – at least with me. Even better is the payoff I didn’t expect. When things didn’t crash to the ground without me driving the bus, and weirdly even got better, I felt more like I was a part of the universe. I was snugly fit somewhere in the middle as just a piece of everything. I was never meant to try and take on so much. What a relief. I am just a passenger on the bus and I don’t need to know where I’m headed. I didn’t anyway, only raising my anxiety and probably my meddling. I was able to give myself permission to hang back, do less and still know I’d done my part. Go enjoy the rest of life. And that’s exactly what I’m setting out to do. Maybe a little later than most, but all we have is the day we’re in so – it’s never too late. Next week I’ll be sitting among the redwoods listening to the sea far below. More adventures to follow. AUTHOR NOTES - MICHAEL ANDERLE AUGUST 25, 2021 Thank you for not only reading this book, but this entire series and these author notes as well.” ― Martha Carr, Dwarfin’ Done
“The next step after this is applying that state of being—that thin sliver of sliding into place that feels wrong and so right at the same time, that makes you question your sanity—to your green lights. Feel your way through them instead” ― Martha Carr, Chaos and Gunfire
“You can tell your body to do whatever you want, Miss Idina,” he’d told her, his eyes closed and his legs crossed beneath him while a young Idina fidgeted in her attempt at the same position. “When you tell your mind to do what you say, and it finally obeys, this is mastery. Over anything and everything you wish.” ― Martha Carr, Chew the Bullet
“Sometimes, good people got on the wrong side of an argument. Sometimes, bad people got on the right side. The truth wasn't anyone's to control.” ― Martha Carr, Case Files of an Urban Witch Complete Series Boxed Set: An Oriceran Urban Cozy
“Been here ever since, and it ain’t all that different from home. S’long as I ignore the differences, hear?” ― Martha Carr, Academy of Necessary Magic Complete Series Boxed Set
“I think the general opinion is that it’s one thing to be strong and go after something and fight to help others when you’re in control. Anyone can make themselves look good if they work hard enough at it. But it’s the moments that take all that control away completely when you find out who a person is. How they react to not having a say in the matter.” ― Martha Carr, The Never Ending War Complete Series Boxed Set
“This kind of thing is why chivalry’s dead.” “Chivalry was a bunch of rules to justify men in chainmail burning villages down. I can live without that.” ― Martha Carr, Mom’s The Word: An Oriceran Urban Cozy
“When you want something, you make the time. Not excuses.” ― Martha Carr, The Never Ending War Complete Series Boxed Set
“At a quarter to twelve on that Friday, Patty Jefferson died. In the final moments, Jefferson’s sister Martha Carr had to help the grieving husband from his wife’s bedside.13 He was, his daughter recalled, “in a state of insensibility” when Mrs. Carr “with great difficulty, got him into the library, where he fainted”—and not for a brief moment. Jefferson “remained so long insensible that they feared he would never revive.” When he did come to, he was incoherent with grief, and perhaps surrendered to rage. There is a hint that he lost all control in the calamity of Patty’s death. According to his daughter Patsy, “The scene that followed I did not witness”—presumably “the scene” unfolded in the library when he revived—“but the violence of his emotion, when, almost by stealth, I entered his room by night, to this day I dare not describe to myself.”14 (Patsy was writing half a century later.) A” ― Jon Meacham, Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power
“This is life, I suppose. You stick to the moment you’re in whether it’s good or bad. Next” ― Martha Carr, The Leira Chronicles: The Complete Austin Series
“black wolf” ― Martha Carr, Shadow in the Backwater
“Kindness should be immortalized every bit as much as power.” ― Martha Carr, The Mom Identity: An Oriceran Urban Cozy
“First rule of life, Idina. Everybody screws up. What matters is whether we let that stop us in our tracks or we tell it to fuck off so we can get back on our feet and keep going.” ― Martha Carr, Chaos and Gunfire
“How much does the energy know about me?” “Absolutely everything. More than you know but without the useless judgie parts. Nature doesn’t know right or wrong, only consequences. The magic blends with you even as you resist getting out of the way. Your part is to make a choice about using magic in the first place. Magic doesn’t intervene without being invited into the party.” ― Martha Carr, The Leira Chronicles: The Complete Austin Series
“That’s how we learn, ain’t it? Accidents ‘n mistakes ‘n it’s all worth knowledge s’long as we keep from grinding ourselves down in the gutter over it.” ― Martha Carr, Magic in the Marsh
“You are not your potential, Idina. You’re not your intelligence, or your determination, or your drive, or your physical prowess. You’re not your special abilities. You certainly aren’t your family members. Merely a product of them.” “Yeah, I get that part. What does that have to do with the easy way being the hard way?” Slowly, the doctor leaned forward on her bouncy ball and fixed her patient with a wide grin. “Because they’ve trained you to believe that the only way is the hard way. Or that all avenues require strength, determination, persistence, steely willpower, and keeping up with yourself so you don’t fall behind. According to your standards and expectations.” Idina removed her elbow from the armrest to fold her arms instead, frowning. “You make it sound like all I have to do is stop trying.” “Exactly.” “Then I’d never get anything done.” Sullivan nodded, her eyes widening as if she could see the lightbulb flipping on above her patient’s head. “Wrong.” ― Martha Carr, Chaos and Gunfire
“You brought us to a pawnshop.” “Somethin’ like that, yeah.” “Ooh, hey. Johnny.” Luther trotted up to his master, his tongue lolling. “I know. You’re gonna sell the shifter dwarf.” “Say what?” Charlie’s eyes widened. “What?” “Now where the hell did you get an idea like that?” “We saw it on some show, Johnny. That’s what pawnshops are for, right?” Rex leaned toward a display of tiny porcelain dogs and dog bones before he pressed his nose against the glass and snorted. “You take in what you don’t want and get money for it.” “No one pawns their cousin.” Johnny clicked his tongue, then smirked. “Although” ― Martha Carr, Dwarf ‘Em All
“Normalize cruelty and cheating and mix it with power. Legitimate power works the best. Stir in as much chaos as possible and before you know it, old norms are gone, and everyone is off kilter.” ― Martha Carr, The Leira Chronicles Boxed Set #2: Books 7-12
“I stop thinking that overworking, overmanaging, over-volunteering is necessary for my part of the world to keep running. For everyone I care about to be okay. It turns out that the universe is requesting a much more manageable amount of contribution from me. A kind of spiritual arrogance where I put myself at the center holding things up. In fact, it has happened that when I do less, more good has actually opened up for me. Go figure. Like a spiritual magic trick instead and the best kind. If I’m not spending time trying to figure out how to help, how to make things better, how to get more done by myself, that leaves chunks of time to ponder doing something else. Like – something fun. Suddenly hobbies are possible. Time opens up to sit still on my back deck watching the flowers grow. Reading a good book just because. And the more I let myself try those things, the more fun things I think up to do. Kayaking on the lake, learning to ride a bike again. Yeah, you heard me, learning to ride a bike. Turns out that old cliché is wrong – at least with me. Even better is the payoff I didn’t expect. When things didn’t crash to the ground without me driving the bus, and weirdly even got better, I felt more like I was a part of the universe. I was snugly fit somewhere in the middle as just a piece of everything. I was never meant to try and take on so much. What a relief. I am just a passenger on the bus and I don’t need to know where I’m headed. I didn’t anyway, only raising my anxiety and probably my meddling. I was able to give myself permission to hang back, do less and still know I’d done my part. Go enjoy the rest of life. And that’s exactly what I’m setting out to do. Maybe a little later than most, but all we have is the day we’re in so – it’s never too late. Next week I’ll be sitting among the redwoods listening to the sea far below. More adventures to follow. AUTHOR NOTES - MICHAEL ANDERLE AUGUST 25, 2021 Thank you for not only reading this book, but this entire series and these author notes as well.” ― Martha Carr, Dwarfin’ Done
“The next step after this is applying that state of being—that thin sliver of sliding into place that feels wrong and so right at the same time, that makes you question your sanity—to your green lights. Feel your way through them instead” ― Martha Carr, Chaos and Gunfire
“You can tell your body to do whatever you want, Miss Idina,” he’d told her, his eyes closed and his legs crossed beneath him while a young Idina fidgeted in her attempt at the same position. “When you tell your mind to do what you say, and it finally obeys, this is mastery. Over anything and everything you wish.” ― Martha Carr, Chew the Bullet
“Sometimes, good people got on the wrong side of an argument. Sometimes, bad people got on the right side. The truth wasn't anyone's to control.” ― Martha Carr, Case Files of an Urban Witch Complete Series Boxed Set: An Oriceran Urban Cozy
“Been here ever since, and it ain’t all that different from home. S’long as I ignore the differences, hear?” ― Martha Carr, Academy of Necessary Magic Complete Series Boxed Set
“I think the general opinion is that it’s one thing to be strong and go after something and fight to help others when you’re in control. Anyone can make themselves look good if they work hard enough at it. But it’s the moments that take all that control away completely when you find out who a person is. How they react to not having a say in the matter.” ― Martha Carr, The Never Ending War Complete Series Boxed Set
“This kind of thing is why chivalry’s dead.” “Chivalry was a bunch of rules to justify men in chainmail burning villages down. I can live without that.” ― Martha Carr, Mom’s The Word: An Oriceran Urban Cozy
“When you want something, you make the time. Not excuses.” ― Martha Carr, The Never Ending War Complete Series Boxed Set
