“
It's not enough to be nice in life. You've got to have nerve.
”
”
Georgia O'Keeffe
“
I've been absolutely terrified every moment of my life and I've never let it keep me from doing a single thing that I wanted to do.
”
”
Georgia O'Keeffe
“
Everyone is so obsessed with themselves nowadays that they have no time for me.
”
”
Louise Rennison (Dancing in My Nuddy-Pants (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, #4))
“
I have already settled it for myself so flattery and criticism go down the same drain and I am quite free.
”
”
Georgia O'Keeffe
“
Nobody sees a flower - really - it is so small it takes time - we haven't time - and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time.
”
”
Georgia O'Keeffe (Georgia O'Keeffe)
“
Total non-retention has kept my education from being a burden to me.
”
”
Flannery O'Connor (The Habit of Being: Letters of Flannery O'Connor)
“
He who laughs last laughs the laughiest.
”
”
Louise Rennison (Dancing in My Nuddy-Pants (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, #4))
“
Whether you succeed or not is irrelevant, there is no such thing. Making your unknown known is the important thing--and keeping the unknown always beyond you.
”
”
Georgia O'Keeffe
“
If you take a flower in your hand and really look at it, it's your world for a moment.
”
”
Georgia O'Keeffe
“
Love is not a weakness. It's the bravest act of our lives.
”
”
Georgia Scott (American Girl: Memories That Made Me)
“
Alone, there is only the person inside. I've grown to like her better than the stuck-up husk of me. Alone, there is no perfect daughter, no gifted high school junior, no Kristina Georgia Snow. There is only Bree." (Ellen Hopkins)
”
”
Ellen Hopkins (Crank (Crank, #1))
“
He says we should take it easy and that maybe he overreacted a bit."
Dave said, "A bit? That's like Hitler saying, 'Oooh, I just meant to go for a little walk, but then I accidentally invaded Poland.
”
”
Louise Rennison (Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me? (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, #10))
“
I am exhausted by trying to get along with the Lord.
”
”
Louise Rennison (Away Laughing on a Fast Camel (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, #5))
“
..you don't always know the true worth of a women's love until it becomes a memory.
”
”
Georgia Cates (Beauty from Pain (Beauty, #1))
“
I think it's so foolish for people to want to be happy. Happy is so momentary--you're happy for an instant and then you start thinking again. Interest is the most important thing in life; happiness is temporary, but interest is continuous.
”
”
Georgia O'Keeffe
“
Love is not weakness. It's the bravest act of our lives.
”
”
Georgia Scott (American Girl: Memories That Made Me)
“
Where I was born and where and how I have lived is unimportant. It is what I have done with where I have been that should be of interest.
”
”
Georgia O'Keeffe
“
The long flight from Georgia to England had been pretty uneventful. Exceept that Cal had sat next to me.
Which was fine. Really.
It wasn't like I'd been hyperaware of his presence and jumped the three times his knee bumped mine. And adter that third time, he definitely hadn't shot me a kind of disgusted look and said, "Chill out, will you?"
And when Jenna gave us both a quizzical look, we hadn't snapped, in unison, "Nothing!" Because all of that would have been weird, and Cal and I weren't weird. We were cool.
”
”
Rachel Hawkins (Demonglass (Hex Hall, #2))
“
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
”
”
Martin Luther King Jr. (I Have a Dream: Writings and Speeches That Changed the World)
“
He said, 'Hi, gorgeous,' which I think is nice. I admire honesty.
”
”
Louise Rennison (On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, #2))
“
Alive or dead, the truth won't rest. Rise up while you can.
”
”
Mira Grant (Feed (Newsflesh, #1))
“
Music is what feelings sound like out loud. I sing songs that speak from my heart. They tell my story, how I feel.
”
”
Georgia Cates (Beauty from Pain (Beauty, #1))
“
I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way... things I had no words for.
”
”
Georgia O'Keeffe
“
Honestly, what planet do these people live on? And why isn't it farther away?
”
”
Louise Rennison (On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, #2))
“
The next day Georgia left for school before I even got to the breakfast table. From behind his newspaper, Papy asked tiredly, "Are you girls on World War Four now, or is it Five?
”
”
Amy Plum
“
The bitch is very nice. She is as sweet as a Georgia peach. But inside every sweet peach is a strong pit. And this means she won't explain the obvious when a man is disrespectful.
”
”
Sherry Argov (Why Men Love Bitches: From Doormat to Dreamgirl―A Woman's Guide to Holding Her Own in a Relationship)
“
Oh Blimey O‘Reilly's pantyhose...what is the point of Shakespeare? I know he is a genius and so on, but he does rave on.
What light doth through yonder window break?
It's the bloody moon, for God's sake, Will, get a grip!!
”
”
Louise Rennison (Knocked Out by My Nunga-Nungas (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, #3))
“
Before there is science, there are stories to explain the world. They make it happier somehow.
”
”
Georgia Scott (American Girl: Memories That Made Me)
“
To create one's world in any of the arts takes courage.
”
”
Georgia O'Keeffe
“
If you fall down those stairs and break both of your legs, don't come running to me!
”
”
Louise Rennison (Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me? (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, #10))
“
Here is another marvy glimpse into the gothic basement that I call my mind.
”
”
Louise Rennison (Away Laughing on a Fast Camel (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, #5))
“
Georgia’s eyes. Georgia’s hair. Georgia’s smile. Georgia’s personality. Georgia’s kisses.
”
”
Amy Harmon (The Law of Moses (The Law of Moses, #1))
“
I wish people were all trees and I think I could enjoy them then.
”
”
Georgia O'Keeffe
“
Rosie get off your desk, and please put your beard away.
”
”
Louise Rennison (Stop in the Name of Pants! (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, #9))
“
My plant is probably dead."
Camryn looks slightly surprised. "You have a plant?"
I smile. "Yeah, her name's Georgia.
”
”
J.A. Redmerski (The Edge of Never (The Edge of Never, #1))
“
I wanted to kill her and make her eat her fringe. And her knickers.
”
”
Louise Rennison (Away Laughing on a Fast Camel (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, #5))
“
There are laws. There are rules. And when you break them, there are consequences. Laws of nature and laws of life. Laws of love and laws of death.
”
”
Amy Harmon (The Law of Moses (The Law of Moses, #1))
“
Oh no. I've just accidently paid a visit to the cakeshop of love. I haven't put back my Italian cakey, but I have accidentally picked up a Dave the Tart.
”
”
Louise Rennison (Dancing in My Nuddy-Pants (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, #4))
“
All the world is made of music. We are all strings on a lyre. We resonate. We sing together.
”
”
Joe Hill (Heart-Shaped Box)
“
You are one of my nicest thoughts.
”
”
Georgia O'Keeffe
“
Look, I can't go out with you, because...because...because I'm a lesbian.
”
”
Louise Rennison (Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, #1))
“
You are not ashamed of our luuurve, are you, Jas?'
'Look, shut up, people might hear.'
'What do you mean, the people who live in the telephone?
”
”
Louise Rennison (Stop in the Name of Pants! (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, #9))
“
To create one's own world takes courage.
”
”
Georgia O'Keeffe
“
I have things in my head that are not like what anyone taught me — shapes and ideas so near to me, so natural to my way of being and thinking.
”
”
Georgia O'Keeffe
“
Baby, you've fucked my mind without touching my body.
”
”
Georgia Cates (Beauty from Pain (Beauty, #1))
“
I have done nothing all summer but wait for myself to be myself again.
”
”
Georgia O'Keeffe (Georgia O'Keeffe)
“
Anyway, then it said on the news, 'And tonight the Prime Minister has just got to Number Ten.'
I looked down at Jas and said, 'Ooer.' Meaning he'd got to number ten on the snogging scale. And then we both laughed like loons.
Vati just looked at us like we were mad.
”
”
Louise Rennison (Knocked Out by My Nunga-Nungas (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, #3))
“
When uncle Eddie does his impression of 'Like a Virgin' it's like Madonna is coming out of his body!'
Christ what an image.
”
”
Louise Rennison (Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, #1))
“
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.
I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today!
I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together.
”
”
Martin Luther King Jr.
“
My first memory is of light -- the brightness of light -- light all around.
”
”
Georgia O'Keeffe
“
HOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!
”
”
Louise Rennison (Startled by His Furry Shorts (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, #7))
“
What shall I say? I must tread a fine line between glaciosity and friendlinosity. With just a hint of 'you don't know what you are missing, my fine-feathered friend.
”
”
Louise Rennison (Startled by His Furry Shorts (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, #7))
“
Nothing speaks louder than your heart. Listen to what it's telling you.
”
”
Georgia Cates (Beauty from Pain (Beauty, #1))
“
I decided to accept as true my own thinking.
”
”
Georgia O'Keeffe
“
When Mutti and Vati came in I didn't speak to them. I just unfurled the CAT MOLESTERS banner I had made.
”
”
Louise Rennison (Knocked Out by My Nunga-Nungas (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, #3))
“
I'm frightened all the time. But I never let it stop me. Never!
”
”
Georgia O'Keeffe
“
Some day you’ll call me the one that got away.” -Jessie from Going Under.
”
”
Georgia Cates (Going Under (Going Under, #1))
“
I can't live where I want to, I can't go where I want to go, I can't do what I want to, I can't even say what I want to. I decided I was a very stupid fool not to at least paint as I wanted to.
”
”
Georgia O'Keeffe
“
Nothing is less real than realism. Details are confusing. It is only by selection, by elimination, by emphasis, that we get at the real meaning of things.
”
”
Georgia O'Keeffe
“
You make me laugh like a loon on loon tablets!
”
”
Louise Rennison (Then He Ate My Boy Entrancers (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, #6))
“
Scarlet O'Hara was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it when caught by her charm as the Tarleton twins were. In her face were too sharply blended the delicate features of her mother, a Coast aristocrat of French descent, and the heavy ones of her florid Irish father. But it was an arresting face, pointed of chin, square of jaw. Her eyes were pale green without a touch of hazel, starred with bristly black lashes and slightly tilted at the ends. Above them, her thick black brows slanted upward, cutting a startling oblique line in her magnolia-white skin-that skin so prized by Southern women and so carefully guarded with bonnets, veils and mittens against hot Georgia suns.
”
”
Margaret Mitchell (Gone with the Wind)
“
Dad has brought me a cup of tea in bed this morning! I said, 'Vati, why are you waking me up in the middle of the night? Are you on fire?
”
”
Louise Rennison (Dancing in My Nuddy-Pants (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, #4))
“
All this yummy muscleness first thing in the morning is almost too much for me to take,” she cooed, and gave him a playful wink as she scooted herself into the front seat. I shook my head. If “Flirt” qualified as a foreign language, my sister and Ambrose would both have PhDs in it.
”
”
Amy Plum (Until I Die (Revenants, #2))
“
What in the name of Hitler's panties and matching bra set was she talking about?
”
”
Louise Rennison (Away Laughing on a Fast Camel (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, #5))
“
The best way to get over somebody is to get under someone else
”
”
Georgia Cates (Beauty from Pain (Beauty, #1))
“
If you go to Atlanta, the first question people ask you is, "What's your business?" In Macon they ask, "Where do you go to church?" In Augusta they ask your grandmother's maiden name. But in Savannah the first question people ask you is "What would you like to drink?
”
”
John Berendt (Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil)
“
Cat, I'll let you in on a little secret. We don't all love our jobs every day. And doing something you have passion for doesn't make the work part of it any easier...It just makes you less likely to quit.
”
”
Kate Jacobs (The Friday Night Knitting Club (Friday Night Knitting Club, #1))
“
Biology
The film turns out to be about bees. It is a film about a bee center. How crap is this going to be?
An hour later
That was the best thing I have seen for ages. We made Miss Wilson rewind the bit where the two queens were having a bitch fight.
”
”
Louise Rennison (Love Is a Many Trousered Thing (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, #8))
“
At lunch I turned my phone on to check my messages. Georgia always sent me a few inane texts during the day, and sure enough there were two messages from her: one complaining about her physics teacher and a second, also obviously sent from her phone: I love you, baby. V.
I wrote her back: I thought I told you to buzz off last night, you creep-o French stalker guy.
Her response came back immediately: As if! Your beet-red cheeks this morning suggest otherwise ... liar! You're so into him.
I groaned and was about to turn my phone off when I saw that there was a third text from UNKNOWN. Clicking on it, I read: Can I pick you up from school? Same place, same time?
I texted back: How'd you get my number?
Called myself from your phone while you were in the restaurant's bathroom last night. Warned you we were stalkers!
”
”
Amy Plum (Die for Me (Revenants, #1))
“
You might as well be the devil.”
“Baby, you’re the one holding the apple.
”
”
Georgia Cates (Beauty from Pain (Beauty, #1))
“
So what else can I tell you?" I asked. "I mean, to get you to reveal Lily to me."
She triangled her fingers under her chin. "Let's see. Are you a bed wetter?"
"Am I a...?"
"Bed wetter. I am asking if you are a bed wetter."
I knew she was trying to get me to blink. But I wouldn't.
"No, ma'am. I leave my beds dry."
"Not even a little drip every now and then?"
"I'm trying hard to see how this is germane."
"I'm gauging your honesty. What is the last periodical you read methodically?"
"Vogue. Although, in the interest of full disclosure, that's mostly because I was in my mother's bathroom, enduring a rather long bowel movement. You know, the kind that requires Lamaze."
"What adjective do you feel the most longing for?"
That was easy. "I will admit I have a soft spot for fanciful."
"Let's say I have a hundred million dollars and offer it to you. The only condition is that if you take it, a man in China will fall off his bicycle and die. What do you do?"
"I don't understand why it matters whether he's in China or not. And of course I wouldn't take the money."
The old woman nodded.
"Do you think Abraham Lincoln was a homosexual?"
"All I can say for sure is that he never made a pass at me."
"Are you a museumgoer?"
"Is the pope a churchgoer?"
"When you see a flower painted by Georgia O'Keefe, what comes to mind?"
"That's just a transparent ploy to get me to say the word vagina, isn't it? There. I said it. Vagina.
”
”
David Levithan (Dash & Lily's Book of Dares (Dash & Lily, #1))
“
I could have quite literally snogged until the cows came home. And when they came home I would have shouted, "WHAT HAVE YOU COWS COME HOME FOR? CAN'T YOU SEE I'M SNOGGING, YOU STUPID HERBIVORES???
”
”
Louise Rennison (On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, #2))
“
I didn't love you the day I met you, or even a month later. But somewhere between hello and the goodbye I'm unable to bear
”
”
Georgia Cates (Beauty from Pain (Beauty, #1))
“
And the kittykats would have to erect scaffolding and a pulley to get him down. Mind you, I wouldn't put that past them. Sometimes when they are behind the sofa supposedly purring, I think they are drilling.
”
”
Louise Rennison (Startled by His Furry Shorts (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, #7))
“
I knew you were the next one the second I laid my eyes on you singing in that club, but you can never imagine my surprise when I realized that you weren't just the next one—you were the last one
”
”
Georgia Cates (Beauty from Surrender (Beauty, #2))
“
As she left my room I knew I should shut up. But you know when you should shut up because you really should just shut up...but you keep on and on anyway? Well, I had that.
”
”
Louise Rennison (Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, #1))
“
If this is the real you, whoever told you to be yourself couldn’t have given you worse advice.” - Claire from Going Under.
”
”
Georgia Cates (Going Under (Going Under, #1))
“
Through my curtains I can see a big yellow moon. I’m thinking of all the people in the world who will be looking at that same moon.
I wonder how many of them haven’t got any eyebrows?
”
”
Louise Rennison (Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, #1))
“
Its okay I'm wearing really big knickers.
”
”
Louise Rennison (On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, #2))
“
Hearts will break and people will hurt you, darling.” Her mother said. “But when you let those people control your outlook on the life, you only allow them to have a greater hold on your happiness. Once you accept the fact that every day is a new day to begin again, life becomes a much easier path to walk.
”
”
Courtney Giardina (Holding on to Georgia)
“
Jassie, guess what I'm dancing in!'
'I don't know, a bowl?'
'Non... I am dancing in my Nuddy-pants!
”
”
Louise Rennison (Dancing in My Nuddy-Pants (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, #4))
“
Watching TV Mum said, 'Do you miss your dad?' and I said, 'Who?
”
”
Louise Rennison (Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, #1))
“
Someone else's vision will never be as good as your own vision of your self. Live and die with it 'cause in the end it’s all you have. Lose it and you lose yourself and everything else. I should have listened to myself.
”
”
Georgia O'Keeffe
“
Rooney dropped to her knees. ‘Georgia, I am never going to stop being your friend. And I don’t mean that in the boring average meaning of ‘friend’ where we stop talking regularly when we’re twenty-five because we’ve both met nice young men and gone off to have babies, and only get to meet up twice a year. I mean I’m going to pester you to buy a house next door to me when we’re forty-five and have finally saved up enough for our deposits. I mean I’m going to be crashing round yours every night for dinner because you know I can’t fucking cook to save my life, and if I’ve got kids and a spouse, they’ll probably come round with me, because otherwise they’ll be living on chicken nuggets and chips. I mean I’m going to be the one bringing you soup when you text me that you’re sick and can’t get out of bed and ferrying you to the doctor’s even when you don’t want to go because you feel guilty about using the NHS when you just have a stomach bug. I mean we’re gonna knock down the fence between our gardens so we have one big garden, and we can both get a dog and take turns looking after it. I mean I’m going to be here, annoying you, until we’re old ladies, sitting in the same care home, talking about putting on a Shakespeare because we’re all old and bored as shit.
”
”
Alice Oseman (Loveless)
“
I sit with Shakespeare, and he winces not. Across the color line I move arm and arm with Balzac and Dumas, where smiling men and welcoming women glide in gilded halls. From out of the caves of evening that swing between the strong-limbed Earth and the tracery of stars, I summon Aristotle and Aurelius and what soul I will, and they come all graciously with no scorn nor condescension. So, wed with Truth, I dwell above the veil. Is this the life you grudge us, O knightly America? Is this the life you long to change into the dull red hideousness of Georgia? Are you so afraid lest peering from this high Pisgah, between Philistine and Amalekite, we sight the Promised Land?
”
”
W.E.B. Du Bois (The Souls of Black Folk)
“
There's no time like the present,
No present like time.
And life can be over in the space of a rhyme.
There's no gift like friendship
And no love like mine.
Give me your love to treasure through time.
”
”
Georgia Byng (Molly Moon's Hypnotic Time Travel Adventure (Molly Moon, #3))
“
I’m sorry for all the secrecy, for making you feel like you weren’t important enough to know the real me. But I’m most sorry because I have fucked you – I don’t know how many times – and never made love to you.
”
”
Georgia Cates (Beauty from Pain (Beauty, #1))
“
I recall an August afternoon in Chicago in 1973 when I took my daughter, then seven, to see what Georgia O’Keeffe had done with where she had been. One of the vast O’Keeffe ‘Sky Above Clouds’ canvases floated over the back stairs in the Chicago Art Institute that day, dominating what seemed to be several stories of empty light, and my daughter looked at it once, ran to the landing, and kept on looking. "Who drew it," she whispered after a while. I told her. "I need to talk to her," she said finally.
”
”
Joan Didion (The White Album)
“
I wonder if it is possible to have two boyfriends. I mean, times are changing. Relationships are more complicated. In France men always have mistresses and wives and so on. Henri probably has two girlfriends. He would laugh if you told him you just had one. He would say, 'C'est tres, tres tragique.'
”
”
Louise Rennison (Knocked Out by My Nunga-Nungas (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, #3))
“
Non...I am DANCING IN MY NUDDY-PANTS!!!'
And we both laughed like loons on loon tablets. I danced for ages round the house in my nuddy-pants. Also, I did this brilliant thing-I danced in the front window just for a second whilst Mr. Across the Road was drawing his curtains. He will never be sure if he saw a mirage or not. That is the kind of person I am. Not really the kind of person who goes and raises elks in Whakatane.
”
”
Louise Rennison (Dancing in My Nuddy-Pants (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, #4))
“
Looking out of the window at the infinite sky, I prayed out, 'Dear Baby Jesus, I am sorry for my sin, even though I do not know what they are, which seems a bit unfair if it is going to be held against me. But that is your way. And I am not questioning your wisdomosity. In future, however, would it be possible for my life to be not so entirely crap? Thank you.
”
”
Louise Rennison (Away Laughing on a Fast Camel (Confessions of Georgia Nicolson, #5))
“
Week before last I went to Wesleyan and read “A Good Man Is Hard to Find.” After it I went to one of the classes where I was asked questions. There were a couple of young teachers there and one of them, an earnest type, started asking the questions. “Miss O’Connor,” he said, “why was the Misfit’s hat black?” I said most countrymen in Georgia wore black hats. He looked pretty disappointed. Then he said, “Miss O’Connor, the Misfit represents Christ, does he not?” “He does not,” I said. He looked crushed. “Well, Miss O’Connor,” he said, “what is the significance of the Misfit’s hat?” I said it was to cover his head; and after that he left me alone. Anyway, that’s what’s happening to the teaching of literature.
”
”
Flannery O'Connor
“
A destiny that leads the English to the Dutch is strange enough; but one that leads from Epsom into Pennsylvania, and thence into the hills that shut in Altamont over the proud coral cry of the cock, and the soft stone smile of an angel, is touched by that dark miracle of chance which makes new magic in a dusty world.
Each of us is all the sums he has not counted: subtract us into nakedness and night again, and you shall see begin in Crete four thousand years ago the love that ended yesterday in Texas.
The seed of our destruction will blossom in the desert, the alexin of our cure grows by a mountain rock, and our lives are haunted by a Georgia slattern, because a London cutpurse went unhung. Each moment is the fruit of forty thousand years. The minute-winning days, like flies, buzz home to death, and every moment is a window on all time.
This is a moment:
”
”
Thomas Wolfe (Look Homeward, Angel)
“
Paul D did not answer because she didn't expect or want him to, but he did know what she meant. Listening to the doves in Alfred, Georgia, and having neither the right nor the permission to enjoy it because in that place mist, doves, sunlight, copper dirt, moon - everything belonged to the men who had the guns. Little men, some of them, big men too, each one of whom he could snap like a twig if he wanted to. Men who knew that their manhood lay in their guns and were not even embarrassed by the knowledge that without fox would laugh at them. And these "men" who made even vixen laugh could, if you let them, stop you from hearing doves or loving moonlight. So you protected yourself and loved small. Picked the tiniest stars out of the sky to own; lay down with head twisted in order to see the loved one over the rim of the trench before you slept. Stole shy glances at her between the trees at chain-up. Glass blades, salamanders, spiders, woodpeckers, beetles, a kingdom of ants. Anything bigger wouldn't do. A woman, a child, a brother - a big love like that would split you wide open in Alfred, Georgia. He knew exactly what she meant: to get to a place where you could love anything you chose - not to need permission for desire - well now, THAT was freedom.
”
”
Toni Morrison (Beloved (Beloved Trilogy, #1))
“
One day a hummingbird flew in--
It fluttered against the window til I got it down where I could reach it with an open umbrella--
--When I had it in my hand it was so small I couldn't believe I had it--but I could feel the intense life--so intense and so tiny--
...You were like the humming bird to me...
And I am rather inclined to feel that you and I know the best part of one another without spending much time together--
--It is not that I fear the knowing--
It is that I am at this moment willing to let you be what you are to me--it is beautiful and pure and very intensely alive.
”
”
Georgia O'Keeffe
“
Don’t leave. I want you to be with me.”
“You’ll have your family.”
I swallow before I say the words that will change this relationship forever. “You’re the one I need.”
“But that would mean meeting your family.”
It does, and I’m okay with that if it means she’s by my side. “I don’t care. I need you to be with me.”
She smiles and cradles my face with her hands. “Of course. I’ll come if it’s what you want, but this is going to change everything.”
“I know, but it’s what I want.
”
”
Georgia Cates (Beauty from Pain (Beauty, #1))
“
[Greens] don't come through the back door the same as other groceries. They don't cower at the bottom of paper bags marked 'Liberty.' They wave over the top. They don't stop to be checked off the receipt. They spill out onto the counter. No going onto shelves with cans in orderly lines like school children waiting for recess. No waiting, sometimes for years beyond the blue sell by date, to be picked up and taken from the shelf. Greens don't stack or stand at attention. They aren't peas to be pushed around. Cans can't contain them. Boxed in they would burst free. Greens are wild. Plunging them into a pot took some doing. Only lobsters fight more. Either way, you have to use your hands. Then, retrieving them requires the longest of my mother's wooden spoons, the one with the burnt end. Swept onto a plate like the seaweed after a storm, greens sit tall, dark, and proud.
”
”
Georgia Scott (American Girl: Memories That Made Me)
“
He misinterpreted it. "It is a gift," he said stiffly.
Wounded, proud prince. I touched his face. He'd given me my mom and dad, my whole town, the entire state of Georgia back. "I was shaking my head at something I was thinking, not your words. Yes, I'd like to have your name, V'lane."
He gave me that brilliant smile again, then his mouth was on mine. This time, when he kissed me, the unpronounceable Fae name slid sweeter than tupelo honey across my tongue and pooled there, warm and delicious, filling my mouth with a feast of taste and sensation beyond description before melting into the meat of it. Unlike the other times he's implanted his name in my tongue, it felt natural, unobtrusive. Also unlike those times, I wasn't battered by an erotic attack, forced into orgasm by his touch. It was an extraordinary kiss, but it invited without invading, gave without taking.
He drew back. "We are learning from each other," he said. "I begin to understand Adam."
I blinked. "The first man ? You know about Adam and Eve ?" V'lane didn't seem the kind to study human creation myths.
"No. One of my race that chose to become human," he clarified. "Ah, Barrons comes growling." He gave the startling equivalent of a human snicker and was gone. I reached instinctively for my spear. It was back in the holster. I frowned. I'd forgotten to check. Had it ever been gone ?
I turned. "Growling" was a mild word for it. Barrons stood in the doorway, and if looks could kill, I'd have been flayed alive in the street.
”
”
Karen Marie Moning (Dreamfever (Fever, #4))
“
And how old are you, Miss Beckett?”
“Seventeen.”
“What!” There is no way she’s seventeen. I inspect her face, studying it intently, but don’t know what it is I hope to find. Laugh lines maybe?
She watches my face. “Is my age a problem for you?”
“Hell, yeah, seventeen is a problem.” I throw my napkin on the table. All of this has been a waste. “Forget it all. This whole thing is off.”
“I don’t act seventeen. I’m very mature for my age.”
“No way. You’re not even old enough to be drinking that wine.” I lean in and whisper so no one will overhear. “I’m almost twice your age.”
“I don’t mind. I have daddy issues.” She breaks into a huge grin and I hear a girlish giggle. That’s when I realize she’s fucking with me and has the ability to lie with a straight face. I’ll have to remember that for future reference.
I’m not amused. “I see I have a comedienne on my hands.
”
”
Georgia Cates (Beauty from Pain (Beauty, #1))
“
We got hungry around three in the morning, and ordered a ton of pizza from an all-night pizza place. Afterward, Blake talked a guy into letting him borrow his skateboard, and he once again entertained all of us. If it had wheels, Blake could work it.
“Is he your boyfriend?” a girl behind me asked.
I turned to the group of girls watching Blake. They were all coifed and beautiful in their bikinis, not having gone in the water. My wet hair was pulled back in a ponytail by this point and I was wrapped in a towel. “No, he’s my boyfriend’s best friend. We’re watching his place while he’s . . . out of town.”
A pang of fear jabbed me when I thought about Kai.
“What’s your name?” asked a brunette with glossy lips.
“Anna.” I smiled.
“Hey. I’m Jenny,” she said. “This is Daniela and Tara.”
“Hey,” I said to them.
“So, your boyfriend lives here?” asked the blonde, Daniela. She had a cool accent—something European.
“Yes,” I answered, pointing up to his apartment.
The girls all shared looks, raising their sculpted eyebrows.
“Wait,” said Jenny. “Is he that guy in the band?”
The third girl, named Tara, gasped. “The drummer?” When I nodded, they shared awed looks.
“Oh my gawd, don’t get mad at me for saying this,” said Jenny, “but he’s a total piece of eye candy.” Her friends all laughed.
“Yum drum,” whispered Tara, and Daniela playfully shoved her.
Jenny got serious. “But don’t worry. He, like, never comes out or talks to anyone. Now we know why.” She winked at me. “You are so adorable. Where are you from?”
“Georgia.”
This was met with a round of awwws. “Hey, you’re a Southern girl,” said Tara. “You should like this.”
She held out a bottle of bourbon and I felt a tug toward it. My fingers reached out.
“Maybe just one drink,” I said.
Daniela grinned and turned up the music.
Fifteen minutes and three shots later I’d dropped my towel and was dancing with the girls and telling them how much I loved them, while they drunkenly swore to sabotage the efforts of any girl who tried to talk to my man.
”
”
Wendy Higgins (Sweet Peril (Sweet, #2))