“
Hurricanes couldn’t remove you from my mind. You’re my world and I’m incapable of not loving you.
”
”
Billie-Jo Williams
“
At the end of the day, I just want to sit with someone I love and chat about what matters and even what doesn’t.
”
”
Crystal Woods (Write like no one is reading 2)
“
I found him between a reality and a nightmare.
”
”
Shannon A. Thompson (Take Me Tomorrow)
“
Okay, I’ve never done this. This is the guy’s department. What do I do? We need to get Lee’s size and we need industrial strength. Show me which ones to buy.”
Eddie looked at the display and looked at me. “You’re askin’ me to help you buy condoms for Lee?”
“Industrial strength condoms,” I reminded him.
...
“Let me get this straight,” he said and I could tell he was laughing, “you dragged Eddie to Walgreen’s to help pick out condoms for me?”
“Well, I didn’t know!”…
“Did you tell Eddie the part about long-lasting reliability?”
Oh Lord.
“Forget it,” I said.
“Indy?” he called.
“What?” I snapped, kinda pissy.
“I love you.” He still had laughter in his voice and there was something very cool about him laughing and saying I love you at the same time.
”
”
Kristen Ashley (Rock Chick (Rock Chick, #1))
“
Once the door closed, Tod turned to me. “Girlie, he is fine. He’s fine times twelve. He’s the new definition of fine.” “I’ve been in love with him since I was five,” I told Tod. “I’m in love with him now. I want to have his children,” Tod told me.
”
”
Kristen Ashley (Rock Chick (Rock Chick, #1))
“
Rock'n'roll is a teenage sport, meant to be played by teenagers of all ages--they could be 15, 25 or 35. It all boils down to whether they've got the love in their hearts, that beautiful teenage spirit... -Calvin Johnson
”
”
Michael Azerrad (Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes from the American Indie Underground 1981-1991)
“
My spirit is free. My heart is taken.
”
”
Crystal Woods (Write like no one is reading 2)
“
If you tell me, I will leave you alone," I said. "And if you don't tell me, I am going to grab the nearest ghostwritten James Patterson romance novel and I am going to follow you through this store reading it out loud until you relent. Would you prefer me to read from Daphne's Three Tender Months with Harold or Cindy and John's House of Everlasting Love? I guarantee, your sanity and your indie street cred won't last a chapter. And they are very, very short chapters."
Now I could see the fright beneath the defiance.
”
”
David Levithan (Dash & Lily's Book of Dares (Dash & Lily, #1))
“
The most profound, life-altering gift you can offer the Indie writer you love is to TELL as MANY avid readers as you are able.
”
”
R.S. Guthrie
“
Jealousy always trumps schadenfreude! It’s a rule from the heartbreak version of ‘rock, paper, scissors.
”
”
Julie Klausner (I Don't Care About Your Band: Lessons Learned from Indie Rockers, Trust Funders, Pornographers, Felons, Faux-Sensitive Hipsters, and Other Guys I've Dated)
“
I didn't come looking for you the day you uninvitedly appeared on my doorstep
How did we go from nonchalant conversation
me waiting for you to turn me off
with corny jokes and mind dumbing conversation
to
love
To love and mind blowing chemistry that I've yet to make sense of
What are you here to teach me?
”
”
Maquita Donyel Irvin Andrews (Stories of a Polished Pistil: Lace and Ruffles)
“
But more than anything, as a little girl, I wanted to be exactly like Miss Piggy. She was ma heroine. I was a plucky little girl, but I never related to the rough-and-tumble icons of children's lit, like Pippi Longstocking or Harriet the Spy. Even Ramona Quimby, who seemed cool, wasn't somebody I could super-relate to. She was scrawny and scrappy and I was soft and sarcastic. I connected instead to Miss - never 'Ms.' - Piggy; the comedienne extraordinaire who'd alternate eye bats with karate chops, swoon over girly stuff like chocolate, perfume, feather boas or random words pronounced in French, then, on a dmie, lower her voice to 'Don't fuck with me, fellas' decibel when slighted. She was hugely feminine, boldly ambitious, and hilariously violent when she didn't get way, whether it was in work, love, or life. And even though she was a pig puppet voiced by a man with a hand up her ass, she was the fiercest feminist I'd ever seen.
”
”
Julie Klausner (I Don't Care About Your Band: Lessons Learned from Indie Rockers, Trust Funders, Pornographers, Felons, Faux-Sensitive Hipsters, and Other Guys I've Dated)
“
Okay. Scrabble, donuts, flowers, corndogs, pre-pubescent British wizards and indie music. Am I missing anything important?”
She’s still blushing and it’s like the heat in her face is trapping all the words inside of her. “What is it?” I ask, an involuntary grin tugging on my mouth. I love it when she blushes like this.
Amy sighs, looks up toward the chandelier, “You, Cole. I like you.
”
”
Autumn Doughton (In This Moment)
“
If the riches of the Indies, or the crowns of all the kingdom of Europe,
were laid at my feet in exchange for my love of reading,
I would spurn them all.
”
”
François Fénelon
“
Be cruel to me , cause I'm a fool for you.
”
”
Alex Turner
“
Traffic's not too bad on Sheridan, and I'm cornering the car like it's the Indy 500, and we're listening to my favorite NMH song, "Holland, 1945," and then onto Lake Shore Drive, the waves of Lake Michigan crashing against the boulders by the Drive, the windows cracked to get the car to defrost, the dirty, bracing, cold air rushing in, and I love the way Chicago smells—Chicago is brackish lake water and soot and sweat and grease and I love it, and I love this song, and Tiny's saying I love this song, and he's got the visor down so he can muss up his hair a little more expertly.
”
”
John Green (Will Grayson, Will Grayson)
“
I watched Zanders strip the façade he wore for so long to allow the flight attendant on his team’s plane to see the real him. I watched Stevie learn to love herself the way the arrogant hockey player who followed her everywhere loves her. The way we all do. I watched Indy come out of a relationship she wasn’t meant for and learn to be loved in a new, quieter way. I watched Ryan allow someone into his home and his heart after shutting everyone else out for so long, only for the brightest ray of sunshine to move in and light every dark space she could touch. I watched Kai learn to ask for help, only for that help to come in the form of a firecracker pastry chef who taught him how to have fun again. I watched Miller stop running and grow deeper roots than she ever thought she could by falling in love with a single dad and his little boy. I watched Kennedy learn how to love and be loved thanks to her husband who refused to go a day without showering her with it. I watched Isaiah persist in showing his wife exactly who he was behind the smile, all while keeping his heart open for the only woman he wanted to have it.
”
”
Liz Tomforde (Rewind It Back (Windy City, #5))
“
If you're going to be a musician's girlfriend, you have to know that your man will always love his bandmates in a way you can't even touch, because they are the guys who help him create music. You can only help him create a living human being, with your dumb uterus.
”
”
Julie Klausner (I Don't Care About Your Band: Lessons Learned from Indie Rockers, Trust Funders, Pornographers, Felons, Faux-Sensitive Hipsters, and Other Guys I've Dated)
“
Don't be afraid to write and share your story with the reading world! Find your courage! It is a fact that some will love it and some will hate it, but there will always be at least one reader who needed it and that's all that matters!
”
”
S.L. Morgan
“
I have faced bullying before. Not in high school. Not in any school but when I published my now bestselling book series as an indie author back in 2010 through 2012 and became a target for indie publishing, especially in YA because I stood by Amazon self-publishing versus the traditional publishers. How I dealt with it? I kept doing what I love - writing and publishing, and giving my readers what they love. Indie publishing took off soon afterwards and now it is a valid and more desirable way to publish books. So the lesson learned is...don't let bullies stop you from doing what you love and from keeping you from giving your readers the books they love to read from you.
”
”
Kailin Gow
“
Traditional publishers spend hundreds of thousands of dollars marketing and promoting a single book. With that kind of budget, as opposed to the budget of indie publishers, every single traditionally published book should be a #1 bestseller on all lists. Every traditionally published author should be millionaires with that kind of marketing budget. But they're not, so...it isn't how much you spend on marketing the book that determines the success of the book, it is how really good it is, and what is loved by the people as a whole, not by the editors. - Kailin Gow on Economy of Book Publishing, Authors Voice
”
”
Kailin Gow
“
If life is a movie most people would consider themselves the star of their own feature. Guys might imagine they're living some action adventure epic. Chicks maybe are in a rose-colored fantasy romance. And homosexuals are living la vida loca in a fabulous musical. Still others may take the indie approach and think of themselves as an anti-hero in a coming of age flick. Or a retro badass in an exploitation B movie. Or the cable man in a very steamy adult picture. Some people's lives are experimental student art films that don't make any sense. Some are screwball comedies. Others resemble a documentary, all serious and educational. A few lives achieve blockbuster status and are hailed as a tribute to the human spirit. Some gain a small following and enjoy cult status. And some never got off the ground due to insufficient funding. I don't know what my life is but I do know that I'm constantly squabbling with the director over creative control, throwing prima donna tantrums and pouting in my personal trailor when things don't go my way.
Much of our lives is spent on marketing. Make-up, exercise, dieting, clothes, hair, money, charm, attitude, the strut, the pose, the Blue Steel look. We're like walking billboards advertising ourselves. A sneak peek of upcoming attractions. Meanwhile our actual production is in disarray--we're over budget, doing poorly at private test screenings and focus groups, creatively stagnant, morale low. So we're endlessly tinkering, touching up, editing, rewriting, tailoring ourselves to best suit a mass audience. There's like this studio executive in our heads telling us to cut certain things out, make it "lighter," give it a happy ending, and put some explosions in there too. Kids love explosions. And the uncompromising artist within protests: "But that's not life!" Thus the inner conflict of our movie life: To be a palatable crowd-pleaser catering to the mainstream... or something true to life no matter what they say?
”
”
Tatsuya Ishida
“
Indy, the romantic,
She deserves the gesture. She deserves to be loved loudly. She deserves to be loved in any way she wants. And if I can be conceited for a moment, she deserves to be loved by me.
I will put her first. I will give her the life she's always dreamed of. I will make sure she knows how special she is, that she doesn’t need to put on the show for everyone else. I like her chaotic and emotional. I like her messy.
”
”
Liz Tomforde (The Right Move (Windy City, #2))
“
I was, a near grown man, sat in his dank, dark and rickety digs, feverishly hovering about the glare of a computer screen like a disorientated moth, one searching for a flaming light of recognition from someone/anyone!
”
”
Tom Conrad
“
We knew each other to our fingertips. No, that's not right. We only knew each other in our fingertips, and that was nothing at all, and for a while that was okay. We could have been a love story, a fairy tale, an indie film about high school and selective insanity featuring a boy of angel parts and a girl made of dreaming. We could have been all the best things: bracelets sliding down arms while shots slid down throats, laughter and crashing music in dark and flashing rooms, kisses that started hesitant but didn't stay that way.
”
”
Amy Zhang (This Is Where the World Ends)
“
Coach’s daughter, Kai?” Indy wears a knowing grin. “Interesting. I do love that plot line.” “Nothing about this is interesting, you hopeless romantic.” “Hopeful,” she corrects, pointing toward Ryan. “The new term is ‘hopeful romantic.
”
”
Liz Tomforde (Caught Up (Windy City, #3))
“
I fell in love with you, and with this place, and it should've been enough to make me stay. I should've been able to show Indy that, too, but I was scared to fuck it up again. We're better than how you found us, but we're still working on ourselves.
”
”
Tarah DeWitt (Savor It (Spunes, OR, #1))
“
I thought I had loved someone once, but if this is what it's supposed to feel like, now I know my heart was never fully invested before. I loved the idea of the life I thought I was going to have, but with Indy, even if we spend the rest of our days just the two of us in this apartment, I'd die a happy man with an abundantly fulfilled life.
”
”
Liz Tomforde (The Right Move (Windy City, #2))
“
How ironic it is to have your past-self staring at you
”
”
Mary Gehad (When the Beauty is the Beast: Scar of the Past)
“
Changing imagination into fiction is what I love to do.
”
”
Eveli Acosta
“
Oh, Indy.” She places her hand on top of mine, the both of us watching Ryan and Sarah. “That man loves you. That right there is quiet love.
”
”
Liz Tomforde (The Right Move (Windy City, #2))
“
Why do I love writing YA? Because I get a chance to re-live my youth knowing all I know now...
”
”
Belle Whittington
“
I do wish there were an easier way," Indi says wistfully. "One that didn't involve violence."
"You want us to fight them with hugs?" Sienna asks. "Love is stronger than hate," Indi says.
”
”
Amy Ewing (The Black Key (The Lone City, #3))
“
Quinn spoke their language—all mystery and inside jokes, scarred souls and statement shirts. It was a beautiful moment for him—in his element and completely happy.
When they started playing, he leaned over and whispered in my ear. “See that guitar?”
I nodded.
“That’s a 1969 Martin D28. Hear me when I say if I had to choose between a beautiful girl and that guitar, I’d choose the guitar. Natch.” He took a huge gulp of water, clearly affected.
“Naturally,” I whispered. “It could be why you’re still single.
”
”
Laura Anderson Kurk (Perfect Glass)
“
What I see is the millions of people, of whom I am just one, made orphans: no motherland, no fatherland, no gods, no mounds of earth for holy ground, no excess of love which might lead to the things that an excess of love sometimes brings, and worst and most painful of all, no tongue. (For isn't it odd that the only language I have in which to speak of this crime is the language of the criminal who committed the crime? And what can that really mean? For the language of the criminal can contain only the goodness of the criminal's deed. The language of the criminal can explain and express the deed only from the criminal's point of view. It cannot contain the horror of the deed, the injustice of the deed, the agony, the humiliation inflicted one me.
”
”
Jamaica Kincaid
“
Creation groans, awaiting the revelation of the sons of God. It remembers, I think, in dreams, the wonders of the sinless, perfect world. You can hear it in the wild tinkle of the wind through the beech leaves, the splashing of water through cold, crystal streams, the beauty of a hind poised against the sky on a hilltop, and al through heartbreaking, beautiful things that surround us each day. They are memories, dear Indi, memories of long-lost days when God walked with man and all was well [...]
But all these beauties we see are but dreams in the night, whispers of a hope to come beyond the end of this Age, that wonderful Other Thing. [...] God will not settle for imperfection, but He works His own ways in His own time. That is what we are living for, that is what stirs our sweet dreams each night, both us and the world, and that is what keeps us going through the dark: knowing that a morning is coming. And while we love the beauty of our world, we must remember that it is only a type, a shadow thing, very faintly resembling what is to come.
”
”
Jennifer Freitag (The Shadow Things)
“
I’d like to run away, to flee from what I know, from what is mine, from what I love. I want to set off, not for some impossible Indies or for the great islands that lie far to the south of all other lands, but for anywhere, be it village or desert, that has the virtue of not being here. What I want is not to see these faces, this daily round of days. I want a rest from, to be other than, my habitual pretending. I want to feel the approach of sleep as if it were a promise of life, not rest. A hut by the sea, even a cave on a rugged mountain ledge, would be enough. Unfortunately, my will alone cannot give me that.
Slavery is the only law of life, there is no other, because this law must be obeyed; there is no possible rebellion against it or refuge from it. Some are born slaves, some become slaves, some have slavery thrust upon them. The cowardly love we all have of freedom -which if it were given to us we would all repudiate as being too new and strange –is the irrefutable proof of how our slavery weighs upon us.
”
”
Fernando Pessoa (The Book of Disquiet)
“
But girlfriend sounded stupid, considering the way he felt. No. He needed, not wanted, needed her to be his wife.
”
”
Hunter Snow (Rock Crush and Roll)
“
I don’t have to convince anyone that I love you.
”
”
Dominique Eastwick (Killing Lucas (Sherman Family #3))
“
And until now,
I thought it was
only your humanity in question
but it seems
I lacked empathy for myself
to accept a flatline
and call it
love.
”
”
Casey Renee Kiser (Table for One zine)
“
The sea cleanses
the city's rat race
from my pores
Washes away
the anxiety
of wanting
more
Reminds me I am
not here to stay
And being in love
with the pulse
is all
”
”
Yvette Dulo (She Chose to Love)
“
It’s not about Laura, and it’s not about Fallon. It’s not even about Indie. It’s about you, you arsehole. I’m in love with you.
”
”
L.J. Shen (Midnight Blue)
“
Snouck could speak of the region of Aceh, on the nnorthern tip of Sumatra, as 'that country... that old pirate-state', and the American traveller Eliza Scidmore of ' the brave, liberty-loving Achinese'. Within a decade Aceh, however unwillyngly, was finally subjugated, its focus recalibrated from the Malay world and the Indian Ocean to Java, and its future rendered unmistakably as part of the Netherlands Indies
”
”
R.E. Elson (The Idea of Indonesia: A History)
“
The late 1920s were an age of islands, real and metaphorical. They were an age when Americans by thousands and tens of thousands were scheming to take the next boat for the South Seas or the West Indies, or better still for Paris, from which they could scatter to Majorca, Corsica, Capri or the isles of Greece. Paris itself was a modern city that seemed islanded in the past, and there were island countries, like Mexico, where Americans could feel that they had escaped from everything that oppressed them in a business civilization. Or without leaving home they could build themselves private islands of art or philosophy; or else - and this was a frequent solution - they could create social islands in the shadow of the skyscrapers, groups of close friends among whom they could live as unconstrainedly as in a Polynesian valley, live without moral scruples or modern conveniences, live in the pure moment, live gaily on gin and love and two lamb chops broiled over a coal fire in the grate. That was part of the Greenwich Village idea, and soon it was being copied in Boston, San Francisco, everywhere.
”
”
Malcolm Cowley (Exile's Return: A Literary Odyssey of the 1920s)
“
You like him,” Indy said. She wasn’t looking at me like she wanted to strangle me anymore, which I took as a good sign. “Well…” I replied. “Yeah.” Liked him, no. Loved him and wanted to have his babies, um, shit yeah. Indy
”
”
Kristen Ashley (Rock Chick Rescue (Rock Chick, #2))
“
Tyler’s chest tightened and her heart pounded through her sweater. Pull yourself together. It was just a peck on the lips, remember. She held her palm against her eye to stop it from twitching, a tell that she was freaking out.
”
”
Hunter Snow (Rock Crush and Roll)
“
Upon his first encounters with the native people he “discovered” in the West Indies, Columbus was struck by their kindness, generosity, and physical beauty. In a letter to the king and queen of Spain, he explained: “They are very simple and honest and exceedingly liberal with all they have, none of them refusing anything he may possess when he is asked for it. They exhibit great love toward all others in preference to themselves.” In his own journals, he was even more complimentary: “They are the best people in the world and above all the gentlest—without knowledge of what is evil—nor do they murder or steal… they love their neighbors as themselves and they have the sweetest talk in the world… always laughing.” A few pages on, in one of the most chilling pivots in recorded history, Columbus wrote: “They would make fine servants. With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.
”
”
Christopher Ryan (Civilized to Death: What Was Lost on the Way to Modernity)
“
When people pose the question, are you “coxom”, Tom Conrad? I like to pose a question back at them: Is J.K. Rowling actually a witch? Is Thomas Harris the no. 1 serial killer in the the US, did Yann Martell really spend a lifetime eating pie?
Of course, as far as I know J.K. Rowling is not a witch, but instead is a rather lovely and talented writer. As for that Thomas Harris (equally talented), I very much suspect he isn’t actually a serial killer at all, or if he is, he’s involved in the biggest case of double bluff… ever! As for Yann Martell, well, as everyone with half a brain knows his book is actually concerned with a mathematical constant, so ignore the dumb pie joke. Hm :/
”
”
Tom Conrad (Rich Pickings for Ravens (The Afterlife Crisis Trilogy #1))
“
This is me trying to bridge the gap and make a record that I’m truly proud of, I’ve got my 80s side and my indie side, my super pop slant and the electronic music that I love. I wanted to make happy, feel-good music. It all comes from an organic place
”
”
Blake Lewis
“
When we were together, I became this demanding possessive man—a sharp departure from the playful, caring one I was on a daily basis. But I loved that she knew me like no one else. These moments were for us, and she craved this dynamic as much as I did.
”
”
Siena Trap (Frozen Heart Face-Off (Indy Speed Hockey, #2))
“
[H]e asked Renee, “What does rock and roll have today that it didn’t have in the sixties?” Renee said, “Tits,” which in retrospect strikes me as not a bad one-word off-the-dome answer at all. The nineties fad for indie rock overlapped precisely with the nineties fad for feminism. The idea of a pop culture that was pro-girl, or even just not anti-girl -- that was a 1990s mainstream dream, rather than a 1980s or 2000s one, and it was real for a while. Music was not just part of it but leading the way -- hard to believe, hard even to remember. But some of us do.
”
”
Rob Sheffield (Love Is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time)
“
...I don’t know why you’re sulking, I wasn’t going to give up my holiday to sit and nurse you from a break-up with a guy I told you not to deal with…He was your Gynaecologist for crying out loud. You don’t mix business with pleasure, and not with a man who knows more about your insides than you.
”
”
S.L. Gibson (Love Changes Everything (Mercinia, #1))
“
Sorrows of Werther
William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–63)
WERTHER had a love for Charlotte
Such as words could never utter;
Would you know how first he met her?
She was cutting bread and butter.
Charlotte was a married lady, 5
And a moral man was Werther,
And for all the wealth of Indies
Would do nothing for to hurt her.
So he sigh’d and pin’d and ogled,
And his passion boil’d and bubbled, 10
Till he blew his silly brains out,
And no more was by it troubled.
Charlotte, having seen his body
Borne before her on a shutter,
Like a well-conducted person, 15
Went on cutting bread and butter.
”
”
William Makepeace Thackeray
“
WILLMORE: Nay, if we part so, let me die like a Bird upon a Bough, at the Sheriff's Charge. By Heaven, both the Indies shall not buy thee from me. I adore thy Humour and will marry thee, and we are so of one Humour, it must be a Bargain - give me thy Hand - [Kisses her hand.] And now let the blind ones (Love and Fortune) do their worst.
”
”
Aphra Behn (The Rover)
“
PABLO,
The reason that I love thee
remains strange & blurry
Do I love thee for thy creativity?
For the songs thou has written so carefully?
Do I love thee for thy strangeness & mystery?
Each layer of thy persona is a cure to my melancholy
Allow me to worship thy beauty from afar
My fated heartache...my unreachable star.
Letters To Pablo (forever unpublished)
”
”
Miss Rainbow Moonfire
“
It should be said that my parents had married for love. The affection and devotion they had shared was the rarest of indulgences, perhaps especially in those days. For them, it had been love at first sight, and so my mother's death shattered my father. That it only dimmed his light rather than snuffed it out altogether was a miracle in and of itself. ~The Peacemakers ~(The Nemesis Engines)
”
”
Olivier A. Blanchard
“
I apologize in advance.” He cocked his head to the side. “For?” “Ruining you for any other man on this planet. I’m going to fuck you, Indie. So hard you’ll think about me years from now, when you lie under your boring, missionary-loving husband. I will own every orgasm, every shiver, every wave of pleasure inside you. From here on out, it will be me. Just me. And for that, I truly am sorry.
”
”
L.J. Shen (Midnight Blue)
“
Rio,” Indy calls from across the firepit, sitting on her husband’s lap. “Ryan has something he wants to tell you.” We all shift our attention his way. “Uh…” he stumbles, and Indy gives him an encouraging nod. “I just wanted you to know that…” He clears his throat. “I love you, man.” My eyes go comically wide while everyone else stays perfectly silent. I’ve been waiting to hear him say that for years.
”
”
Liz Tomforde (Rewind It Back (Windy City, #5))
“
It's a difficult path that we tread, us Indie self-publishers, but we're not alone. How many bands practicing in their dad’s garage have heard of a group from the neighbourhood who got signed by a recording company? Or how many artists who love to paint, but are not really getting anywhere with it hear of someone they went to art school with being offered an exhibition in a gallery? How many chefs who love to get creative around food hear of someone else who’s just landed a job with Marco Pierre White?
There’s no difference between us and them. There is, however, a huge difference in how everyone else perceives the writer. And there’s a huge difference between all of us – the writers, the musicians, the composers, the chefs, the dance choreographers and to a certain extent the tradesmen - and the rest of society in that no one understands us. It’s a wretched dream to hope that our creativity gets recognised while our family thinks we’re wasting our time when the lawn needs mowing, the deck needs painting and the bedroom needs decorating.
It’s acceptable to go into the garage to tinker about with a motorbike, but it’s a waste of a good Sunday afternoon if you go into the garage and practice your guitar, or sit in your study attempting to capture words that have been floating around your brain forever.
”
”
Karl Wiggins (Self-Publishing In the Eye of the Storm)
“
When an ice wind comes to the city, indi flowers freeze along the white walls. Purple enameled petals chatter in the wind. Then the cold snap passes. Petals melt and fall from their stems. New flowers grow, fluffy and thick. I love the flowers. They are so strong. Really, they are a weed, and destructive. The vines cannot easily be ripped out. They must be chopped. Over time, they can crack and crumble a wall. But I love them for that, too.
”
”
Marie Rutkoski (The Midnight Lie (Forgotten Gods, #1))
“
On New Year’s Eve 1777, after performing in a play entitled The Devil to Pay in the West Indies, a party of drunken officers—one dressed up like Old Nick himself, complete with horns and tail—disrupted services at the John Street Methodist Church. Nor was that the worst of it. “I could narrate many and very frightful occurrences of theft, fraud, robbery, and murder by the English soldiers which their love of drink excited,” said one dismayed German officer.
”
”
Edwin G. Burrows (Gotham: A History of New York City to 1898)
“
When i remember your name
i know you are my hope.
for what ?
not for love...
'cause i know you can't love me.
but i know you are my hope for... Life.
Just remembering your smile...
i know you are my world
you shaping my world that became like this...
you are my story
Not to be told,
But to remember...
i love you
and... I miss you now
i miss my world
i miss your face, your smile and your voice
I miss you more than anyone that I've ever met
-For Enno Indi WP-
”
”
Yulianto Eko P
“
I watched Zanders strip the façade he wore for so long to allow the flight attendant on his team’s plane to see the real him. I watched Stevie learn to love herself the way the arrogant hockey player who followed her everywhere loves her. The way we all do. I watched Indy come out of a relationship she wasn’t meant for and learn to be loved in a new, quieter way. I watched Ryan allow someone into his home and his heart after shutting everyone else out for so long, only for the brightest ray of sunshine to move in and light every dark space she could touch. I watched Kai learn to ask for help, only for that help to come in the form of a firecracker pastry chef who taught him how to have fun again. I watched Miller stop running and grow deeper roots than she ever thought she could by falling in love with a single dad and his little boy. I watched Kennedy learn how to love and be loved thanks to her husband who refused to go a day without showering her with it. I watched Isaiah persist in showing his wife exactly who he was behind the smile, all while keeping his heart open for the only woman he wanted to have it. I watched Hallie, with so much goddamn pride, as her heart softened again. She forgave me while also continuing to stand up for herself along the way. And I . . . well, I found love because it was always out there, waiting for me, even when I questioned its existence. In fact, I found it right next door—where it had always been.
”
”
Liz Tomforde (Rewind It Back (Windy City #5))
“
I’m not really interested in the audience’s enjoyment,' Cave mumbles once he has changed into clean pants. 'It doesn’t bother me one way or another. I just don’t give a shit. People feel more and more disappointed with each concert because less and less happens. It’s really easy to suck an audience in. Like, I can wiggle my bum and back-flip on my head and they love it. I could make an audience love me until the end of my days. There’s just no point in it any more. I wish they’d just ... die.
”
”
Antonella Gambotto-Burke (The Nick Cave Interview (excerpts from Lunch of Blood))
“
I think you kissed me back," she says,
"I did," I say.
I'm not sorry anymore.
When Indie kissed me, I felt all her pain and longing and want. It cut me up to know how she felt and to know how much I loved her, too, but not in a way that could work. The way I feel about Indie is an understanding so painful and elemental that it would tear me apart. The strange thing is that what she felt for me held her together. I could do for her what Cassia does for me. I knew that it's why I kissed Indie back.
”
”
Ally Condie (Reached (Matched, #3))
“
I think it’s really important that we get you in to see someone who can be your sounding board when life seems unmanageable. We both know I’m not enough.”
“You’re enough for me, Jenner. I love you.”
“And while I realize I might not be enough for you, you will always be enough for me. Kids or no kids, you are my life. That has never changed. Not when you struggled to get pregnant, not when you left me, and not when we lost the adoption. The thought of living in a world without you in it? It’s unimaginable. You are irreplaceable to me, Evie.
”
”
Siena Trap (Frozen Heart Face-Off (Indy Speed Hockey, #2))
“
You know, Indy. Ryan doesn’t strike me as the type of man to be loud. He might not say it, might not scream it from the rooftops, but I could bet good money that he says it without words every single day.” Cold coffee waiting for me in the fridge. Fresh flowers, though sometimes dead because he tried too hard to keep them alive, sitting on the kitchen island for me at home after every road trip. Making sure I have food I can eat. Even giving me time to process my conversation with Alex. “Sometimes the quietest love is the loudest,” she continues.
”
”
Liz Tomforde (The Right Move (Windy City, #2))
“
The word cod is of unknown origin. For something that began as food for good Catholics on the days they were to abstain from sex, it is not clear why, in several languages, the words for salt cod have come to have sexual connotations. In the English-speaking West Indies, saltfish is the common name for salt cod. In slang, saltfish means "a woman's genitals", and while Caribbeans do love their salt cod, it is this other meaning that is responsible for the frequent appearance of the word saltfish in Caribbean songs such as the Mighty Sparrow's "Saltfish".
”
”
Mark Kurlansky (Cod: A Biography of the Fish that Changed the World)
“
Here is a cutting from the Ladies’ Home Journal of Philadelphia: Uncle Sam set apart a royal pleasure ground in North Western Wyoming and called it Yellowstone National Park. To give an idea of what its size—3,312 square miles—really means, let us clear the floor of the park and tenderly place some of the great cities of the world there, close together as children do their blocks. First put in London, then Greater New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Paris, Boston, Berlin, St. Louis, Hong Kong, San Francisco and Washington. The floor of the park should be about half covered, then lift up Rhode Island. Carefully, so as not to spill any of its people, set it down and press in the West Indies. And even then there are 200 square miles left.
”
”
A.A. Gill (To America with Love)
“
love Africa. Wish it didn’t have to be this way, but if we weren’t here, the French would take over this fortress in the blink of an eye. And everybody’s doing it. The British. The French. The Dutch. The Americans. Even the bloody Africans have been mixed up in the trade for an eternity.” “That doesn’t make it right.” “If we didn’t take the slaves, other Africans would kill them. Butcher them live. At least we provide a market, and keep them alive.” “If you stopped, the market would wither.” “You have not been to England, so let me tell you something. Ninety-nine Englishmen out of one hundred take their tea with sugar. We live for our tea, cakes, pies and candies. We live for the stuff, and we will not be deprived.” “But you don’t need slaves to make sugar,” I said. “In the West Indies, only the blacks work in the cane fields. Only the blacks can stand it.” “You could do something else with this fortress.” “What, like your beloved John Clarkson in Freetown?” I nodded. Armstrong pounded his fist on a table. “Has the Colony in Freetown produced a single export? Where is the sugar cane? Where is the coffee? Are you exporting boatloads of elephant teeth or camwood? You’re not even growing corn, or rice. You have no farms under cultivation. You aren’t even self-sufficient.” I wasn’t ready for this argument. My mind circled around, looking for a response. “There is no profit in benevolence,” Armstrong said. “None. The colony in Freetown is child’s play, financed by the deep pockets of rich abolitionists who don’t know a thing about Africa.
”
”
Lawrence Hill (Someone Knows My Name)
“
I’d forgotten about them until this very moment, pushed out of my memory from years of dating boys in indie rock bands, boys who scoffed at my love of PJ Harvey, boys who saw my copy of Jagged Little Pill and asked why the fuck was I listening to her, boys who would’ve most certainly ridiculed my love of a cappella. And if they didn’t like my music, they wouldn’t like me, right? Right? If there are any young women reading this and those above sentences sound familiar, if you’re hiding parts of yourself to look cool or make someone love you, please repeat after me: fuck that noise. You are perfect. You matter. Hold on to what you love, the songs and books and style and obsessions and causes and questions that make you you. Find people who love these things, too. When you get lost, they’ll help you find your way back to yourself.
”
”
Megan Stielstra (The Wrong Way to Save Your Life: Essays)
“
Indie Rokkers"
i like the line between your belly and your thighs
the smell of your hair
the sparkle in your eyes
the smoke in your breath
the breathing hard and heavy
the back of your neck
the shine on your Chevy
the moon was so big when i drove it to the levy, girl
i found blood and i saw stars
all in the backseat of your car
and i told you it was love
but you don't wanna know the truth
i was young and in my prime
with my heart still filled with fear
and it goes on bleedin'
the clean dreams, the sexy limousine
Jason's (?) got the energy he used to be a coke fien
the skinny brown arms coming round in your shirt
heart is in the right place brain is in the dirt
you live life like everyone's an enemy
i found blood and i saw stars
all in the backseat of your car
and i told you it was love
but you don't wanna know the truth
i was young and in my prime
with my heart still filled with fear
and it goes on bleedin
”
”
MGMT
“
. . .In a heartbeat, you will fall right into that novel, that poem, the story that you are most in love with right now. When you learn to be able to decide in the moment to take breaks from your internal voices—even though it’s only for a split second—you will be taking your first baby steps toward the full-out exhilaration of living in the midst of the wholly realized writer’s life.
Then all the negatives—yes, even your cherished writer’s block ego trip—will fade into background noise, then you will find silence, and your story will take over. Before you know it, you will be working calmly and clearly for hours, rather than for a couple minutes.
1 hour, not 1 second, 2 hours, not 2 seconds, 3 hours, 4 hours, 5 hours of allowing your mind to come to rest from the horrid, every day, mental chatter we lock ourselves up with—a time to anchor within the natural spaciousness that you already know instinctively, know from deep within will make you feel full inside. . . .
”
”
Terry Kennedy (The Zen of Marketing Kindle Ebooks: The Publishing Guide To Selling Ebooks On Amazon (The Zen of Indie Books #1))
“
Sweetheart, you are alive. I am alive. And since I cannot be the pirate I always dreamed of being, I fell in love with one instead. I am not a traitor, I am not a deserter, and in time I will explain it all to you. For now, just trust that I am your Gallant Knight.” He smiled. “Your officer.” She stared at him, uncomprehending. “My friends call me Gray. My men address me as Sir Graham. And the rest of the world knows me as”—he smiled a sheepish, charming grin that pushed a dimple into his chin—“Rear Admiral Sir Graham Falconer, Knight of the Bath and Commander of the Leeward Islands squadron of the Royal Navy’s West Indies Station. My flag is hoisted on His Majesty’s Ship Triton, and we're on our way to Barbados to pick up a convoy of merchant ships to escort back to England, where I shall enjoy a long-deserved leave with you as my wife, if you’ll have me, before duty returns me to my post. Maeve?” Her eyes were slipping shut. “Maeve?” But the shock was too much for her. The Pirate Queen had fainted.
”
”
Danelle Harmon (My Lady Pirate (Heroes of the Sea #3))
“
It was a damned near-run thing, I must admit,' said Jack, modestly; then after a pause he laughed and said, 'I remember your using those very words in the old Bellerophon, before we had our battle.'
'So I did,' cried Dundas. 'So I did. Lord, that was a great while ago.'
'I still bear the scar,' said Jack. He pushed up his sleeve, and there on his brown forearm was a long white line.
'How it comes back,' said Dundas; and between them, drinking port, they retold the tale, with minute details coming fresh to their minds. As youngsters, under the charge of the gunner of the Bellerophon, 74, in the West Indies, they had played the same game. Jack, with his infernal luck, had won on that occasion too: Dundas claimed his revenge, and lost again, again on a throw of double six. Harsh words, such as cheat, liar, sodomite, booby and God-damned lubber flew about; and since fighting over a chest, the usual way of settling such disagreements in many ships, was strictly forbidden in the Bellemphon, it was agreed that as gentlemen could not possibly tolerate such language they should fight a duel. During the afternoon watch the first lieutenant, who dearly loved a white-scoured deck, found that the ship was almost out of the best kind of sand, and he sent Mr Aubrey away in the blue cutter to fetch some from an island at the convergence of two currents where the finest and most even grain was found. Mr Dundas accompanied him, carrying two newly sharpened cutlasses in a sailcloth parcel, and when the hands had been set to work with shovels the two little boys retired behind a dune, unwrapped the parcel, saluted gravely, and set about each other. Half a dozen passes, the blades clashing, and when Jack cried out 'Oh Hen, what have you done?' Dundas gazed for a moment at the spurting blood, burst into tears, whipped off his shirt and bound up the wound as best he could. When they crept aboard a most unfortunately idle, becalmed and staring Bellerophon, their explanations, widely different and in both cases so weak that they could not be attempted to be believed, were brushed aside, and their captain flogged them severely on the bare breech. 'How we howled,' said Dundas. 'You were shriller than I was,' said Jack. 'Very like a hyena.
”
”
Patrick O'Brian (The Commodore (Aubrey/Maturin, #17))
“
How can anyone call this angel a monster? How can anyone see this angel as a mistake? So young and alive, her soul is less than a day old, her body was made from scratch, but her blood holds billions of years of history… history passed down through her ancestors, history that she herself will soon tell future generations...
And yet, new history begins with her.
”
”
Mary Gehad
“
The famous Barodan Necklace has re-appeared after 70 years,” he said. “What the hell,” Indi turned the volume up a bit. “For the love of Ganesh...now I know what she’s up to.
”
”
Kim Akhtar (A Suitable Necklace)
“
The concert was magnificent. It was the second time she saw Floor and she loved them. Psychedelic rock. Indie. Hardcore. They always started with this great classic love song they sang a capella backstage while passing around some whisky. They each took a swig as they sang. The beautiful melodies that came out of this were amazing and the audience sang along. It was always a breathtaking moment.
”
”
Ruth Ann Oskolkoff (Zin)
“
Fine Tuning
My fingers
My hands
My wrists hurt so bad
from working all these years-
Working on being something,
always feeling like nothing
Some days, it hurts
to even turn the dial on the radio
But I don’t have to turn anymore
cause
you’re the right frequency (self)
And when you come to ground me,
I know that’s where I’m meant to be
stationed. Set the pre-set to
Love.
”
”
Casey Renee Kiser (Will to Flutter)
“
Well, when the place you run to is a single person, then you know you found it.
”
”
Abi Maya
“
Indy Daily update—I’m in love with your brother. Stevie Best daily update I’ve ever received.
”
”
Liz Tomforde (The Right Move (Windy City, #2))
“
We are in the indie age of “don’t love ideas of people,” but ideas of people are all we have when they’re old and gray and forgetful and smelly," said Miguel. "It isn’t fair to punish someone for loving an idea when everything around us is an idea, the only difference is people change ideas, and I, quite frankly, am excited to see what certain people could change to. I love their intervals and their points.
”
”
Kristian Ventura (The Goodbye Song)
“
Mother Tahr *had* written a letter to Tau-indi, explaining that she had to go away for a while. But she'd sent the letter to Padrigan to deliver, and he'd put off reading it. For as long as it was unopened, you see, it might still be a love note.
Of such things, the Whale Words tell us, are the destinies of empires made. Not of armies or great notions or the glitter of wealth, but the most delicate motions of our hearts.
”
”
Seth Dickinson (The Monster Baru Cormorant (The Masquerade, #2))
“
His rental SUV moved at a snail’s pace behind a line of traffic that was not at all typical for his hometown. It wasn’t until he crawled around the next curve and saw balloons and banners above the road announcing the annual Indie Film Festival that he realized what weekend it was. He uttered a curse. He
”
”
Melissa Foster (The Bradens at Weston, CO (The Bradens at Weston, CO, #1-3; The Bradens, #1-3; Love in Bloom, #4-6))
“
She cooed, said “dadda” again, and I was already a melted puddle on the floor. Indie had my heart, she had my love, and I hoped that one day I would truly have hers.
”
”
Lizzie Lioness (Just Another Broken Heart)
“
Reece was just trying to have a life. The life he’d always wanted. One where he didn’t have to worry about his parents finding him, one where he got to be with the person he loved most in the world. In this case, it was myself and Indie. A truly happy life that he always deserved, but never believed he could have.
”
”
Lizzie Lioness (Just Another Broken Heart)
“
Alice. You completely shook my world, gave my life meaning and showed me what true love was. Something I had never experienced before. I’m so grateful that we found each other. I lost you once and it killed me. I never want to lose you again. You and Indie are the reason that I’m still breathing. It would be my honor to be your husband and have you as my wife. Will you marry me?
”
”
Lizzie Lioness (Just Another Broken Heart)
“
The person who broke it and the man who put it back together again. Miles was the love of my life and Indie was the light in both of ours.
”
”
Lizzie Lioness (Just Another Broken Heart)
“
I didn’t realize she was a virgin, but I love knowing I’ll be her first and only. Even so, the thought of Alex or any other man ever touching my beautiful little hummingbird sends blind rage pulsing through my body.
”
”
Indi Marie (Marcello’s Obsession (Devious, #2))
“
I feel in love with you, and with this place, and it should've been enough to make me stay. I should've been able to show Indy that, too, but I was scared to fuck it up again. Were better than how you felt ind us, but we're still working on ourselves.
”
”
Tarah DeWitt (Savor It (Spunes, OR, #1))
“
This man might be a thug, a criminal, and mentally unstable, but he’s my monster and I love him.
”
”
Indi Marie (Marcello’s Obsession (Devious, #2))
“
You own me just as much as I own you. When you questioned if I had been with Carla, I knew I needed to make you understand that you are it for me.” He’s crazy, and I’m fucking in love with him.
”
”
Indi Marie (Gio’s Possession (Devious, #1))
“
Marcello, Mom, Dad, and my sister, Serena, all heard me fucking my wife in the shower. I love it when she blushes for me. I don’t like her blushing for Marcello. I should own all of her blushes. Motherfucker. I’m going to kill him if he keeps getting attention from my wife. Best friend or not.
”
”
Indi Marie (Gio’s Possession (Devious, #1))
“
You are all that matters to me, Angel. I am not sorry. I won’t regret what I did because I love you, and I love our baby already, but I am sorry that it hurt you.” He kneels and kisses my belly.
”
”
Indi Marie (Gio’s Possession (Devious, #1))
“
You are all that matters to me, Angel. I am not sorry. I won’t regret what I did because I love you, and I love our baby already, but I am sorry that it hurt you.” He kneels and kisses my belly. “Daddy loves you already, baby.
”
”
Indi Marie (Gio’s Possession (Devious, #1))
“
take a deep breath, determined to make things right and provide a future filled with love, safety, and security for my little hummingbird. With my plans in motion, I can feel a shiver of anticipation creep up my spine. Samirah, I’m coming for you, and once I have you in my arms, I will never let you go.
”
”
Indi Marie (Marcello’s Obsession (Devious, #2))
“
Her soothing voice lapped at his body like the soft ripples of a pond — a strange reaction that he pushed aside.
”
”
Jemma Frost (Charming Dr. Forrester (The Garden Girls, #0))
“
Her light brown hair fell in the way that he liked, in a single braid that snaked down the back of her dress. Her dark-green silk skirt complimented his tunic and set off her deep blue eyes nicely. Such eyes any man in love could easily get lost in.
”
”
Sydney Williams (Princes and Kings)
“
I loved music. What struck me most about a song wasn’t the lyrics or genre but simply the way it sounded. It’s like when you hear that right song, no matter where you are or what you are doing, the way it sounds just stirs something inside of you. Maybe it’s the melody, the instruments, or the singer’s voice, but for that short moment you forget everything else on your mind and just feel.
”
”
J. Aleong (A Most Important Year)
“
the bushes no more. I stare up at the looming, lit, downtown skyscrapers, the Transamerica Building, Grace Cathedral and Coit Tower spearing black skies beyond crooked hills, the Bay Bridge’s running lights behind me like an airport landing strip, Alcatraz and the Golden Gate, the roaring Pacific leading to the Great Highway’s abandoned beachheads where the Boys of Belvedere and I used to stay up all night building giant driftwood sculptures and setting them on fire at dawn, dancing like Indians, and I know nowhere I go can compare to this place, because nowhere else can offer me what this city has, standing on 22nd and Mission, two o’clock on some random Sunday afternoon, fat, orange sun splashing, the mango, melon, and papaya peddlers on rolling carts camped beneath the giant Woolworth’s sign, the Mexican panadarias baking empanadas, rich, wheat breads, taquerias stewing al pastor and grilling carne asada, onions and avocado and horchata, greasy spoons carved into alley walls and indie beaneries brewing pungent coffees, the bead and trinket stores with their Jesus and Mary candles for 99 cents, the outlandish drag queen fashions in the Foxy Lady display window,
”
”
Joe Clifford (Junkie Love: A Story of Recovery and Redemption)