Roxy Quotes

We've searched our database for all the quotes and captions related to Roxy. Here they are! All 100 of them:

I had to soften him up because, for whatever reason, all the Rock Chicks had an alternate Hot Bunch guy, Indy's was Eddie. Roxie's was Vance. Jules was Luke. Ava's was Lee. Mine was Mace.
Kristen Ashley (Rock Chick Reckoning (Rock Chick, #6))
I’m yours, Roxy,” he growled against my lips. “For every single second I have in this world, I’m all yours. And after that I’ll still be yours, wherever I end up after I’m gone, I’ll belong right here with you.
Caroline Peckham (Heartless Sky (Zodiac Academy, #7))
I love you, Roxy,” he said in a rough, dark voice which held no room for lies or falsehood, no space for tricks of cruelty. Only the truth. I could feel it just as keenly as I could feel the rush of his magic beneath my skin.
Caroline Peckham (Cursed Fates (Zodiac Academy, #5))
Be careful what you ask for, Erin," Ivan warned. "I'm not the kind of man to walk away from something I want." His thumb caressed the side of my neck. "One taste of you and I won't be able to let you go.
Roxie Rivera (Ivan (Her Russian Protector, #1))
I got some information,” Diesel starts, his tone serious before he grins. “Roxy is a screamer. I can inform her dad now.
K.A. Knight (Den of Vipers)
If you’re still standing, and able to string two words together, that wasn’t and orgasm.” She frowns. “What was it then?” “A rehearsal.
Roxy Sloane (The Seduction 1 (The Seduction, #1))
Christ, don't go to the Haunted Houses with Ally and Indy. A few years ago, Indy went berserk and broke through the hay bales they had set up to make the haunted trail and headed into the cornfields. All the employees chased after her but since they were dressed like monsters, Indy lost her mind. They had to call the cops to settle her down." I lost him at "cornfields". "Cornfields?" I whispered. "Yeah." "They have a haunted trail through cornfields?" "Yeah, up in Thornton. Best Haunted House in Denver. Indy and Ally go every year. Why?" "Cornfields freak me out," I admitted. Hank was silent. Then, he said, "You're from Indiana. How in the fuck can cornfields freak you out?" "Cornfields don't freak me out. Cornfields at night freak me out. Haunted cornfields at night freak me out." "You been to many haunted cornfields?" "Dude," I said low. "All cornfields are haunted. Trust me. I know... They whisper to you.
Kristen Ashley (Rock Chick Redemption (Rock Chick, #3))
Roxy, stop being so obnoxious!" -Joy "I'm never obnoxious; I'm just concerned." -Roxy
Katie MacAlister (Sex and the Single Vampire (Dark Ones #2))
Then I said, “Matt’s got a big mouth.” “They all got big mouths, girl, learn that quick. These boys talk more than a pack of women. I lost fifty bucks on you.” I was stunned speechless again, this time it didn’t last as long. “What?” “See, Lee nailed Indy the first night they were together. Not nailed her nailed her but she was in his bed. Eddie, with Jet, it took a few days. Hank and Roxie, like, a day. Vance, like three, but Jules was a virgin and he had to interrupt the festivities once to go out and shoot someone.” I was blinking rapidly and feeling kind of faint at the amount and sensitivity of information Shirleen was imparting, not to mention what it might mean to me. “So we had a pool. Everyone threw down money on when they thought Luke would nail you. Mace won five hundred dollars.” Ho-ly crap. “So,” she went on. “Did he nail you nail you or did you two just sleep?” For some reason, I answered her unbelievably nosy question. “We just slept.” “New pool!” she shouted.
Kristen Ashley (Rock Chick Revenge (Rock Chick, #5))
So what?” I snapped. “So I won’t let you ignore me, Roxy,” he snarled. “I’ll have your attention even if I have to take it without your permission.” “Why?” I demanded. “Why not just go after someone else?” “Because we don’t get to choose our obsessions. And you’re mine.
Caroline Peckham (Shadow Princess (Zodiac Academy, #4))
You're too good for me and I should be a better man and push you away--but God help me I can't. I love you, Vee.
Roxie Rivera (Nikolai (Her Russian Protector, #4))
There was nowhere else she belonged but right here with him. In his life, in his home, in his arms. She was his—and it was time to stake his claim.
Roxie Rivera (Nikolai (Her Russian Protector, #4))
You'd love being dominated by me, Roxy," he promised. "I'd pin you down and make you scream so good you'd forget all about trying to stop me as I marked you as mine so thoroughly that you'd never doubt that it was true ever again.
Caroline Peckham (Fated Throne (Zodiac Academy, #6))
Most men don’t realize, it takes more than a big dick and a hard, deep fuck to make a woman come. She climaxes with her mind as much as her body.
Roxy Sloane (The Invitation: Prequel (The Invitation, #1))
All women look the same on their knees with their mouth wrapped around my cock.
Roxy Sloane (The Seduction 1 (The Seduction, #1))
Dimitri appreciated the pointer but Nikolai chortled with mock disgust. "If we start talking about our feelings, I'll throw myself out that window.
Roxie Rivera (Dimitri (Her Russian Protector, #2))
The minute I saw you walk into Fortnum's I knew I'd do whatever it took to get you right where you are now. And I'm gonna do whatever it takes to keep you here for as long as both of us get something good out of it.
Kristen Ashley (Rock Chick Redemption (Rock Chick, #3))
“Fuck! ” I shouted and everyone at the espresso counter looked over at us. “Half a million dollars?” Lee dropped his foot and turned to me. “Roxie, calm down.” “Half a million dollars and he bought me cheese puffs and took me to that sleaze bag motel? I’m gonna fucking kill that motherfucker!” I yelled. “Roxie –” I slammed my fists on my knees. “The least he could have done was bind my wrists with VELVET ROPE. He sure could have afforded it. Stupid jerk.
Kristen Ashley (Rock Chick Redemption (Rock Chick, #3))
Would you like me to turn over so you can see my other side?" Raphael asked. "Would you?" Roxy breathed hopefully.
Katie MacAlister (A Girl's Guide to Vampires (Dark Ones #1))
To all intents and purposes Roxy was as white as anybody, but the one sixteenth of her which was black outvoted the other fifteen parts and made her a Negro. She was a slave, and salable as such.
Mark Twain (Pudd'nhead Wilson (Bantam Classics))
We tend to be judged because of our actions.
Roxy Writer
You can deny it as much as you like, Roxy, but you and me are going to happen over and over," he promised, the scent of him wrapping around me and the heat of his flesh blazing so fiercely I could feel it despite the inch of space diving us. "So no matter how much you hate me or despise me or wish you didn't want me in any way at all, there's no stopping it. You don't feel fire like that and just let it burn out.
Caroline Peckham (Shadow Princess (Zodiac Academy, #4))
People make what they need for themselves,” says Roxy. “My dad says that. If there’s something you need, something you really have to have—not just want to but have to, you’ll find a way to get it.
Naomi Alderman (The Power)
I need his number,” I announced. “What?” Roxie asked. “Give me his cell number!” I shouted. “Who’s got his number?” Everyone started pulling out their phones. “I have his number,” Indy told me. “I don’t have his number,” Daisy said, but she was still digging through her purse as if she could help. “I wish I had his number,” Tod put in.
Kristen Ashley (Rock Chick Renegade (Rock Chick, #4))
I cannot find the perfect person, but I refuse to live my life living a tragic love story based on just sex, and selfish act.
Roxy Writer
The Summer of Jake and Roxie – it was the best summer of my life.
Jodie Beau (The Good Life (The Good Life #1))
I can’t decide if that’s incredibly romantic or borderline stalker behavior.
Roxie Rivera (Her Russian Protector Boxed Set: Volume 1 (Her Russian Protector, #1-3))
I would be perfectly happy to wake up to find you wearing absolutely nothing in the mornings. Think of all the laundry it would save.
Roxie Rivera (Yuri (Her Russian Protector, #3))
Roxy had once called him the Pussy Whisperer, and it had kind of stuck. For the sake of brevity, though, they simply called him P-Dub.
Tessa Bailey (Need Me (Broke and Beautiful, #2))
Roxy laughed and my heart leapt at the sound of me making her happy.
Caroline Peckham (Shadow Princess (Zodiac Academy, #4))
I love you, Roxy,” he said in a rough, dark voice which held no room for lies or falsehood, no space for tricks of cruelty.
Caroline Peckham (Cursed Fates (Zodiac Academy, #5))
Roxy swung a fist into Mildred’s throat to follow it before driving her knee up between her legs as hard as she could. “Ooo right in the vag!” Tyler called and a laugh caught in my throat
Caroline Peckham (Cursed Fates (Zodiac Academy, #5))
Oooh, dinner and a show! How come you never take us to dinner and a show?" He smiled at Roxy. "I would spend the entire evening fending off the hordes of your admirers." She fanned herself and grinned back at him. "You gotta love all that suave debonairness!
Katie MacAlister (Sex and the Single Vampire (Dark Ones #2))
I'm here with you. Even when you can't see me, know that I am here with you." said by Garrett from Sacred Secrets
Roxy Harte (Sacred Secrets (Chronicles of Surrender, #1))
You belong with me, Erin. In my bed. In my home. In my arms. I love you, angel, and I know you love me.
Roxie Rivera (Ivan (Her Russian Protector, #1))
She has probably never had a real man in her life; never felt a dick slide so deep she sees God.
Roxy Sloane (The Seduction 1 (The Seduction, #1))
So we just…we take it slow." With a mischievous grin, she added, "And even if you totally screw it up, I won't know right? What else do I have to compare it to, Kolya?" He snorted with amusement. "You really know how to encourage a man.
Roxie Rivera (Nikolai (Her Russian Protector, #4))
The room flashed brighter still and then gasps filled the room. They were all gathered around Roxy and she was unsure why. She didn’t feel any different, Hadn’t the spell worked ? Roxy opened her mouth to speak and then she heard it…… a purr.
Amanda Turner
He pulled me upright, my back against his hot, hard chest. Brushing aside my hair, he started a long trail of ticklish kisses that followed the curve of my spine and ended on my left buttock. Without warning, his massive paw smacked my plump cheek. "Sergei!" I gasped and tried to slide away from him but he held tight. "This ass of yours has been tempting me for months. The least you deserve is that single spanking.
Roxie Rivera (Sergei (Her Russian Protector, #5))
Goddamn, Roxy, how are you this fucking perfect? Even when you’re fighting me, you make it so easy to love you, to want you,” I murmur, licking along her chin to her chest as I kiss over her heart. “To need you. I only ever feel alive when I’m inside you.
K.A. Knight (Den of Vipers)
You’re mine,” I growl, possession crashing through me. “Never forget it, JJ. You’ve always been mine.
Roxy Sloane (The Invitation (The Invitation, #1))
Reality is overrated—but they’ll remember thinking they knew the secrets of the universe
Neal Shusterman (Roxy)
With her kisses and gentle caresses, Bianca had branded him as hers. As if already mated, it was only her scent and heat that he craved.
Roxie Rivera (Sergei (Her Russian Protector, #5))
He relished the sweet softness of her lips and kissed away the tears clinging to her skin.
Roxie Rivera (Nikolai, Volume 2 (Her Russian Protector, #6))
The misinformed mob never changes; it just replaces torches and pitchforks with iPhones and Androids.
Neal Shusterman (Roxy)
They took her. They took my Vivian.
Roxie Rivera (Nikolai (Her Russian Protector, #4))
Give my mouth something else to do, and I'll stop using these dirty words that make you blush.
Roxie Rivera (Sergei (Her Russian Protector, #5))
I headed down the trail to the beach with one thing on my mind and the determination to get it if there was even the slightest chance I could. Roxy Vega, I’m gonna make you mine.
Caroline Peckham (The Reckoning (Zodiac Academy, #3))
It wasn't fair to pull her into that vortex, because I couldn't be fixed. And Roxy was a fixer. She thought she could help me, I could see it in her eyes.
Ashleigh Z. (Louisiana Sky (Love in Belle Pont #2))
Roxy was my breath of fresh air. My soft place to land. She was home to me.
Ashleigh Z. (Louisiana Sky (Love in Belle Pont #2))
My quarrel was never with you,” Roxy said firmly,
Caroline Peckham (Restless Stars (Zodiac Academy, #9))
Roxy gave me a reason to keep moving—a purpose powerful enough to keep me off the couch.
Amy Purdy (On My Own Two Feet)
No matter how many parallel universes might exist, you’d never find one where I thought Roxy was arrogant. I was fated to respect her deeply in every possible world line. It was the choice of Stein’s Gate!
Rifujin na Magonote (Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation Vol. 13)
It seems Rob’s daughter is quite the legend. Name’s Roxy, owns that dive joint across town like he said. Lot of bastards even seem scared of the girl, others respect her. She ain’t going to be an easy take.
K.A. Knight (Den of Vipers)
Hearing him talk business made me so hot. "Okay," I said a bit breathlessly. "That was ridiculously sexy." He laughed. "Kitten, if you think that's sexy, I've got piles of quarterly earnings estimates in my briefcase that I'd be happy to read to you." "Tease." I thumped his chest. "I do love a good bedtime story.
Roxie Rivera (Yuri (Her Russian Protector, #3))
like I told Roxie earlier, baby I’ll take you any way I can have you. If that means I only get a piece of your heart, then I’ll cherish that one piece as if it is the most priceless item on the god damn planet.
Danielle Jamie (Tempt My Heart (Tempt My Heart #1))
glam rock and progressive pop, preferably British and often of the androgynous variety: David Bowie, Sparks, Mott the Hoople, Steve Harley, Marc Bolan, Small Faces, Roxy Music, with Suede as a contemporary bookend.
Jo Nesbø (Police (Harry Hole, #10))
There’s something magnetic about Jackson, and I can’t even put my finger on it. He’s unbelievably good looking, sure, but I’ve met good-looking men before. Is it the way that he’s beyond confident, like he knows you’re going to wind up in bed with him, it’s just a matter of when?
Roxie Noir (Ride)
Why aren't you at your booth?" "She ran out of bats' testicles and hares' anuses," I piped up. "Is it anuses or ani?" Roxy asked in an aside, looking perplexed. "You say octopi, don't you? Shouldn't more than one hare's anus be ani?
Katie MacAlister (A Girl's Guide to Vampires (Dark Ones #1))
Fig leaned in close, his chest pressed to her back, his palm flat on her belly. “Time to muster up some moxie, Roxie,” he whispered. “Every woman in this bar is wishing she had a body as gorgeous as yours, and every man is wishing he had your long, beautiful legs clamped around his butt.” Roxie relaxed. Smiled even. “Does that include you?” [...] “Nah.” [...] “My wish involves them wrapped around my head.
Wendy S. Marcus (The Nurse's Not-So-Secret Scandal (Madrin Memorial Hospital, #3))
When you’re begging. When you’re drunk on my cock, wet and gasping. I’m going to ride you, darling, ride you till you break.
Roxy Sloane (Surrender (The Invitation, #2))
Denial is how I cope. If I just deny everything, it can't hurt me right?
Amanda Hocking (Freeks)
With each sunrise, we rise into someone new.
Roxie Nafousi (Manifest: 7 Steps to Living Your Best Life)
Seclusion wasn't good for anyone; it made you forget how to protect yourself.
Heather James (Fire (Elements of Power, #1))
I’m a twenty-four year-old virgin with a broken vagina. I can’t even give that shit away.
Roxy Queen (Audrey Exposed)
I rose up on my shoulders, arching my back from the sheer torment of being so sensually tweaked.
Roxie Rivera (Ivan (Her Russian Protector, #1))
Life is a dance that concludes on its own schedule. And so there we sit, keeping each other company as we wait for the last petal to fall.
Neal Shusterman (Roxy)
So I won’t let you ignore me, Roxy,” he snarled. “I’ll have your attention even if I have to take it without your permission.” “Why?” I demanded. “Why not just go after someone else?” “Because we don’t get to choose our obsessions. And you’re mine.
Caroline Peckham (Shadow Princess (Zodiac Academy, #4))
That girl had bigger balls than half the guys I knew. Max practically started crying if we made him take a shot of Sourache and Seth howled the whole time its effects were in place. Roxy barely broke a sweat and came out swinging on the other end of it.
Caroline Peckham (Shadow Princess (Zodiac Academy, #4))
Our thoughts, emotions, and feelings are all made up of energy, too, and different emotions have different frequencies. When we change our thoughts, we change how we feel and what emotions we experience, which in turn shifts our entire vibrational frequency. We then attract back to us the frequency that we put out. So, if we alter our thoughts, and therefore our emotions, we can alter our vibration and, ultimately, our reality.
Roxie Nafousi (Manifest: 7 Steps to Living Your Best Life)
I long to grow up, to be a man. I long to be in a hurry to do something, before time runs out. I long for the feeling that life is precious, that I have to cram as much as I can into every sun-drenched day and every frost-filled night; to know that childhood is special because it dies not last forever; to have friends, like Aiden and Roxy, who will not look at me strangely, and then turn away from me when I fail to age like them.
Ross Welford (The 1,000 Year Old Boy)
Be careful.” The man winks again. “ Or next time, you’ll wind up on your hands and knees.” He leans in to whisper, just for me. “Exactly where you belong.” His words shock me, piercing the haze of desire. “What did you say?” I gasp. “You heard me.” He tilts his head, giving me a lazy grin. “Take care, Keely.
Roxy Sloane (The Seduction 1 (The Seduction, #1))
There was a restlessness between her ribs, itching and pulling at her heart. A feeling that she was meant to do much more. She and Roxy had gone to see Dead Poets Society a couple years ago, and afterward that quote from Robin Williams’s character had echoed endlessly in Luna’s head: “Make your lives extraordinary.
Emily X.R. Pan (An Arrow to the Moon)
love you with all my wretched heart has to offer and I’m going to keep proving that to you with every moment gifted to me on this earth until my dying breath. So no, Roxy, I don’t want to sleep. Because I refuse to waste a single second that I’ve been gifted with you. I want to claim each and every one and work to make them good enough for you.
Caroline Peckham (Heartless Sky (Zodiac Academy, #7))
Even more embarrassed now, I admitted, "I've never been on the receiving end of oral sex." His head lifted and our gazes clashed. Frowning, he asked, "But you gave it?" I nodded. "Sure." His lips settled into a grim line. "That sort of selfish bullshit doesn't fly in my bed." Before I could figure out how to reply to that, Dimitri's mouth dropped to my clit.
Roxie Rivera (Dimitri (Her Russian Protector, #2))
This girl is everything to me, and I won’t stop until I claim her completely.
Roxy Sloane (The Seduction 3 (The Seduction, #3))
Nothing ends a first date faster than finding a dead body.
Katherine Bacher (Capture Me (A Roxy Summers Mystery Book 1))
I was kind of in awe of Jet and Roxie, seeing as their stories had hit the paper then they’d had books written about their love affairs with their current husbands.
Kristen Ashley (Law Man (Dream Man, #3))
Most men don't realize, it takes more than a big dick and a hard, deep fuck to make a woman come. She climaxes with her mind as much as her body.
Roxy Sloane (The Invitation (The Invitation, #1))
That’s called girth,
Roxy Sloane (The Seduction 1 (The Seduction, #1))
At least it would have been perfect, if it wasn't for my mother.
Heather James (Fire (Elements of Power, #1))
Your powers don't work in the rain do they? A little bit of water and your fire fizzles out? So Little Miss Perfect does have a weakness after all!
Heather James (Fire (Elements of Power, #1))
He could never care about you. He sees you in the same way they see all of us: ruthless, cruel and power hungry." He laughed callously. "I guess we're about to prove them right.
Heather James (Fire (Elements of Power, #1))
Meet your G-spot, baby. Now my dick is going to give you a VIP tour.
Roxy Sloane (The Seduction 2 (The Seduction, #2))
A detective, a priest and a lawyer in his home! It was like the setup to a bad bar joke
Roxie Rivera (Nikolai (Her Russian Protector, #4))
He does not get to strut over here and make me go all lusty for his dirty, dirty man rod. Especially after what Roxy just told me. Has my vagina no shame? There are probably cooties crawling up and down that overused flagpole. I blame my body’s indecent reaction on the current state of my love life. Which is sucktastic, thanks to my dipshit ex essentially ruining my trust in mankind.
Kendall Ryan (Screwed (Screwed, #1))
I still don’t deserve you,” he said. “But I love you with all my wretched heart has to offer and I’m going to keep proving that to you with every moment gifted to me on this earth until my dying breath. So no, Roxy, I don’t want to sleep. Because I refuse to waste a single second that I’ve been gifted with you. I want to claim each and every one and work to make them good enough for you.
Caroline Peckham (Heartless Sky (Zodiac Academy, #7))
Promise me, Roxie,” he said again. The way he said her name—low and slow and sweet—was like nothing she’d ever heard. She could feel his eyes on her in such a way it was as if he was tracing the oval of her face with his fingers. And all her halfhearted talk of leaving turned to ashes. “I promise.
Laura Frantz (The Colonel's Lady)
They're terrified of us Firefly, all of them are." "Well, good," I replied, forming a tiny ball of flames in my fingertips, which were curled round the handle on the back of the bike. "They should be.
Heather James (Fire (Elements of Power, #1))
Well, most people would have said `thank you' after they'd been given help, and then I would have responded to that with `you're welcome'. I figured we'd skip straight to my part since social graces aren't your forte.
Heather James (Fire (Elements of Power, #1))
when we consciously choose to think positive and empowering thoughts that trigger high-vibe emotions (such as confidence, enthusiasm, and hope), we will attract more abundance into our lives through the law of attraction.
Roxie Nafousi (Manifest: 7 Steps to Living Your Best Life)
I want to have your baby.” She’d never seen anyone’s jaw drop before, but Sean’s did. All the color drained from his face and he tugged at the collar of his shirt. Then he chuckled. “Well, thanks. I didn’t get you anything.
Roxy Wilson (Baby Wanted (Bundle of Joy, #1))
For example: 1.  I will wake up at 7 a.m. every day. 2.  I will journal every evening before bed instead of scrolling through my phone. 3.  I will exercise every morning, whether that’s a walk, a stretch, or a HIIT class. Continue to incorporate more and more healthy habits when you feel you are able to (don’t overwhelm yourself with too many at once).
Roxie Nafousi (Manifest: 7 Steps to Living Your Best Life)
Wesley Crusher: Say goodbye, Data. Lt. Cmdr. Data: Goodbye, Data. [crew laughs] Lt. Cmdr. Data: Was that funny? Wesley Crusher: [laughs] Lt. Cmdr. Data: Accessing. Ah! Burns and Allen, Roxy Theater, New York City, 1932. It still works. [pauses] Lt. Cmdr. Data: Then there was the one about the girl in the nudist colony, that nothing looked good on? Lieutenant Worf: We're ready to get under way, sir. Lt. Cmdr. Data: Take my Worf, please. Commander William T. Riker: [to Captain Picard] Warp speed, sir? Captain Jean-Luc Picard: Please.
Star Trek The Next Generation
We’ve had the works. Indy’s kidnappings and murder. Jet’s kidnappings and rape attempt. Roxie’s kidnapping and stalking. Car bombs. Grenades. Knife fights. Female wrestling at Chinese restaurants. Mayhem at a haunted house. Gunshots at a strip club. Showdowns at society parties. Now we got a vigilante on our hands.
Kristen Ashley (Rock Chick Renegade (Rock Chick, #4))
time in the world over it; he’s smiling as he does it and then there’s a red hole in the middle of Terry’s face and he falls forward like a felled tree. Roxy looks at her hands. There are long electrical arcs passing between them, even though she doesn’t think she ever told them to do that. She should do something. She feels afraid. She’s only fifteen. She pulls the little packet out of her jeans and sniffs up some more of the powder. She sees the energy running along her arms and hands. She thinks, and it’s like a voice outside her whispering in her ear: You were made for this. She’s on an iron walkway. It’s connected to the metal half-doors downstairs
Naomi Alderman (The Power)
I closed my eyes and let a wave of heat pass over me, tingling right down into my fingertips. As my eyes flickered open I let my hands shoot out in front of me, sending a spiral of flames into a nearby tree. The entire structure caught alight and glowed grotesquely. "Remind me never to make you angry!" A now all-too familiar voice said behind me.
Heather James (Fire (Elements of Power, #1))
Kolya, this wasn’t supposed to happen. Not like this.” Nikolai actually grinned. “You? Me? Two gangs who want to take us out? It’s like old times, huh?” “Yeah,” Alexei replied with a wry smile. “Except this time we’re too old for this shit and have too much on the line to lose.” Nikolai’s gaze softened. “Sometimes too much to lose gives us a better reason to fight.
Roxie Rivera (Alexei (Her Russian Protector Book 10))
Io attaccai discorso con una splendida ragazza di campagna che portava una camicetta di cotone molto scollata e rivelava la sommità abbronzata del suo bel seno. Era ottusa. Parlò di serate in campagna passate a fare il popcorn sotto il portico. Un tempo ciò mi avrebbe rallegrato il cuore ma poiché il cuore di lei non se ne rallegrava mentre lo diceva, capii che in esso non c'era altro che l'idea di ciò che si dovrebbe fare. «E in quale altro modo si diverte?» Cercai di tirar nel discorso le amicizie maschili e il sesso. I suoi grandi occhi scuri mi scrutarono vacui e con una specie di dolore nel sangue che risaliva a generazioni addietro per non aver fatto ciò che urgeva venisse fatto... qualsiasi cosa fosse, e tutti sanno cosa sia. «Cos'è che esige dalla vita?» Volevo prenderla e spremere da lei la risposta. Non aveva la minima idea di quel che volesse. Farfugliò di impieghi, di film, di andare da sua nonna durante l'estate, del desiderio di recarsi a New York a vedere il Roxy, di che specie di completo avrebbe indossato: qualcosa di simile a quello che portava la Pasqua scorsa, cappellino bianco, rose, scarpine pure rosa, e un soprabito di gabardine color lavanda. «Cosa fa la domenica pomeriggio?» domandai. Stava seduta sotto il portico. I suoi amici passavano in bicicletta e si fermavano a chiacchierare. Leggeva giornaletti umoristici, si sdraiava nell'amaca. «Cosa fa in una calda notte d'estate?» Sedeva sotto il portico guardava le macchine sulla strada. Lei e sua madre facevano il popcorn. «Cosa fa suo padre in una notte d'estate?» Lavora, fa il turno di notte in una fabbrica di caldaie, ha passato la sua vita intera a mantenere una donna e i suoi rampolli e senza credito né adorazione. «Cosa fa suo fratello in una notte d'estate?» Va in giro in bicicletta e passeggia davanti al chiosco delle bibite. «Cos'è che egli muore dalla voglia di fare? Cos'è che tutti noi moriamo dalla voglia di fare? Cosa vogliamo?» Non lo sapeva. Sbadigliò. Aveva sonno. Era troppo. Nessuno poteva dirlo. Nessuno avrebbe potuto dirlo mai. Tutto era finito. Aveva diciott'anni ed era estremamente adorabile, e mancata.
Jack Kerouac (On the Road)
If talking pictures could be said to have a father, it was Lee De Forest, a brilliant but erratic inventor of electrical devices of all types. (He had 216 patents.) In 1907, while searching for ways to boost telephone signals, De Forest invented something called the thermionic triode detector. De Forest’s patent described it as “a System for Amplifying Feeble Electric Currents” and it would play a pivotal role in the development of broadcast radio and much else involving the delivery of sound, but the real developments would come from others. De Forest, unfortunately, was forever distracted by business problems. Several companies he founded went bankrupt, twice he was swindled by his backers, and constantly he was in court fighting over money or patents. For these reasons, he didn’t follow through on his invention. Meanwhile, other hopeful inventors demonstrated various sound-and-image systems—Cinematophone, Cameraphone, Synchroscope—but in every case the only really original thing about them was their name. All produced sounds that were faint or muddy, or required impossibly perfect timing on the part of the projectionist. Getting a projector and sound system to run in perfect tandem was basically impossible. Moving pictures were filmed with hand-cranked cameras, which introduced a slight variability in speed that no sound system could adjust to. Projectionists also commonly repaired damaged film by cutting out a few frames and resplicing what remained, which clearly would throw out any recording. Even perfect film sometimes skipped or momentarily stuttered in the projector. All these things confounded synchronization. De Forest came up with the idea of imprinting the sound directly onto the film. That meant that no matter what happened with the film, sound and image would always be perfectly aligned. Failing to find backers in America, he moved to Berlin in the early 1920s and there developed a system that he called Phonofilm. De Forest made his first Phonofilm movie in 1921 and by 1923 he was back in America giving public demonstrations. He filmed Calvin Coolidge making a speech, Eddie Cantor singing, George Bernard Shaw pontificating, and DeWolf Hopper reciting “Casey at the Bat.” By any measure, these were the first talking pictures. However, no Hollywood studio would invest in them. The sound quality still wasn’t ideal, and the recording system couldn’t quite cope with multiple voices and movement of a type necessary for any meaningful dramatic presentation. One invention De Forest couldn’t make use of was his own triode detector tube, because the patents now resided with Western Electric, a subsidiary of AT&T. Western Electric had been using the triode to develop public address systems for conveying speeches to large crowds or announcements to fans at baseball stadiums and the like. But in the 1920s it occurred to some forgotten engineer at the company that the triode detector could be used to project sound in theaters as well. The upshot was that in 1925 Warner Bros. bought the system from Western Electric and dubbed it Vitaphone. By the time of The Jazz Singer, it had already featured in theatrical presentations several times. Indeed, the Roxy on its opening night in March 1927 played a Vitaphone feature of songs from Carmen sung by Giovanni Martinelli. “His voice burst from the screen with splendid synchronization with the movements of his lips,” marveled the critic Mordaunt Hall in the Times. “It rang through the great theatre as if he had himself been on the stage.
Bill Bryson (One Summer: America, 1927)