...magic was ugly—-a hard bargain with the universe, a calculus of pain.

Stars got tangled in her hair whenever she played in the sky.

Light coursed through Karou and darkness chased it-burning through her, chilling her, shimmer and shadow, ice and fire, blood and starlight, rushing, roaring, filling her.

She moved like a poem and smiled like a sphinx.

Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love. It did not end well.

Like a magpie, I am a scavenger of shiny things: fairy tales, dead languages, weird folk beliefs, fascinating religions, and more.

A man once said, 'All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure.' Mark Twain, you know. He had a fine mustache. Men of wisdom so often do.

Hope can be a powerful force. Maybe there's no actual magic in it, but when you know what you hope for most and hold it like a light within you, you can make things happen, almost like magic.

She knocked and waited, because when the door was opened from within, it had the potential to lead someplace quite different.

Where am I and doing what? You might well ask. Freaky chick, you say? You can't imagine. I am priestess of a sandcastle in a land of dust and starlight.

I am one of billions. I am stardust gathered fleetingly into form. I will be ungathered. The stardust will go on to be other things someday and I will be free.

I've always believed that a person is smart. It's people that are stupid.

This is the thing: people think that magic doesn't exist, but it does, all the time. We use spells every day: the spell of forgiveness, the spell of thanks.

When I've got nothing better to do, I look down the league table to see how Everton are getting along.

There's always some kind of hidden logic.

Regret has a purpose. It's like the oil light on the dashboard of your life, telling you something needs to be fixed. So fix it. And feel better.

You could at least complain,” I say. “I adore complaining. It calms the nerves.

Do the right thing. Not just when it's convenient for you, but all the time. Words to live by.

I've always been passionate about what I do and want to do it well, ... My wife says she's a widow to the computer.

Surely whoever speaks to me in the right voice, him or her shall I follow.

What makes America special is that people come here, assimilate and become American with all of the rights and responsibilities citizenship bestows.