"You can't create experience, you undergo it."
— Albert Camus

"One describes a tale best by telling the tale. You see? The way one describes a story, to oneself or to the world, is by telling the story. It is a balancing act and it is a dream. The more accurate the map, the more it resembles the territory. The most accurate map possible would be the territory, and thus would be perfectly accurate and perfectly useless. The tale is the map that is the territory; you must remember this."
— Neil Gaiman (American Gods)

"She threw up her hands. "All right. Why not?"

"Why not?"

"Sure."

His arms fell to his sides. "That's it? I pour my heart out. I love you so much I've got freakin' tears in my eyes. And all I get in return is 'Why not'?"

"What did you expect? Am I supposed to fall all over you just because you've finally come to your senses?"

"Would it be too much to ask?"...He'd begun to glare at her again, his eyes growing stormier by the minute."When do you think you might be ready? To fall all over me, that is.""
— Susan Elizabeth Phillips (Breathing Room)

"I am yours," he whispered. "I live to hold you, Risa. I breathe to touch you."
— Lora Leigh (Maverick)

"I'm not leaving." He kissed her forehead, her cheek. His lips brushed over hers as soft as a summer breeze, before he stared into her eyes. "I'm dying without you, Risa. I can't do this any longer." He swallowed tightly. "I wanted to protect you, love. From myself. From my past." He gave his head a hard shake. "Walking away destroyed me, Risa. I was more a dead man then than I ever have been."
— Lora Leigh (Maverick)

"He shook his head. "The next time I hear a women going on about how neurotic men are, I'm going to remember this. You tell me you like my body, and what do I say? I say, thank you. Then I tell you I like yours and what do I hear? A long lists of grievances."
— Susan Elizabeth Phillips (Kiss an Angel)

""Now, this is where I draw the line! It's bad enough everybody in town's going to be thinkin' I'm sleeping with a depressed, lice-ridden, hemorrhoidal foreigner who likes to be tied up and might be pregnant, although-since she's just about cornered the market on condoms-I don't know how that could have happened. But I will not-you listen to me, Emma!-I absolutely will not have anybody thinkin' a woman of mine needs a vaginal moisturizer, do you hear me?" "
— Susan Elizabeth Phillips (Lady Be Good)

"'Me'achshav ve'ad hanetzach,' he whispered. "From now until eternity, Risa. I will love you forever.'
"
— Lora Leigh (Maverick)

"The engine roared to life. He ran toward her. She shot our of her parking space. He rushed to the side of her car. "Stop it, Kristy! You're overreacting! Let's talk about this." That was when she did the unthinkable. She rolled down the window, thrust out her hand, and gave Reverend Ethan Bonner the bird."
— Susan Elizabeth Phillips (Dream a Little Dream)

"He stopped to rest at a cart selling nuts and candy, bought himself some Jelly Belly's, flirted just enought with the Mexican cutie working there to convince her pull out the banana-flavored one. Although he liked his Jelly Belly's mixed up, he didn't like banana, but, since it took too much effort to pull them out himself, he generally tried to talk someone else into doing it. If that didn't work, he just ate 'em.

- Kenny Traveler"
— Susan Elizabeth Phillips (Lady Be Good)