Joanne > Joanne's Quotes

“...the strongest couples I know have grown together, supporting their partner's changes rather than harnessing or fearing them. It's a bit like growing roses - you don't get to choose exactly which way the stems unfurl, but if you help them climb you get the pleasure of watching them flourish.”
― Olivia Ford, Mrs. Quinn's Rise to Fame

“To want something, she realized, was to make yourself vulnerable to losing it.”
― Olivia Ford, Mrs. Quinn's Rise to Fame

“Old age can make us feel like we need to live a smaller life, but Jenny has shown that our dreams have a place at every stage of our journey . . . that they can be achieved because of our age, and not in spite of it.”
― Olivia Ford, Mrs. Quinn's Rise to Fame

“Try to be led by hope, rather than fear”
― Olivia Ford, Mrs. Quinn's Rise to Fame

“Over the years you will both inevitably change but you will always have one thing in common, and that is that you’re both only human, so try to be kind.”
― Olivia Ford, Mrs. Quinn's Rise to Fame

“A life without risk is a life without meaning.”
― Donna Freitas, The Body Market

“Replacing the girl reading the book on the porch was this beautiful, closed-off, honest, waiting-to-be-cracked open woman who challenged his contentment simply by living her life. He didn’t want to be challenged. He was just fine with the status quo. Why did she have to go around inspiring him? It was not what he’d signed up for.”
― Courtney Walsh, A Cross-Country Christmas

“Do you know how much you’re missing in the moment by always wishing you were somewhere else?”
― Courtney Walsh, A Cross-Country Christmas

“So it’s not what you thought it was going to be—that doesn’t mean it can’t still be something amazing.”
― Courtney Walsh, A Cross-Country Christmas

“He had made great strides with Lauren—they were friends now, sort of. And he was lucky to call someone like her his friend, even if she was prickly. He kind of loved that.
It was more than enough.
He lifted his phone and snapped a photo of her, bathed in the dim white glow of the lights overhead. He glanced down at the image on his screen.
Who was he kidding? Being friends with her would never be enough.”
― Courtney Walsh

“She reached over and took his hand.
She inhaled a deep, slow breath. “You and me, Sinclair. Something about it just works.”
“You and me?”
She nodded. “It’s all we need.”
― Courtney Walsh, A Cross-Country Christmas

“It might not be everybody’s cup of tea, but… It. Was. Mine.”
― Cindy Steel, A Christmas Spark

“I covered his hand with mine. ‘Rhys, you are amazing.’
‘Nah, just a big softie. Not very manly, I know.’
‘You are the best man I know.”
― Mary Mecham, A Curse of Gold and Beauty

“In response, I slid closer to him and eagerly kissed him back. I wanted to fix this moment into my memory forever. No, it was more than that. I never wanted to leave Rhys again. We belonged together. He understood me in a way that no one else did, and perhaps ever would. I couldn’t lose him. I didn’t want our kiss to ever end.”
― Mary Mecham, A Curse of Gold and Beauty

“Please— the only thing tough enough to whip me is me.”
― Mary Mecham, A Curse of Gold and Beauty

“Belle had learned to love the idea of having a small special corner of the world to return to, of having relationships to maintain.
Through her parents, her books, and her neighbors, she found her path onward, the most rewarding journey of all--- the journey home.”
― Elizabeth Lim, A Twisted Tale Anthology

“You raised me to be brave, and to make smart choices. I'll make you proud. You'll see."
"I am always proud of you.”
― Elizabeth Lim, A Twisted Tale Anthology

“But when he reached over and took her hand, she laced her fingers through his without a thought, as naturally as though she’d always known him, always cared.”
― Heather Horrocks, Bah, Humbug!

“He had let his temper go. I wished that it had surprised me, but it didn't. Not really. He may look like a beast and talk like a man, but he had the fickle heart of a Fey and the temperament of a troll.”
― S.R. Nulton, Belle Lied

“Why must everything in stories be so dramatic? Isn't real life interesting enough?”
― S.R. Nulton, Belle Lied

“His eyes grew bright with moisture as I spoke, and when I finished, my brother dragged me in for a hug. "You are extra, but not like you think. You're above and beyond what was needed. Your mere existence brings us joy, and you will never be unnecessary. I know Belle made you feel that way, but she was wrong. She could never see that you gave us the love we needed to hold the family together when we were in danger of falling apart. You keep us in balance.”
― S.R. Nulton, Belle Lied

“It felt a bit like standing in the forest just before the first big cold of winter falls. You can't see anything, but you can feel and smell the transition. I could feel something coming. I just didn't know what.”
― S.R. Nulton, Belle Lied

“There are days when you can feel a change coming. Days when you know that you will either rise above the turmoil or be outmatched and fade away. Days when you know that you will be a different person by the time you are able to sleep.”
― S.R. Nulton, Belle Lied

“People respect those who are cursed, but they all seem to look down on those who have overcome physical or mental problems. I refuse to let him be looked down on by anyone.”
― S.R. Nulton, Belle Lied

“Do not allow the battles of life to cause you to lose yourself.”
― S.R. Nulton, Belle Lied

“Life would continue, as it always must, but for that moment, I allowed myself to be weak. There was time enough for strength when I awoke.”
― S.R. Nulton, Belle Lied

“Cheese-flavored anything was the solution to every problem.”
― Jasmine Guillory, By the Book

“I love books. I love everything about them. I love the way you can fall into another world while you’re reading, the way books can help you forget hard things in life, or help you deal with them. I love all the different shapes books come in, and the way they feel in your hand. I love seeing authors develop their idea from just a few sentences to a manuscript to an actual book that’s on the shelves, and I love the face they make when they see their name on a book cover for the first time. I love when readers discover books that felt like they were meant just for them, and they’re so happy and grateful and emotional that everyone in the room wants to cry, and sometimes they all do. Those books do change lives. I hope that answers your question.”
― Jasmine Guillory, By the Book

“Sometimes the most ordinary things are the ones we learn to miss the most.”
― Jennifer Chiaverini, The Quilter's Apprentice

“Hannah! You've simply got to stop finding bodies. I swear you attract them like a magnet. If you're not careful, everyone's going to get the wrong impression of you." - Delores Swenson”
― Joanne Fluke, Blueberry Muffin Murder