deborah o'carroll (offline during 2026)

“How shall I fear that from which I am protected by Heaven's wings?”
― C.M. Banschbach, Then Comes a Drifter

“But that’s the thing, isn’t it?” Zinder said. “There’s not always a fire to come home to. And on those days you need persistence. Sometimes life is pleasant and you hardly notice the hours passing by. That’s the way it is for me at the anvil. But other days you have to scratch your way through with everything you have in you. There’s not always the promise of a warm hearth awaiting you. But you press on. You don’t give up. And then, wonder of wonders, you find the fire’s there, just when you need it most. But if you don’t persist, you’ll never find the fire.”
― D.J. Edwardson, Grimbriar

“Perhaps that was part of growing up... Perhaps there would always be small pieces of his heart missing, scattered from town to town, staying with the people he cared about most.”
― Jenelle Leanne Schmidt, Steal the Morrow

“It's hard," he said after a long moment. "Trusting the Maker."

Grandfather nodded solemnly. "Yes. But I think not trusting him would be harder.”
― Penny Johnston, Chief Bladesinger