The River Muse Quotes

“She sang songs of earth and taste and secrets.
Of honey and keys and stars.
Of lemons and petals and moon.
Of tree and sun and stone.
Of dragon and spirit and fight.
Of feathers and treasures and sky.
She let herself fly, fly away with every soul there.
She moved across the stage with the grace of a selkie who’d slipped back into her skin.”
― Laura Resau, The River Muse

“After clinking glasses, Callie sipped the pale, sunset-pink wine, savoring undercurrents of river stone, orchard fruit, ripe berries, and wild herbs. It tasted like freedom, like being lost and found, reunited with her truest song and singing it for the world to hear. Its notes were at once sweet and strong, rosemary and lavender, earth and sky, cave and source.”
― Laura Resau, The River Muse

“The carnyx—like Pepito— was an ancient source of power in her life. It was more than an artifact— it was a treasure whose bond with her ran deep and strong.
Somehow, the carnyx had survived for millennia in the depths of a watery cave. Admittedly, she didn’t fully understand how this was possible. A patina forming over the bronze, preventing rust? Something about the water chemistry? The unique geology of the limestone cave system? Or was it something more… magical?
She wasn’t clear either, how, at certain times, when she most needed it, she heard the carnyx roar. Was it the water rushing through tunnels, angled through the six-foot-long instrument? Or was it a mythical force that brought the dragon to life, made the carnyx rumble in her bones like a battle cry?”
― Laura Resau, The River Muse

“In the eaves of the ancient grain hall, the carving of the Durance River goddess winked her approval in a glint of sunlight. Amid her bounty of lemons and grapes, creativity and wildness, she hung her bare foot off the edge, unbridled and overflowing. Her lover, the River Rhone, reclined beside her.”
― Laura Resau, The River Muse

“Chouchou was the runt of the litter. Her breeder didn’t think she’d make it. So he said Luc could have her if he could keep her alive. She was just the size of a rat back then.” He laughed. “But Luc brought her everywhere in that sling, fed her with bottles through days and nights. And look at her now!”
“A miracle,” Eva said solemnly.
“Chouchou went through scary times, but she’s stronger for it now.” He gave Eva a meaningful look.
“Good thing she had Luc,” said Eva.
Her papi nodded. “And Belle stepped in to be a mother, and Jolie became an aunt, and all the dogs at the park are like brothers and sisters.”
Eva nodded. “But Luc saved her.”
Callie remembered their first meeting with him, the puppy in the sling. She’d had no idea he’d just nursed it back from near-death. And now he was offering this resilient creature to her daughter, to make her feel safe and loved.”
― Laura Resau, The River Muse

“Feeling light and free, she pulled him along, toward the source of La Chanson, which was calling to them. As their strides synchronized, she glanced at the river, braids of aquamarine and sapphire and emerald, like Luc’s irises. She snuck a sideways look at them, refracting and reflecting the water’s light.
As they approached the limestone cliffs that hid the source, he broke the pocket of silence. “You channel something when you sing. Something bigger than yourself.”
She took this in, looking up at the towering white stone, a natural temple, then glanced toward the cavern beside them, with its deep pool of water far below in the shadows.
“Like an underground spring,” he said.
She met his gaze, etched his words into her mind, engraved them into her heart. He understood her. She was just leaning toward his lips, when she heard a rumbling from the depths. The carnyx.
Luc gasped. “Did you see that?”
“Oui.” She straightened up and turned back to face him. “I saw it the other time I was here too.”
He looked at her in wonder. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing, Callie… and you’re two for two?”
She felt the music coming from inside and outside and everywhere. All at once. If she opened her mouth, a song might pour out. On impulse, she grabbed Luc by the collar, pulled him close. Their kiss was a duet, soft and feathery at first, then growing more intense. Their music intermingled from a hidden source, and the river music swelled, rich and deep.
He laughed too. “I wish we’d come here sooner.”
“So do I.”
He raised an eyebrow. “I think La Chanson wants you to stay.”
“You think?”
From the depths came another roar, straight from a dragon’s mouth.”
― Laura Resau, The River Muse

“And they kissed, lips warm against the cool night air. The kiss was a key, unlocking something soft and honeyed, earthy and foresty, starlit and sunlit. They pulled each other closer still, and she clasped the back of his neck as his hand pressed against the small of her back. Just the two of them in this secret pocket of the universe.”
― Laura Resau, The River Muse

“She gazed, mesmerized, at the water, unknowable in the shadows, until a sunbeam found its way in, at just the right angle, and reached into the depths with a flash of blue-green. Light reflected off bronze, and she glimpsed the carnyx. It was real, this instrument.
She heard her voice emerge like a dragon's. And she felt her selves join. Singer and listener became one and the same.”
― Laura Resau, The River Muse

“At lightning speed, Eva ran toward him as he set down the puppy— a truffle dog by the look of it, about four months old, white with large black spots— and within seconds, she was rolling around as it licked her cheeks. “J’adore your Lagotto Romagnolo,” she informed him.
“And evidently, Chouchou adores you.”
Chouchou. My little cabbage. The classic French term of affection seemed perfect for this roly-poly creature.”
― Laura Resau, The River Muse

“Eva’s favorite dog was a russet female with buoyant energy. “What’s her name?” she asked in French.
“Belle!” declared one of the men. “She’s my copine!” He clutched his chest, as if lovestruck, and blew kisses to the furry creature as Callie translated la copine for Eva: “His girlfriend.”
”Oh, Belle is belle.” Eva sprawled beside the dogs, delighted.
As her daughter became thoroughly coated in canine saliva, Callie greeted the men with standard pleasantries, then chatted about Colorado and La Chanson and the dogs, who were truffle dogs— the Lagotto Romagnolo breed.”
― Laura Resau, The River Muse

“The water’s deep blue-green felt unreal, something you’d expect in the Caribbean or in a fantastical realm. Its songs rose, spiraling and wisping, whirling with dragonflies.”
― Laura Resau, The River Muse

“Just around the bend, the village La Chanson appeared, bright in the late morning sunshine, a cluster of ancient buildings tucked into a lush valley, where a ribbon of river sparkled. Callie almost gasped at its otherworldly color, like emeralds and sapphires turned liquid.”
― Laura Resau, The River Muse

“Yesterday, I read that our namesake, Calliope, goddess of poetry and music, sang about Persephone, trapped in the underworld. And I think of you, Callie, in that watery cave, still singing, earnest and hopeful and determined…”
― Laura Resau, The River Muse

“My waters rise from the source, deep in the earth, from secret caverns, hidden pockets of spirit. A rumble of bass moves through limestone tunnels, upward and onward, around curves, gathering chords, minor and major, until out flows a song, azure and cerulean, plucked from sunshine and moonbeam.
Some say my music echoes your soul, harmonizes with fears and longings, calls forth your own song, until it spills out in liquid jewels.
If, of course, you are worthy.
My waters sing of death too, a low drumbeat that rattles the bones.
There are those of you who bring out the river dragon in me.
And my gaping mouth swallows you whole.”
― Laura Resau, The River Muse