Patricia briggs quotes

I am not attempting to preserve culture, or record actual events or stories. Instead I bow my head in gratitude to those storytellers who have gone before and paved a way for me play in their stomping grounds. Doubtless those who want to be offended, will - allowing me to make them happy, too, which pleases me as much as it pleases them.

I suppose we must work on being gracious and grateful until we can do for ourselves. Someday the wheel of fate will put us in a position to be of use to them, and we will remember how much easier it is to give help than it is to accept it.

Some people are boys longer than others.

Do they always flirt with biblical quotes?" Asil asked Tad. In long-suffering tones, Tad said, "They can flirt with the periodic table or a restaurant menu. We've learned to live with it. Get a room you guys."

Dragons and legends...It would have been difficult for any man not to want to fight beside a dragon.

In this dream, I wasn’t a coyote shapeshifter trying to hold a werewolf, I was Coyote’s almost daughter, and I had all the strength of the world in my arms.

Now, I'm not very vain. If I'd ever been, making my living covered in various grease and dirt mixtures would have cured me quickly. Still, I wasn't up to facing two sexy men when I had one eye swollen mostly shut and half of my face black and blue.

Christmas garland and a rock?" he said, a smile in his voice."Why not an ornament?" "Wolves aren't fragile," I told him. "And they're... stubbon and hard to move

I don't like it when I outweigh my men.

Truth is without flourishes or manners and runs with a logic all its own.

I was in the middle of a dream about garbage cans and frogs - don't ask, and I won't tell.

A man learns with age, if he is lucky.

Such a small thing to cause so much trouble.

It's only fair to warn you that you sealed your fate tonight. When you knew you were in trouble, you came to me. That makes twice, Mercy, and twice is almost as good as a declaration. You are mine now... Ben says you might run. If you do, I will find you and bring you back. Every time you run, Mercy. I won't force you, but... I won't leave or let you leave either. If you can fight that cursed fairy drink, you can certainly overcome any advantage being an Alpha gives me if you really want to. No more excuses, Mercy. You are mine, and I am keeping you.

The trick to going wherever you want unchallenged in a hospital is to walk briskly, nod to the people you know, and ignore the ones you don’t. The nod reassures everyone that you are known, the brisk pace that you have a mission and don’t want to talk

If you could just see your face,” she told me. “You look like a cat in a bathtub.

Never accept the blame for what evil people do. We are all responsible for our own actions." She was lecturing him, so she stopped. "Sorry. Hang around with Bran too long, and see if you don’t start passing around the Marrok’s advice as if he were Confucius.

You play games with people's lives.(...) You forget that they are fragile.

He sighed. " I don't think an apology will do, Mercy. Because an apology implies that you wouldn't do it again. And, under the circumstances, you wouldn't do anything differently, would you?" "No.

I knew he would never leave me, never let me down-because the man had never abandoned anything in his long life. If I hadn’t taken the gold rope of our bond, I knew Adam would have sat on me and hog-tied me with it. I liked that. A lot.

Read good books. Read bad books - and figure out why you don't like them. Then don't do it when you write. If you are a science fiction or fantasy writer, going to conventions and attending panels is very useful.

Are you going to tell me what that was about?” Adam asked as we went back upstairs. “Sometime,” I told him. “When we're telling ghost stories around a campfire, and I want to scare you.

A man who will risk nothing for love is not a man

Only cowards torture women.

Coffee or orange juice?” “Water is fine.” His eyebrows went up. “Uh-oh,” Auriele said, but she was smiling. Darryl was not. “Are you implying that my coffee is not the best in four counties? Or my fresh-squeezed orange juice is less than perfect?

She was on the far side, leaving two cold feet of mattress between them. He knew that she'd fall asleep like that... and then gradually move over until she was plastered against him. Then he could go to sleep, too.

Charles could care less about shoes - and he suspected he wasn't alone among men in his feelings. Shoe, no shoe, he didn't care. Naked was good, though over the past couple of weeks he was beginning to think that dressed in his clothes was a decent second best.

People who know other people’s secrets can’t afford to do things that impair their ability to control their mouths.

He was obviously dead. But since he was a vampire that wasn't as hopless a thing as it might have been.

There is no cash in battling evil: just the opposite in my experience

She crawled,” Ben said. There were tears in his voice. That was wrong. Ben barely even tolerated me on the best of days. “She crawled to the bathroom to clean herself again. If it weren’t for the two subs in the pack, I’d be on the bottom. And she wouldn’t stand up in my presence for guilt.

Love is not necessary for sex.

It's easier to dismiss ghosts in the daylight.

A man's immortality can be found in his children.

Don’t lick the guests, darling. Bad manners.

Where does a werewolf sleep? Anywhere he wants to.

I like what you've done to your face," Ben said, tapping his eye.

Then he'd come back home and found out that war didn't cause fear- love did.

Hard truths can be dealt with, triumphed over, but lies will destroy your soul.

Do you have any idea how much I love you?” he asked. ”Enough to accept my apologies?” I suggested in a small voice. ”Heck no,” he said, and pushed off from the wall, stalking forward. When he reached me, he put his hands up and touched the sides of my neck with the tips of his fingers – as if I were something fragile. ”No apologies from you,” he told me, his voice soft enough to melt my knees and most of my other parts.

I was going to fight vampires, and my name wasn't Buffy--I was so screwed.

She wondered that hope was so much harder then despair.

Zealots are like one track-pony. Don't get in their way without expecting to get hurt.

A dominant wolf's desire to protect was a strong instinct- Samuel was very dominant. Give him an inch, and he's take over the world- my life, if I let him. Mercy

I don't get mad, I get even.

It is one of those lessons that every child should learn: Don't play with fire, sharp objects, or ancient artifacts.

Americans in particular are oddly innocent in their faith that science holds explanations for everything.

Why is it that all cars are women? Because they're fussy and demanding.

He was like Superman, but with fangs and oddly impaired morals.

C’est moi, c’est moi,’tis I,' I told him. It seemed appropriately melodramatic, though I didn’t know if he’d catch the reference. I shouldn’t have worried. Unexpectedly, he laughed. “Trust you to quote Lancelot rather than Guinevere.

Dont let the bastards grind you down?" Bran looked at me incredulously.

Are we going to Portland?" I asked. "Or Multnomah Falls?" He smiled at me. "Go to sleep." I waited three seconds. "Are we there yet?" His smile widened, and the last of the usual tension melted from his face. For a smile like that, I'd...do anything.

I think that I can count on the fingers of one hand the times you've actually said the word ‘women' and not replaced it with an epithet referring to female genitalia." "Hey, he's not that bad," Warren said. "Sometimes he calls them cows or whores.

It Wasn't Hard To Follow The Scent Of Blood To The Living Room Where The Fae Had Been Killed. It Had Been A Violent Death, Perfect For Creating Ghosts.

But that was the trouble with ancient artifacts - no one really knew what they did.

This world has need of song and sword.

He stepped back with exaggerated courtesy. But when I walked past him, he swatted my rump. Hard enough to sting. “You need to be more careful,” he growled. “Keep interfering in my business and you might get hurt.” I said sweetly as I continued to Jesse's room, “The last man who swatted me like that is rotting in his grave.” “I have no doubt about it.” His voice was more satisfied then contrite.

When I die of heart failure the next time you frighten me like that, you can put that on my gravestone —‘I didn’t mean to startle her

Identity was partly heritage, partly upbringing, but mostly the choices you make in life. ~ Bran

Cheeses crusty, got all musty, got damp on the stone of a peach,” I agreed. He looked blank, so I repeated it with proper emphasis. “ ChEEZ-zes crusty. Got Al -musty. Got DAMp on the StoneofapeaCH.

Bran was the only person I knew who could use words like "blackguard" and make them sound like swear words-but then he could have said "bunny rabbit" in that tone of voice and weaken my spine with the same shiver of fear.

All life is rife with possibilities. Seeds have possibilities, but all their tomorrows are caught by the patterning of their life cycle. Animals have possibilities that are greater than that of a fir tree or a blade of grass. Still, though, for most animals, the pattern of instinct, the patterns of their lives, are very strong. Humanity has a far greater range of possibilities, especially the very young. Who will children grow up to be? Who will they marry, what will they believe, what will they create? Creation is a very powerful seed of possibility.

You should be home sleeping. What is the use of having a man in the house, if he cannot take care of you for a while?” “Mmm,” I said. “I give up. What's the use of having a man in the house?

People will do amazing things to ensure their survival.

Don't make light of any man's pain.

If it would benefit you, I would kill every wolf here. But there are things that you need to do -- and interfering with that is not protecting, not in my book. The best way for me to protect you is to encourage you to be able to protect yourself.

Adam has always had . . . heroic tendencies.” I touched Adam’s arm. “He’s my hero.” There was another pause. . . “That is the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard you say,” Bran said. “Be careful, Adam, or you’ll turn her into a real girl.” Adam looked at me. “I like her just the way she is, Bran.” And he meant it, greasy overalls, broken fingernails, and all.

Love thy enemies, it says in the scriptures. My foster mother always added, "At the very least, you will be polite to them.

His grandfather had often told him that he tried too hard to move trees when a wiser man would walk around them.

Zee said, grumpily, “Liebling, this is not a good idea.” “Zee,” I told him, “I am completely out of good ideas and am doing my best with the bad ones I have left.

Adam didn't approve of Wal-Mart.

See you tomorrow,” he said, instead. “All right.” Then, impulsively, I asked, “Do you have a place to sleep tonight?” “Sure,” he said with a smile, and started off as if he had somewhere to be. I could have bitten off my tongue because I pushed him into a lie. Once he started lying to me, it would be harder to get him to trust me with the truth. I don’t know why it works that way, but it does—at least in my experience.

Much awkwardness ensued.

You forgot the ‘my precious,’” Anna said dryly. “If you want to act like a freaking nutcase, you have to do it right.

I hope this means you'll quit asking me to kill you. It gives me indigestion.

Honey, ... When a wolf watches a lamb, he's not thinking about the lamb's mommy.

Fear makes idiots out of us all, at some time or other.

Some people are like Slinkies.They aren't really good for anything, but they still bring a smile to my face when I push them down a flight of stairs.

I narrowed my eyes at him. "Stuff that. I'll write a doctoral thesis. Then I can go do what most of the other people with doctoral degrees in anthropology do." "What's that?" asked Calvin. "You don't need to encourage her," said Adam seriously, but his eyes laughed at me. "The same thing that people with degrees in history do," I said. "Fix cars or serve frnech fries and bad hamburgers.

Things change whether you want them to, or not--unless you are dead. Don't hold so hard to the past that you die with it.

Coyote never loses. Because I change the rules of the games my enemies play. What are the rules of your game?

You can't cage an eagle for long without destroying it.

Evil must always be fought.

When I put magic into a book - whether it's a wizard or a crusty old werewolf - I'm asking a reader to swallow a huge leap that is counter to everything he or she knows. An extra big helping of reality makes that leap go down a lot easier.

Take a note: it usually works better if you wait until I do something stupid before getting mad at me.

I thought you couldn't make it here until morning," I said. "I hurried.

It was Adam, but he was too late. He couldn’t love me anymore. He would be so angry with me. I had to hide. He didn’t love me so he might hurt me when he was angry. When he calmed down, that would hurt him. I didn’t want him hurting because of me. There was nowhere for a person to hide. So I wouldn’t be a person. My eyes fell on the shelves that lined the far back corner. A coyote could hide there.

She'd never have allowed herself to be held by anything as mundane as a few bars and a reinforced door

My father always said that too many words cheapened the value of a man's speech.

I told them," he said in a clear, carrying voice, "that they should not give someone as old and powerful as I a daughter to love. That it would end badly.

A king who trusts no man is weak.

It is not wise to give something old and powerful something they care about. And I am very old.

MS. THOMPSON, it said in heavy block letters, PLEASE KEEP YOUR FELINE OFF MY PROPERTY. IF I SEE IT AGAIN, I WILL EAT IT.

I jerked my chin toward Frost’s body. ‘All that is required for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing.’ Hao said, “Life is not safe. A man might spend his whole time on earth staying safe in a basement, and in the end, he still dies like everyone else.” Half-naked, covered with the same filth we all were, he still gave the impression of being in control of himself and his environment.

After I shut the door behind me, I heard Darryl say "of course eating him would work too.

It was unsettling to be in love with someone who looked like the face in her nightmares.

Anger is stupid, and stupidity will kill you more surely than your opponent's blade.

I think I’ll just go take a shower,” I said. It wasn’t until Samuel stiffened that I remembered I’d just come out of the shower. So much for playing normal.

Sometimes I think I live more closely to the past than the present.

Tis the gift to be gentle, ’tis the gift to be fair, ’Tis the gift to wake and breathe the morning air, To walk every day in the path that we choose, Is the gift that we pray we will never never lose.

You will eat this and go to sleep, so your pronouns get their antecedents back.

Mercy," said my mother thoughtfully, "you never told me your werewolf neighbor was quite that hot.

When life doesn't meet your expectations, it was important to take it with grace.

The only certainty life contains is death.

So in the sweltering heat of a July night, I sang a Christmas carol to a room full of fae, who had been driven out of their homelands by Christians and their cold-iron swords.

Paranoia: the gift of the survivor and the burden of the overtired, stressed, and terrified.

Bran was stripping her futon down to the bare mattress when she entered her apartment. It was sort of like watching the president mowing the White House lawn or taking out the trash.

I'm a coyote shapeshifter playing in a world of werewolves and vampires---outmatched is n understatement.

Never trust a mechanic who drives new cars. They're either charging too much money for their work, or they can't keep an old car running - maybe both.

Drink it,” I told her. “It’s good for what ails you. Caffeine and sugar. I don’t drink it, so I ran over to your house and stole the expensive stuff in your freezer. It shouldn’t be that bad. Samuel told me to make it strong and pour sugar into it. It should taste sort of like bitter syrup.” She gave me a smile smile, then a bigger one, and plugged her nose before she drank it down in one gulp. “Next time," she said in a hoarse voice, “I make the coffee.

That’s a pretty lame superhero name,” I told him. “Scooby-Doo is already taken,” he said with dignity. “Anything else sounds lame in comparison.

Tim was dead. And he's always been a loser. I'd be damned if I was going to be the victim of a loser - or anyone else.

Want to play some Battleship?” I wasn’t leaving him alone with that thing in there. Chad armed himself with a notebook, and we went to war. Historically, war has often been used as a distraction for problems at home.

I was talking cannibalism, not romance.

Knowing someone desires you is the greatest aphrodisiac

Knowledge is a better weapon than a sword.

Is it like a Harry Potter thing?" He turned his head then. "A what?" "A Harry Potter thing," she said again. "You know, don't say Voldemort's name because you might attract his attention?" He considered it. "You mean the children's book." "I have got to get you to watch more movies," she said. "You'd enjoy these. Yes, I mean the children's book.

Cheeses crusty, got all musty, got damp on the stone of a peach.

There was I thinking being a shifter had its upsides. Looks like I was wrong.

A man says a lot of things in summer he doesn't mean in winter.

Why is it that all cars are women?" he asked. "Because they're fussy and demanding," answered Zee. "Because if they were men, they'd sit around and complain instead of getting the job done," I told him.

Mercy," he said,"in a fair fight between near equals, I'll back you every time. It's the demons, vampires, and river devils I worry about, and I'm working on that.

Mercy?” “Just a minute,” I told Adam. “I'm in the middle of a revelation.

Dance when the moon sings, and don't cry about troubles that haven't yet come. (Moon Called)

I used my history degree about twice a year whether I needed to or not.