The voices / 93 fragments

Shannon Hale

Dates not recorded

Name supplied in the contributor-provided quotation collection. Basic attribution label; identity, lifetime and quotation authenticity have not been independently verified.

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▷ Play this voice Search within this voice ↗Place in time ↗time mind life truth knowledge justice death learning

Archive entries

01Undated

I'm writing a first draft and reminding myself that I'm simply shoveling sand into a box so that later I can build castles.

Shannon Hale / quote

02Undated

Throwing herself into learning helped Miri ignore the painful chill of solitude around her.

Shannon Hale / quote

03Undated

A castle of defense, a bastion of mightA fort where the wise teach the young to fightAn armory of weapons, sharp as hooksAre wrapped in leather and shelved as books

Shannon Hale / quote

04Undated

If we're mad, we're mad in large numbers, at least larger than yours.

Shannon Hale / quote

05Undated

Careful with the accusations of insanity, oh my lady whose home is a tower with windows of brick, all for the sake of some skinny-ankled, laugh-prone boy of a khan.

Shannon Hale / quote

06Undated

We found it!" Charlotte yelled, as they ran back through the house. "We found it, we found it!"Eddie, Mr. Mallery, and Colonel Andrews came from separate directions, converging in the front hall. Miss Charming was hopping up and down, her bosom nearly rising to slap her own forehead.

Shannon Hale / quote

07Undated

My heart’s so light it floats and carries me so my feet don’t walk. I sing all day and I don’t mind the washing, and that’s how I know I’m in love. Completely smitten with My Lord the cat.

Shannon Hale / quote

08Undated

Personally, I believe “Young Adult” to be an arbitrary title that means the book "Can be enjoyed by anyone/Has a main character who’s not quite an adult/Isn’t really boring.

Shannon Hale / quote

09Undated

She closed the book and put her cheek against it. There was still an odor of a library on it, of dust, leather, binding glue, and old paper, one book carrying the smell of hundreds.

Shannon Hale / quote

10Undated

The book smelled dusty and old but also carried a sweet tang, a hint of something inviting. She opened to the first page and started to read, pronouncing the words in a reverent whisper.

Shannon Hale / quote

11Undated

But, how do you know if an ending is truly good for the characters unless you've traveled with them through every page?

Shannon Hale / quote

12Undated

I'm going to find whoever is responsible for me sleeping out side with outside without pillows and kick them in the shins!-Enna

Shannon Hale / quote

13Undated

Over there!" "Where?" Enna asked in mock panic "Do you see something?

Shannon Hale / quote

14Undated

When you get tired of worrying and mourning your horse and trying not to be afraid, tell me and I'll do it for you a while so you can shut your eyes and sleep peaceful.

Shannon Hale / quote

15Undated

My friends call me by my name.""You don't have any friends.""I don't want you to be my friend, Selia, or my servant, not now. I thought you were both. You have let me know I was wrong. So are you to treat me so. You are wrong.

Shannon Hale / quote

16Undated

And Isi always listened, never told Enna she had been foolish, never said hollow things like 'You'll be all right.' . . . Isi saw Enna's struggle and her sadness, and she understood.

Shannon Hale / quote

17Undated

Seriously, a thirty-something woman shouldn't be daydreaming about a fictional character in a two-hundred-year-old world to the point where it interfered with her very real and much more important life and relationships. Of course she shouldn't.

Shannon Hale / quote

18Undated

Get back in my cot, girl," said Gilsa. "You're sickly."No, I'm not," said Ani.Oh, no? Well, maybe stubbornness is a sickness, did you ever think of that?

Shannon Hale / quote

19Undated

Fortune-teller tea. Give it a sip!"The liquid was pink and smelled of strawberries, but when Maddie drank it, the flavor was deep and a little bitter, followed by a sudden burst of sweetness.Her father returned. "Well?" he asked."It started out as black licorice and then melted into butterscotch," she said."Oh, my girl, the tea is telling you that this is the year to keep your ear to the ground and listen for surprises. Change is coming!"Maddie's stomach was full of thoughts and her head full of butterflies. She checked her watch again. She couldn't wait for it all to begin.

Shannon Hale / quote

20Undated

Even the jerks earn some of our affection. We can be glad they're gone and yet still mourn the good parts.

Shannon Hale / quote

21Undated

No wolf falters before the bite, so strike.No hawk wavers before the dive, so swing.No sun pauses before the set, just strike.No rain delays before the fall, just swing.

Shannon Hale / quote

22Undated

Ashlynn washed her face, put on an apron, and then opened wide the door to her shoe closet. This princess wouldn't care if she wore a burlap sack every day, so long as she had dozens of footwear choices. Today she settled on a pair of scrappy teal wedges and went to start breakfast. Even though her father's grand house came fully stocked with servants, her mother believed in good, solid, character-forming chores. After all, Ashlynn would inherit her mother's story and become the next Cinderella someday, and there would be lots of floors to mop and hearths to sweep her Happily Ever After.

Shannon Hale / quote

23Undated

You don't need luck. You are powerful, clever, and fearless.

Shannon Hale / quote

24Undated

Courage is feeling justly afraid and yet still doing what is right.

Shannon Hale / quote