Lisa Lutz Quotes

Your father and I haven't had this much quality time since our honeymoon."
"So what?"
"So, what if we can't stand each other? ~ Lisa Lutz

I want you to write one page on what you want to be when you grow up, and then one page on what you want to be if that first thing doesn't work out, because sometimes things don't work out the way we'd like them to. Then another page on what you'd do if the first two things you'd like to be don't work out. Then two pages on the one thing you definitely don't want to be no matter what. It's really important not to let the bottom drop out of your life. ~ Lisa Lutz

I wished I were a snake, so I could crawl out of my skin. ~ Lisa Lutz

Our ability to adapt is amazing. Our ability to change isn't quite as spectacular. ~ Lisa Lutz

We knew we were doomed. The kiss was a warm acceptance of years of bickering, years of me consuming foods that I found barely edible and Henry tidying up after someone who already thought she had tidied up. When I kissed Henry I wasn't imagining Ex-boyfriend #13; I was picturing Husband #1. ~ Lisa Lutz

Stop looking at me like that."
Sorry, I just wanted to savor the moment," Mom replied.
What moment?" I asked.
You're in first place," she said, and then began washing the windows. ~ Lisa Lutz

There was a time I used to cry, but that was another lifetime ago. My heart was broken just once. But completely. As ~ Lisa Lutz

I was thinking what everyone is thinking all of the time: How can I make this last just a little bit longer? ~ Lisa Lutz

Because that's what you do, you keep trying even when you know the effort is in vain. As ~ Lisa Lutz

The best way to hide in plain sight was to get fat. ~ Lisa Lutz

I tried not to think of Uncle Ray as being gone forever. I just liked to imagine him on one really long Lost Weekend. ~ Lisa Lutz

David's brow unfurled and he crouched down on the floor with his daughter. 'Did you have a fun time with your aunt Izzy?' he asked in a high squeaky voice.
Sydney stared at him blankly.
'Say good morning to Aunt Izzy.'
Sydney stared at me blankly.
'Remember me from last night?' I asked.
'Did you have fun?' Maggie asked.
'I wouldn't go that far,' I replied.
'I was actually talking to Sydney, Maggie said.
'Oh well, she'd probably agree. We had an okay time, didn't we, Sydney?'
'Why can't you talk to her like a normal person?' asked David.
'I'm the only one talking to her like a normal person. You sound like a eunuch. ~ Lisa Lutz

ISABEL: Sorry I missed my session Monday.
DR. RUSH: Would you like to tell me why?
ISABEL: I was depressed.
DR. RUSH: That's a good reason to come to therapy. ~ Lisa Lutz

The next week she withheld my paycheck until I signed a document (drafted by David) in which I promised not to marry Connor. Ever. I signed the document, took the check, and had David draft another document forbidding all Spellmans to practice any form of blackmail. David tried to explain to me that a contract in which you promise not to break the law is ultimately redundant, but I didn't care. ~ Lisa Lutz

I don't have any kids, so I'm not as worried about my heirs as the rest of you, but still: I think the youth of tomorrow might be better off if they knew the physical sensation of cracking a spine and turning the page. ~ Lisa Lutz

I remember a time when my mind wouldn't have been able to shut down, my cases churning so relentlessly that I could barely see the person standing right in front of me. I remember when it had to be me who solved the case, who figured out the riddle. Now I didn't care who did it, how it came about, just as long as it was over. I'm tired of seeing all the rotten things one person does to another person. Don't get me wrong, I'm not about to open a flower shop. But this is my dream: One day, I leave my job at my office and it doesn't follow me home and haunt me in my sleep. Another dream: I don't live in my brother's basement apartment. After everything I've seen and done and mused about endlessly, I'm convinced of one thing: There's more to life than this, and sometimes when I picture more, it looks like something so simple, like so much less. ~ Lisa Lutz

No one is going to abduct me, Rae." "That's what all abductees say. ~ Lisa Lutz

But Vivien wasn't being given the chance to sow her wild oats. Speaking from a point of authority, it's best to get that shit out of the way when you are young. ~ Lisa Lutz

Mitch had a particular way with women - a formula of giving and withholding that almost always managed to hook them. Getting them to talk about themselves was the first step; remaining enigmatic was the second. There were other steps, but he used only the first two during that encounter. ~ Lisa Lutz

She suspects her husband, Jake, might be gay."
"Did you suggest she ask him?"
Mom laughed. "Of course not. Business is slow. ~ Lisa Lutz

Finally, I'd like to thank my readers for staying with me all these years. I especially want to thank the ones who understand that the world isn't made up of happy endings, but messy, complicated, and untidy ones. ~ Lisa Lutz

If people really grew up, there would be no crime, no divorce, no Civil War reenactors ... it's not like you think it will be, that one day you'll wake up and realize that you've got things figured out. You never figure it out. Ever. - Isabel Spellman attempting to explain growing up to her sister Rae ~ Lisa Lutz

It's always good to go home. ~ Lisa Lutz

What was she like in the end?
The way most people are at the end. Scared and full of regret. The way you are all of the time. ~ Lisa Lutz

David, I just broke into your home. Clearly I don't respect boundaries. Do you really think a verbal request is going to put a dent in any of my plans? ~ Lisa Lutz

If you haven't said 'I love you' to someone today, do it. You won't always be happy, but you should try to be. Don't be too afraid of germs. Those people have no fun. Remember to look around sometimes. You might see something you haven't seen before or at the very least avoid being hit by a flying object. Speaking of flying objects, don't spend your life looking for extraterrestrial life, unless you work for NASA. Remember that you always have to cooperate with someone. Life is an endless negotiation. Play fair. Stay out of jail. Don't live in the past. Eat breakfast. It really is the most important meal of the day. Try to make new friends, even when you think you're too old to do that ... And finally, remember this 'Yes' is always a better work than 'no'. Unless, of course, someone has just asked you to commit a felony. ~ Lisa Lutz

It's not like I didn't think I had any demons. I did, but I could name them- and even provide an address and telephone number for each. As far as I was concerned, those demons could go to therapy instead of me. ~ Lisa Lutz

I'm sorry you're angry" is NOT an apology. ~ Lisa Lutz

I liked finding dirt on people. It made all my trespasses seem trivial. ~ Lisa Lutz

Milo refreshed Rae's drink and said, Talk to her. You need to get it off your chest." Then Milo turned to me and said, "Why don't you try a more subtle approach."
"I demand you tell me your troubles," I said to my sister.
"You're not as funny as you think you are," Rae replied. ~ Lisa Lutz

If you have enough unanswered questions, you have a certifiable mystery, and those are impossible to resist. ~ Lisa Lutz

I entered his apartment without being invited, which is perfectly fine if you're not a vampire. ~ Lisa Lutz

You should keep dental floss on you at all times; when your eyesight goes, quit driving; don't keep too many secrets, eventually they'll eat away at you. But the most valuable lesson he taught me was this: Every day we get older, and some of us get wiser, but there's no end to our evolution. We are all a mess of contradictions; some of our traits work for us, some against us. And this is what I figured out on my own: Over the course of a lifetime, people change, but not as much as you'd think. Nobody really grows up. ~ Lisa Lutz

I refuse to have a life partner who spends his days pretending to be on a BBC show. ~ Lisa Lutz

My father insisted that the boys in my life were directly responsible for my juvenile-delinquent tendencies.
My mother, more accurately, assumed that I was the bad influence. ~ Lisa Lutz

The latter. She had a good run, Sook said, doing a little shrug. It was his usual response to death at Mapleshade, and it was a safe bet that he felt that way about himself. Like most twice-widowed, Korea-vet, nature-loving, gun-enthusiast, bilingual, weed-connoisseur great grandfathers of five, he'd lived a full life. ~ Lisa Lutz

God, there's nothing sexier than a nice strong jawline and a movie-star-quality chin dimple. It's my own personal kryptonite.
- SINGLE-MINDED ~ Lisa Daily

The boat rocked in the waves, and as I saw the lights of Kowloon come through the fog, I held the railing, breathless. How wrong I had been to assume this feeling had been lost forever. This lightheaded uncertainty, all my fear and joy - I could return here, punching the sky. Because I had found her: Polly Guo. Wherever I went next, I would never let her go again... The water was Minjiang, New York, Fuzhou, but most of all, it was you. ~ Lisa Ko

This disease will not be bargained with. I can't offer it the names of the United States presidents in exchange for the names of my children. I can't give it the names of the state capitals and keep the memories of my husband. ~ Lisa Genova

When you meet someone
so different from yourself,
in a good way,
you don't even have to kiss
to have fireworks go off. ~ Lisa Schroeder

We have seen death before, Marnie and I, a mountain of ice melting over time, drops of water freezing at your core reminding you every day of that which has vanished, but the despair we know today is a sadness sailing sorrow through every bone and knuckle. ~ Lisa O'Donnell

You told me you believed marriage was for other people."
"You're the only man who could make me believe that it's for me, too. Although when you get down to it, love is what's real. I still say marriage is just a piece of paper."
Jack smiled. "Let's find out," he said, and he pulled me down to the bed with him.
Jack & Ella ~ Lisa Kleypas

I want someone who loves me like I'm the end of the road. ~ Lisa Reardon

I don't want to relax. I don't want to … oh, dear Lord." He had bent his head to her throat, searching for the visible thrum of her pulse. A light, hot shock went through her. "Don't do that," she said weakly, but he was insistent, his mouth wickedly soft, and her breath hitched as she felt the brush of his tongue. Her hands shot to his muscle-banked shoulders. "Mr. Rohan, you mustn't - "
"This is how to kiss, Amelia." He cradled her head in his palms, deftly tilting it to the side. "Noses go here." Another disorienting brush of his mouth, a wash of sensual heat. "You taste like sugar and tea."
"I already know how to kiss!"
"Do you?" His thumb passed over her kiss-heated lips, urging them to part. "Then show me," he whispered. "Let me in, Amelia."
Never in her life had she thought a man would say something so outrageous to her. And if the words were improper, the gleam in his eyes was positively immolating.
"I … I'm a spinster." She offered the word as if it were a talisman. Everyone knew that rakish gentlemen were supposed to leave spinsters alone. But it appeared no one had told Cam Rohan.
A covert smile deepened the corners of his mouth. "That's not going to keep you safe from me." She tried to turn away from him, but his hands guided her face back to his. "I can't seem to leave you alone. In fact, I'm reconsidering my entire policy on spinsters. ~ Lisa Kleypas

Anybody in the spotlight can get lost in that if they are not careful. ~ Lisa Marie Presley

You have to be in the game long enough to see the results. ~ Lisa Newton

The brain is your emotional cockpit. Lots of buttons and levers. Best to learn how to steer responsibly. ~ Lisa Cypers Kamen

I ordered my favorite drink; vanilla iced blended coffee with whipped cream and caramel sauce on top. The whipped cream and caramel sauce were the best. Usually when no one was watching, I would lick the inside of the lid to get every last drop of the addictive syrup. Once, my dad caught me doing this and started laughing. I'd gotten caramel plastered over my nose. If Colt had ever seen me do this, I would never live it down. Glancing around, I indulged shamelessly and grinned. -Cheyenne ~ Lisa L. Wiedmeier

God, sometimes I feel so . . . weak. I can't do this on my own. I'm too tired, too scared, and yet for some reason you put me here to fight this battle.

It was a fight for those who couldn't fight for themselves. A fight for justice and all that should be right in the world when it wasn't. It was all she really wanted to do. Make a difference. Whether she was a schoolteacher or working beside the FBI to save a young girl. ~ Lisa Harris

Over the years I've collected a thousand memories of you, every glimpse, every word you've ever said to me. All those visits to your family's home, those dinners and holidays - I could hardly wait to walk through the front door and see you." The corners of his mouth quirked with reminiscent amusement. "You, in the middle of that brash, bull-headed lot ... I love watching you deal with your family. You've always been everything I thought a woman should be. And I have wanted you every second of my life since we first met. ~ Lisa Kleypas

Look you," Pandora told him in a businesslike tone, "marriage is not on the table."
Look you? Look you? Gabriel was simultaneously amused and outraged. Was she really speaking to him as if he were an errand boy?
"I've never wanted to marry," Pandora continued. "Anyone who knows me will tell you that. When I was little, I never liked the stories about princesses waiting to be rescued. I never wished on falling stars, or pulled the petals off daisies while reciting 'he loves me, he loves me not.' At my brother's wedding, they handed out slivers of wedding cake to all the unmarried girls and said if we put it under our pillows, we would dream of our future husbands. I ate my cake instead. Every crumb. I've made plans for my life that don't involve becoming anyone's wife."
"What plans?" Gabriel asked. How could a girl of her position, with her looks, make plans that didn't include the possibility of marriage?
"That's none of your business," she told him smartly.
"Understood," Gabriel assured her. "There's just one thing I'd like to ask: What the bloody hell were you doing at the ball in the first place, if you don't want to marry?"
"Because I thought it would be only slightly less boring than staying at home."
"Anyone as opposed to marriage as you claim to be has no business taking part in the Season."
"Not every girl who attends a ball wants to be Cinderella."
"If it's grouse season," Gabriel pointed out acidly, "and you're keeping co ~ Lisa Kleypas

And I start to say that I'm not lying now, but I am, so that would be a lie. ~ Lisa Desrochers

As it turned out, the purée of spring vegetables exceeded Mr. Ravenel's description. The soft reddish-orange emulsion really did taste like a garden. It was a bold, creamy harmony of astringent tomato, sweet carrots, potatoes, and greens, bound together in a lively snap of springtime. As Phoebe bit into a half-crisp, half-sodden crouton, she closed her eyes to savor it. God, it had been so long since she'd really tasted anything. ~ Lisa Kleypas

Mistakes make us who we are. ~ Lisa De Jong

Truly? You've been chaste for that long?"
"'Chaste' implies a purity of thought that I assure you does not apply. But I have been celibate. ~ Lisa Kleypas

The horizon is an imaginary line that recedes as you approach it. ~ Ginnifer Goodwin

I eat fish and love bacon. Plus, I don't mind if soups are made with chicken or beef stock, I just don't like eating big pieces of meat. ~ Lisa Loeb

I have always championed the concept of administrators of color. My mother worked in advertising, and growing up, I saw my mother's community of women working behind the scenes. I had the opportunity from a young age to know that I could do this work. ~ Lisa Lucas

A tip: if you're invited to your friend's country club to go the lost and found bin and pretend that you left something there. Next thing you know, you have a fabulous sweater ... ~ Lisa Birnbach

Summer camp was a place where I felt like myself that wasn't like school. There were no grades, we got to try lots of new things, and I started to play guitar at camp. It was a place for acceptance and learning to be a part of a community, but also learning to be yourself. I want that for all kids, but some kids don't have the opportunity to go to camp. I want to help. ~ Lisa Loeb

On long haul flights I always drink loads and loads of water and eat light and healthy food. ~ Lisa Snowdon

As Lillian walked into the orangery, she was suffused in the scent of... oranges. But lemons, bays, and myrtles also cast their fragrance extravagantly through the gently heated air. ~ Lisa Kleypas

We are able to use technology to make it clear that someone's car is available or a room in a home is accessible; that there is an available desk in an office someplace. ~ Lisa Gansky

Pandora decided to take another tack. "You do not want to marry me, my lord. I would be the worst wife imaginable. I'm forgetful and stubborn, and I can never sit still for more than five minutes. I'm always doing things I shouldn't. I eavesdrop on other people, I shout and run in public, and I'm a clumsy dancer. And I've lowered my character with a great deal of unwholesome reading material." Pausing to draw breath, she noticed that Lord St. Vincent didn't appear properly impressed by her list of faults. "Also, my legs are skinny. Like a stork's. ~ Lisa Kleypas

The whole "I won't tell anyone" promise does not apply to best friends. ~ Lisa Greenwald

He loved the colors of her, pink and mauve and ivory, all washed in light. The glistening tumble of her hair held the colors of autumn: chestnut, maple, russet, umber. ~ Lisa Kleypas