Philippa Ballantine Quotes

Oh dear Lord." Switching his glare from the street urchin to his partner, Wellington whispered tersely, "You failed to mention this part of the plan!"

"Which part, Welly?"
"The part where the toddler is in charge! ~ Philippa Ballantine

I always think better when I am being shot at. ~ Philippa Ballantine

Chaotic Of Echoes The Lands Darkest Hours Of Lions
Architect the Garlots of War The Precognitions ~ Philippa Ballantine

Nay, you attract mayhem, chaos, and anarchy wherever your delicate feet tread. Around you there is no such thing as a coincidence."
"Why do you think it is always me, Director?" Eliza protested. "It could be Books. My father always told me to beware the quiet ones! ~ Philippa Ballantine

I think you will agree the sign of a civilised society is a regular dining schedule. ~ Philippa Ballantine

You know, if I didn't know better, I would swear we were actually married."

"I can't think of anything more off-putting," Wellington placed his hand in the small of her back as he continued, "than being married to a walking armoury. You, my dear Miss Braun, are a living, breathing advocate for bachelorism. ~ Philippa Ballantine

She groaned as her face turned to press against the rosewood floor. "Welly, remind me to order a better mattress for my bed. This one is far too firm."
"Oh, Eliza," Wellington gasped, now remembering why he was in these lush surroundings. "No broken nose, I hope."
"S'all right," Braun slurred. Her voiced dropped to a whisper. "My ample bosom broke my fall. ~ Philippa Ballantine

Be that as it may, we were
and no doubt, still are
held under scrutiny, with that whole Phoenix Society brouhaha. It is imperative we remain on our best behaviour, a feat that you did not exactly manage effortlessly with your shenanigans in Edinburgh. ~ Philippa Ballantine

Mortals were such fickle creatures. They called into the dark, demanded answers and attention from forces they could not comprehend, and yet when they had that attention and those answers, they complained about them. ~ Philippa Ballantine

I like writing historical fiction. ~ Philippa Gregory

He shrugged. Whatever does it mean? We write poems about it all day and sing songs about it all night but if there is such a thing in real life I'm damned if I know. ~ Philippa Gregory

She wouldn't send anyone, nor would she take anyone with her. She organizes witches' Sabbaths every full moon,' explained Philippa tartly. ~ Dorothy Dunnett

Philippa Somerville, standing back a little, did not withdraw her arm. In her white face, a shadow of motherly irritation appeared. 'Has no one here any sense? Be quiet and sit down. The world will look after itself for a night, without your hand on the rim. ~ Dorothy Dunnett

He is a young man with a future of power and opportunity and we are young women destined to be either wives and mothers at the very best, or spinster parasites at the worst. ~ Philippa Gregory

Why?' said Philippa. 'For suffering what you have suffered for three months?' And felt the veils rend about her, for she had broken the unwritten law: it must not be uttered. It must not be uttered, or they could not bear the pain, mirrored over and over. ~ Dorothy Dunnett

A woman has to change her nature if she is to be a wife. She has to learn to curb her tongue, to suppress her desires, to moderate her thoughts and to spend her days putting another first. She has to put him first even when she longs to serve herself or her children. She has to put him first even if she longs to judge for herself. She has to put him first even when she knows best. To be a good wife is to be a woman with a will of iron that you yourself have forged into a bridle to curb your own abilities. To be a good wife is to enslave yourself to a lesser person. To be a good wife is to amputate your own power as surely as the parents of beggars hack off their children's feet for the greater benefit of the family. ~ Philippa Gregory

He had taken George, my beloved George, from me. And he had taken my other self: Anne. ~ Philippa Gregory

I will make my own future, not predict it. I don't need a charm to tell me what I hope will happen. I throw the gold charm which is like a wedding ring up in the air and catch it before it falls. This is my choice. I don't need magic to reveal my desire. The enchantment is already done: I am in love; I am sworn to a man of earth; I am not going to give this man up. All I have to do is consider how we can stay together. ~ Philippa Gregory

Nothing would be the same for any woman in this country again. From this time onward no wife, however obedient, however loving, would be safe. For everyone would know that if a wife such as Queen Katherine of England could be put aside for no reason, then any wife could be put aside. ~ Philippa Gregory

A steady love, a faithful love, a wife's love is the best. ~ Philippa Gregory

I would play ball with Catherine, and hide and seek: Not a very challenging game in an open meadow, but she was still at the age where she believed that if she shut her eyes and buried her head under a shawl then she could not be seen. ~ Philippa Gregory

dance. Last time I danced in these rooms it was the Christmas feast and I was wearing a dress of silk as rich as Queen Anne's own, made to the same pattern as the queen's, as if to force a comparison between her and me - her junior by ten years; and her husband the king, Richard, could not take his eyes off me. The whole court knew that he was falling in love with me and that he would leave his old sick wife to be with me. I danced with my sisters, but he saw only me. I danced before hundreds of people, but only for him. ~ Philippa Gregory

If someone is depressed they tend to retreat within the inner circle of their comfort zone which in the longer term, may contribute to exacerbating a problem rather than soothing it and if not seeking to expand the comfort zone becomes the norm. ~ Philippa Perry

It seems to me,' said Philippa prosaically, 'that on the whole we run more risks with Mr Crawford's protection than without it. ~ Dorothy Dunnett

The baby should always be saved in preference to the mother. That is the advice of the Holy Church, you know that. I was only reminding women of their duty. There is no need to make everything so personal, Margaret. You make everything into your own tragedy. ~ Philippa Gregory

That's how it is for women," I said, stung into honesty. "It's not what one would choose - I grant you that. But women are the very toys of fortune. ~ Philippa Gregory

I don't want to help, I want to hinder. I adore your hair, I like to see it loose. ~ Philippa Gregory

He's asked Master Zitwitz to leave the duke and travel with him as household controller to the Ambassador's residence in Turkey.'

Philippa Somerville blew her nose sharply. 'On the strength of his sweet cherry sauce?'

'On the strength, I think, of that handy right uppercut,' said Jerott. ~ Dorothy Dunnett

A single man's imperfect conscience can never be superior to centuries of tradition. ~ Philippa Gregory

We might, either of us, be Queen of England and yet we'll always be nothing to our family. ~ Philippa Gregory

Our brains do not have to be fixed, they can be plastic. ~ Philippa Perry

She was like a mother to me ... and I betrayed as a daughter will betray her mother and yet, never stop loving her. ~ Philippa Gregory

God speaks to us individually, each and every one of us, that we need neither pope nor priest, nor bleeding statue, to find our way to faith. God is calling and we only have to listen. There are no clever tricks to forgiveness. There is only one way and there is only one Bible, and a woman can study it as well as a man. ~ Philippa Gregory

I can't think why men would believe that it is a better world where something beautiful is destroyed and something broken left in its place. ~ Philippa Gregory

Namir snorted. "What is it with you people and Vader?" he asked. "It can't be the helmet that scares people. Stormtroopers have helmets. ~ Ballantine Books

I like to do the research of history and the creativity of writing fiction. I am creating this thing which I think is twice as difficult as writing either history or fiction. ~ Philippa Gregory

They are a couple in love, and anyone but a fool would see it is simply that, nothing more- and certainly nothing less. ~ Philippa Gregory

I feel as if I can think only when I see the words flowing from the nib of my quill, that my thoughts make sense only when they are black ink on cream paper. I love the sensation of a thought in my head and the vision of the word on the page. ~ Philippa Gregory

She tried to live like an ordinary woman, but some women cannot live an ordinary life. ~ Philippa Gregory

It is always harder to make time for the truly precious experiences; there is always the ordinary to do. ~ Philippa Gregory

Sometimes we win; sometimes we lose. The main thing is that we always, we always go on. ~ Philippa Gregory

Jerott's hand increased its grip on her arm. 'He is an island with all its bridges wantonly severed. What hostage to evil,' said Jerott, poetic in his thumping displeasure, 'will this night's business conceive?'

'I don't know. But they're both nice and clean, if that's anything,' said Philippa. And led the way philosophically down. ~ Dorothy Dunnett

War does not answer war, war does not finish war. The only ending is peace. ~ Philippa Gregory

What's your family?" he demanded through clenched teeth.
" Boleyn."
" What's your kin?"
"Howard's."
"What's your home?"
"Hever and Rochford."
"What's your kingdom?"
"England."
"Who's your king?"
"Henry."
"Then serve them. In that order. Did I say the Spanish queen once in that list?"
"No."
"Remember it. ~ Philippa Gregory

If you are a reader, you are already halfway to being a writer," she says. "For you have a love of words and pleasure from seeing them on a page. And if you are a writer, then you will find that you are driven to write. It is a gift that demands to be shared. You cannot be a silent singer. ~ Philippa Gregory