Superstition has its practical uses.
BARBARA MERTZWriting is like a bird-watcher watching for birds: the stories are there: you just have to train yourself to look for them.
More Barbara Mertz Quotes
-
-
Dogs can be made to feel guilty about anything, including the sins of their owners. Cats refuse to take the blame for anything – including their own sins.
BARBARA MERTZ -
I am so tired of ruggedly handsome heroes. I don’t know too many ruggedly handsome people who are necessarily nice people. In fact, the beautiful people have a big handicap because they rely too much on their appearance and don’t bother to become interesting.
BARBARA MERTZ -
Conventional history completely ignores half the human race.
BARBARA MERTZ -
Children, I feel, are as much entitled to privacy as human beings.
BARBARA MERTZ -
The combination of physical strength and moral sincerity combined with tenderness of heart is exactly what is wanted in a husband.–Ameila Peabody
BARBARA MERTZ -
You are softening toward the young rascal because he is ill, and because he says he likes cats.” “It is an engaging quality, Emerson.” “That depends,” said Emerson darkly, “on how he likes them.
BARBARA MERTZ -
Noble causes have a deplorable effect on the morals of the persons who espouse them.
BARBARA MERTZ -
Sekhmet crawled onto Ramses’s lap and began to purr. ‘The creature oozes like a furry slug,’ said Ramses, eyeing it without favor.
BARBARA MERTZ -
When one is striding bravely into the future one cannot watch one’s footing.
BARBARA MERTZ -
Since I am not as stupid as my children believe I am, I had immediately realized this might be a ruse, but I was not at all averse to a confrontation. In fact, I had been hoping for some such thing.
BARBARA MERTZ -
a church ought to express the joy of religion as well as its majesty.
BARBARA MERTZ -
kissing someone out of pity is always a mistake.
BARBARA MERTZ -
It was hate at first sight, clean, pure and strong as grain alcohol.
BARBARA MERTZ -
Reputations are shaped not by facts but by prejudices.
BARBARA MERTZ -
When men start talking about ‘honor’, there is sure to be trouble ahead.
BARBARA MERTZ -
A man asking for help ought to at least give directions.
BARBARA MERTZ -
That’s maturity-when you realize that you’ve finally arrived at a state of ignorance as profound as your parents.
BARBARA MERTZ -
Sometimes the characters develop almost without your knowing it. You find them doing things you hadn’t planned on, and then I have to go back to page 42 and fix things. I’m not recommending it as a way to write. It’s very sloppy, but it works for me.
BARBARA MERTZ -
I would not be at all surprised to find that it was for gold that Cain committed the first murder. (It happened a very long time ago, and Holy Writ, though no doubt divinely inspired, is a trifle careless about details. God is not a historian).
BARBARA MERTZ -
I do hope you have some money. I’m getting tired of hitting people.
BARBARA MERTZ -
I had refused Emerson’s well-meant offers of assistance, knowing his efforts would be confined to moving the furniture to the wrong places and demanding how much longer the process would take.
BARBARA MERTZ -
I don’t think she realized how much she cared for him, or he for her, until the end. Hasn’t someone said a woman may be known by the men who love her enough to die for her? (If they haven’t, I claim the credit myself.)
BARBARA MERTZ -
If all else fails, we will simply have to drug our attendants, overpower the guards, raise the oppressed peasants to arms, and take over the government.
BARBARA MERTZ -
When emotion supersedes reason … gullibility must follow.
BARBARA MERTZ -
There are too many people in the world as it is, but the supply of ancient manuscripts is severely limited.
BARBARA MERTZ -
The only people who are not in awe of Emerson’s powerful voice and well-nigh superhuman strength are the members of his own family. He is aware of this, and often complains about it; so from time to time I like to put on a little show of being intimidated. ‘Proceed, my dear,’ I said apologetically.
BARBARA MERTZ