black
grey
blue
red
brown
white

Emerson,’ I said, choosing my words with care, ‘it is a sheer drop from the cleft down to the base of the cliff. If you are bent on breaking your arm or your leg or your neck or all three, find a place closer to home so we won’t have to carry you such a distance.

Barbara Mertz

a church ought to express the joy of religion as well as its majesty.
BARBARA MERTZ

Church Joy Majesty
kissing someone out of pity is always a mistake.
BARBARA MERTZ

Kissing Mistake Someone
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

Heart Husband Moral
Conventional history completely ignores half the human race.
BARBARA MERTZ

Half History Race
In the silence I heard Bastet, who had retreated under the bed, carrying on a mumbling, profane monologue. (If you ask how I knew it was profane, I presume you have never owned a cat.)
BARBARA MERTZ

Bed Cat Silence
Nothing looks as self-satisfied as a contented cat.
BARBARA MERTZ

Cat Looks Self
When emotion supersedes reason … gullibility must follow.
BARBARA MERTZ

Emotion Gullibility Reason
He hesitated for a moment. Then he said softly, “I love you, Mother.” He took my hand and kissed it, and folded my fingers round the stem of the rose. He had stripped it of its thorns.
BARBARA MERTZ

Love Mother Son You
To argue without knowledge is like trying to weave without thread.
BARBARA MERTZ

Arguing Thread Trying
The only way to do it is to do it: by writing, writing, writing.
BARBARA MERTZ

Only Way Write Writing
..he continues to cling to the forlorn hope that I will turn into one of those swooning females…and fling myself squeeling at him whenever anything happens. Like all men, he clings to his illusions.
BARBARA MERTZ

Female Men Swooning
Ramses had always been fond of Helen, in his peculiar fashion, but if he had looked at me as he was looking at her, I would have sent for a constable.
BARBARA MERTZ

Fashion Helen Peculiar
A fondness for martyrdom, especially of the verbal variety, is common to the young.
BARBARA MERTZ

Common Young Youth
I would never have supposed that inexperienced girl was capable of such cold-blooded, calculating manipulation!
BARBARA MERTZ

Cold Girl Manipulation
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

Arms Drug Government
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

Beautiful Hero Nice
I have no writing habit. I work when I feel like it, and I work when I have to – mostly the latter.
BARBARA MERTZ

Habit Latter Writing
Husbands do not care to be contradicted. Indeed, I do not know anyone who does.
BARBARA MERTZ

Care Contradicted Husband
Getting an idea for a book is not the problem, but you need 300 ideas – an idea a page.
BARBARA MERTZ

Book Idea Needs
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

Doubt Gold Long Time
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

Credit Men Thinking
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

Blame Cat Dog
I disapprove of matrimony as a matter of principle…. Why should any independent, intelligent female choose to subject herself to the whims and tyrannies of a husband? I assure you, I have yet to meet a man as sensible as myself! (Amelia Peabody)
BARBARA MERTZ

Husband Independent Intelligent
It’s not unsporting to thrash a cowardly cad,’ said Simmons. ‘Everyone knows you don’t fight like a gentleman.’ ‘That might be called an oxymoron,’ Ramses said. ‘Oh–sorry. Bad form to use long words. Look it up when you get home.’ The poor devil didn’t know how to fight, like a gentleman or otherwise.
BARBARA MERTZ

Fighting Home Sorry
But the dust! And the clutter! My housewifely and scholarly instincts were equally offended.
BARBARA MERTZ

Dust Instinct Scholarly
That’s maturity-when you realize that you’ve finally arrived at a state of ignorance as profound as your parents.
BARBARA MERTZ

Ignorance Maturity Profound
There was no warning, not even a knock. The door flew open, and he forgot his present aches and pains in anticipation of what lay in store. The figure that stood in the door was not that of an enemy. It was worse. It was his mother.
BARBARA MERTZ

Doors Mother Pain

Emerson,’ I said, choosing my words with care, ‘it is a sheer drop from the cleft down to the base of the cliff. If you are bent on breaking your arm or your leg or your neck or all three, find a place closer to home so we won’t have to carry you such a distance.

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Emerson,’ I said, choosing my words with care, ‘it is a sheer drop from the cleft down to the base of the cliff. If you are bent on breaking your arm or your leg or your neck or all three, find a place closer to home so we won’t have to carry you such a distance.

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Popular Authors

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