Susan Wiggs Quotes & Sayings

I lived in upstate New York until I was ten years old and we moved overseas. I have a lot of nostalgic memories of that part of the world, and I love going back there by writing the Lakeshore books. — Susan Wiggs

If I'm all alone, then the standard for sanity is up to me entirely. — Susan Wiggs

I'm glad i found photography. It's a way to connect with the world. — Susan Wiggs

The best way to keep from stumbling over the past was to move forward, — Susan Wiggs

Don't let the things you have to do take over the things you love to do," Gran — Susan Wiggs

They'd take Nina's hair tonight, leaving only enough to cover her scalp - the k.d. lang look, Jezebel explained. Paige would weave the hair, strand by strand, into a wig modeled after Nina's natural look. Sonnet nearly forgot to breathe, listening to Paige, whose eyes lit as she talked about her work. — Susan Wiggs

Already, Seattle is taking hold of her. She still holds Sedona in the dry tan of her skin and in her hair, but the fine mist of the Northwest is making its way to places she didn't know were parched. — Susan Wiggs

I came here to conquer you. And here I stay, a willing prisoner of your heart. — Susan Wiggs

It is a great virtue to be needed. Greater, even, than being liked — Susan Wiggs

He could not name precisely the special quality she possessed. A glow. An exuberance. An aggressive and determined joy that gave her the courage to push past his defenses, to confront him with unflinching courage, to look into his heart and to see something there worth fighting for. — Susan Wiggs

Acting was all about making yourself feel things-love,rage,euphoria,agony. She had to unlearn those things now. She had to teach herself not to feel. Refusing to feel hurt also meant she numbed herself to joy, but the sacrifice was worth it. — Susan Wiggs

No, this was the kind of moment that made everything stop. You separated it from every other one, pressing the feeling to your heart, like a dried flower slipped between the pages of a beloved book. The moment was made of something fragile and delicate, yet it possessed the power to last forever. — Susan Wiggs

Insults sting but a little when they stem from a man's ignorance. — Susan Wiggs

her home; it just happened to be where she lived. This was the House that Jack Built, she thought, hearing the singsong rhythm of the old children's story in her head. And this was the wife who lived in the house that Jack built. And there was the mistress that screwed the husband that ignored the wife who lived in the house that Jack built.... — Susan Wiggs

compassionate people? Would this — Susan Wiggs

She was the living, breathing proof that the hard things in life didn't have to defeat you - or even define you. — Susan Wiggs

Another thing Gran would say was imprinted on Annie's heart - remember the love. When times get hard and you start wondering why you got married in the first place, remember the love. — Susan Wiggs

And if you don't believe memories are worth more than money, then perhaps you've not made the right kind of memories. — Susan Wiggs

No more taking the Lord's name in vain or even in earnest. — Susan Wiggs

We often destroy the world's real wealth to create an illusion of wealth, confusing symbol and substance. — Susan Wiggs

A fawn eats the equivalent of its body weight every twenty-four hours." "How do you know that?" "Read it in a book. I read sixty books last year." "Geez," he said. "Why?" "'Cause there wasn't time to read more," she said with a superior sniff. "Hard — Susan Wiggs

Caitlin, I was born to worry about you. — Susan Wiggs

remember the love. — Susan Wiggs

Teachers are by nature idealists, and they believe anything can be learned. — Susan Wiggs

She parked and got out of the car, feeling the wind sweep upward over her, lifting the hem of her jacket, ruffling her hair. She walked to the edge of the cliff and for a long time, stood frozen and stared as though mesmerized by the swirling, white-veined swells that gathered like great fists drawn back for a blow, then smashed themselves against the rocks below, exploding into a spray of diamonds. Some of the spray was so fine that a series of rainbows were thrown up, fleeting and blurred, one after another. The pounding of the sea made a strange and compelling music, driving her to surrender to the feelings inside her. — Susan Wiggs

As a child, she'd been a great reader, finding the ultimate escape within the pages of a story. She learned that opening a book was like opening a set of double doors - the next step would take her inside to Neverland or Nod, Sunnybrook Farm or Mulberry Street. — Susan Wiggs

Pop, why didn't you ever marry again?"
"I was a good husband to your mother," Pop said. "I would not be a good husband to another woman. It would not be fair, because I gave everything I had to my first marriage. Love is like that for some people. — Susan Wiggs

Her whole body flared to life with a fiery blush. Maybe that was why the term "old flame" had been invented. Somebody always got burned. — Susan Wiggs

At the center of every fairy tale lay a truth that gave the story its power. — Susan Wiggs

What's difficult to understand about German opera? It's always the same. Boy meets girl, boy falls in love, girl gets devoured by horrible winged creature with claws. — Susan Wiggs

One afternoon, she went to Washington Square — Susan Wiggs

Of course his name would be Dominic. It meant "gift from God." AKA a life-support system for an ego. Still, that didn't mean he wasn't fun to stare at. Dominic Rossi looked like a dream, the kind of dream no woman in her right mind would want to wake from.
She had always been susceptible to male beauty, ever since the age of ten, when her mother had taken her to see Michelangelo's David in Florence. She recalled staring at that huge stone behemoth, all lithe muscles and gorgeous symmetry, indifferent about his nudity, his member inspiring a dozen questions her mother brushed aside. — Susan Wiggs

No creature should ever be trapped against its will," she used to say. "It will ruin itself, just trying to escape. — Susan Wiggs

Hearts would have to break and be mended, truths would be revealed, risks would be taken. Which, when he thought about it, was simply the way life worked - messy, unpredictable, joyous, mysterious, hurtful and redemptive. — Susan Wiggs

An event in the present evokes past sensations. But science couldn't explain how a foolish heart had the power to overrule common sense. — Susan Wiggs

The list of side effects was lengthy and horrible. Sonnet had pored over it, along with all the other literature she'd hastily devoured, searching for grains of hope. The worst part of chemo started after the drugs were administered. — Susan Wiggs

Honestly, the essence of publishing hasn't changed. Since the days of the cave man carving stuff on the cave walls, people have wanted stories, and storytellers have wanted an audience. That is still the case. The changes are really a matter of format. — Susan Wiggs

Kids aren't supposed to have to figure out how to be happy. They just are. — Susan Wiggs

That's how it is with infants. The minute the pain's gone, so are the tears. If more people would do that, the world would be a happier place. — Susan Wiggs

I would forfeit the very surety of my soul to be the man who brings that look upon your face. — Susan Wiggs

What I've found is that you make time for the things that matter to you. Everyone has the time. It's just a question of deciding what to do with that time. — Susan Wiggs

And that refuge was the most reliable place of all - between the pages of a book. — Susan Wiggs

Think about kissing boys all the time. Me and all my friends. We even practice making out with our pillows. — Susan Wiggs

Opening a book was like opening a door to another world, and once she stepped across the threshold, she was transported. When she was reading a story, she lived inside a different skin. She — Susan Wiggs

She could scarcely move at all. Her muscles felt impossibly weak. Her limbs were gummy worms. She looked at her hands. Looked at her mother. "Is that what happened to my manicure? It's gone because I've been asleep for a year? A whole freaking year? That's impossible." It was the kind of thing people passed around on the Internet - Woman Sleeps for a Year, Wakes Up Angry About Manicure. — Susan Wiggs

Dreams changed a person, and there was a little danger in that, because having a powerful dream made you vulnerable to failure and disappointment. — Susan Wiggs

It isn't fair, but maybe that's the whole point. Fairness has no part in real life, and she took that lesson away from the Hotel Angeline with her. — Susan Wiggs

My adult life has been a patchwork of projects, most of which were fleeting fancies of overreaching vision. I tend to seize on things, only to abandon them due to a lack of time, talent or inclination. — Susan Wiggs

Make me a part of this place. Make me a part of Caitlin. Please, God, I love her so. — Susan Wiggs

I never felt I was incapable of succeeding because I felt confident I could always learn what I needed to know. — Susan Wiggs

Tell the story that's in your heart, and don't hold back. Write a book the reader will want to melt into. — Susan Wiggs

Rourke was the Grim Reaper with a hard-on. — Susan Wiggs

she opened the lid and was hit with a musty smell she could immediately put a name to: camp. It was an unforgettable combination of mildew, wood smoke and outdoors, an essence that resisted laundering and airing out. — Susan Wiggs

No one had ever told them they might need each other one day, an for some reason, they hadn't figured it out themselves. — Susan Wiggs

Love wasn't love if she had to try too hard to feel it. — Susan Wiggs

Seeking to distract her from further questions, he bent and blew lightly into her ear. She shivered. "This horse bites, you know." "I think he likes me. Almost as much as you do." "I don't like you. How can I like you? I don't even know you, for you refuse to answer my questions." He stroked her upper arms. "There is little to say. You have Clonmuir, and that makes you far richer than I." He gazed over the horse's back, where a patch of sunset shone through a barred window. Even the warmth of her pressed against him failed to melt the ice of aloneness. — Susan Wiggs

You're bleeding," he said. "A thorn prick, no more," she stated. "I didn't know fairy creatures could bleed. I always fancied them spun of mist and moonlight, not flesh and blood." "Let go." "No, my love - " "I'm not a fairy creature, and I am surely not your love." "It's just an expression." "It's a lie. But 'tis no high wonder to me. I'd be expecting falsehoods from a Sassenach." "Poor Caitlin. Does it hurt?" Very slowly, with his eyes fixed on hers, he put her finger to his lips and gently slipped it inside his mouth. Too shocked to stop him, she felt the warmth of his mouth, the moist velvet brush of his tongue over the pad of her finger. Then with an excess of gentleness he drew it out and placed her hand in her lap. "I think the bleeding's stopped," he said. — Susan Wiggs

Nobody can fix another person. But everybody tries. — Susan Wiggs

Blessed is the season which engages the whole world in a conspiracy of love. - Hamilton Wright Mabie (1846 - 1916), American essayist — Susan Wiggs

Wake up & Smell The Hot Chocolate ! ~ Eddie Havens — Susan Wiggs

No, my darling. I'll love the woman you keep hidden inside you. You've led men to battle, but never into your heart. Men respect you, they obey you, but they see you as a warrior. You've never had the chance to blossom. — Susan Wiggs

You're never alone when you're reading a book. — Susan Wiggs

You can't rewind life or undo things. — Susan Wiggs

She had always been good at dreaming, but what she had never done before was believe a dream could actually come true. She believed now. The wonder of setting sail created possibilities she had never considered before. — Susan Wiggs

Ever since she was small, she'd found delight and comfort in books. For her, a story was so much more than words on a page. Opening a book was like opening a door to another world, and once she stepped across the threshold, she was transported. When she was reading a story, she lived inside a different skin. — Susan Wiggs

Unexpected change is like a breath of fresh air
a little brisk at first, but magic for the body and soul. — Susan Wiggs

She knew the soothing power of a human touch on aching flesh. Knew the strange bond that formed when two creatures united in mutual need, one hurting, the other healing. — Susan Wiggs

louche, wearing a gauzy neck scarf and — Susan Wiggs

celebutante lifestyle — Susan Wiggs

On Sunday, something washed up on shore. — Susan Wiggs

I know you got your heart broken but I know the heart can heal, too. And I know what it feels like to love again. I love you so much, I can't sleep at night. Sometimes I forget to breathe. And in a hundred years, that's never going to change. — Susan Wiggs

To Sonnet, wearing castoff clothing was just another way to make her different from the other kids at school. As if she needed one more thing to make her different. — Susan Wiggs

happen to know any Russian — Susan Wiggs

Do you feel the magic?" "Aye," he breathed into her salt-dusted hair. "It's all around me, but most especially, here in my arms. — Susan Wiggs

I want you to look at me and see no other than the man you love. I want you to feel a start of pure joy when you awaken in the morning and find me beside you. I want you to wish you could rush the sunset so that we can be together sooner. — Susan Wiggs

Franklin Delano Roosevelt once said, "America's greatest contribution to the world is the summer camp." Anyone — Susan Wiggs

Even the most egregious captive state, bound and gagged on her damp bunk, felt eerily familiar to her. With nothing to do but lie there and think of things, she reflected that captivity took many different forms. A woman under the domination of her father or husband was as much a prisoner as a hostage on a boat. She had merely traded one form of servitude for another. — Susan Wiggs

It's funny how much influence our parents have on us." "True. — Susan Wiggs

When something is hard, but you do it anyway and get stronger because you did it, that's building character. — Susan Wiggs

I see the way he looks at you when you're not aware of his gaze. I see the way you care for him. And so when you think he wants you gone, it is not that. He is simply afraid to lose you. — Susan Wiggs

The pressure of his mouth eased. He drew away, holding her at arm's length. He filled her vision, broad shoulders and shaggy head framed by the crags and cliffs of Connemara. He had a look of astonished delight on his face, while dangerous banked fires smoldered in his eyes. Still gripping her shoulders, he stepped back and said, "Look me in the eye, Caitlin MacBride, and tell me you've been kissed before. — Susan Wiggs

Scary thought - what if I get to know myself and I'm someone I don't want to be? — Susan Wiggs

The best honey comes from a source you know, and is processed without heat. Raw, unfiltered honey retains its royal jelly, bee pollen and propolis - three major sources of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals. 1 cup of locally produced, raw organic honey 1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice Additional water, about 2 cups 2-½ cups water Ice cubes or crushed ice 1 tablespoon dried culinary lavender Combine honey and 2-½ cups of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the honey. When the mixture reaches a boil, stir in the lavender and remove from heat. Let the mixture steep for 20 minutes. Strain the lavender from the liquid, then add the fresh lemon juice and an additional 2 cups of water. Use sparkling water if you wish. Pour into glasses full of ice and serve, garnished with a sprig of lavender or mint. [Source: Original] — Susan Wiggs

Methylprednisolone? — Susan Wiggs

Her name was a silent song on his lips. Her love was like a circle in the water, radiating ever outward, inevitably encompassing even the remotest of hearts. — Susan Wiggs

There was something in the way a man held a woman when he was about to let her go. — Susan Wiggs

During the post-breakdown period, she read books the way an addict swallowed pills. She devoured stories one after the other, trying not to let reality intrude too deeply. — Susan Wiggs

You mustn't touch me." Very slowly, he lowered his hand. "You need to be touched, Caitlin MacBride. You need it very badly." She girded herself with denial. "Even if it were so, I would not need it from an Englishman." "Think again, my love. We're easy with one another despite our differences. Remember our first meeting - the shock of it, the knowing? We could be good for each other." "And when, pray, has an Englishman ever been good for Ireland?" A lazy grin spread over his face. "Even I know that, Caitlin. St. Patrick himself was English born, was he not?" "But he had the heart of Eireann." "So might I, Caitlin MacBride. So might I. — Susan Wiggs

She caught herself working so hard at mothering that she forgot to enjoy her children. -from ~Homecoming Season~ — Susan Wiggs

Writing is a struggle no matter what the genre. — Susan Wiggs

BACKYARD GARDEN SALAD In wartime, patriotic families cultivated "Victory Gardens" to promote self-sufficiency and help the war effort. 4 cups mixed greens 1/4 cup fresh sprigs of dill 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves 4 large basil leaves, rolled up and thinly sliced crosswise 1 large lemon, halved 1/4 cup fruity olive oil pinch of salt fresh ground black pepper to taste 1 cup toasted walnuts 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese 1 cup fresh edible flowers; choose from bachelor's buttons, borage, calendulas, carnations, herb flowers (basil, chives, rosemary, thyme), nasturtiums, violas, including pansies and Johnny-jump-ups, stock Toss salad greens and herbs in a large bowl. Squeeze lemon juice (without the seeds) over the greens and season with olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss again. Add walnuts and feta and toss well. Divide salad and pansies among four serving plates and serve. (Source: Adapted from California Bountiful) — Susan Wiggs

one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer - and the other seven will know her. — Susan Wiggs

Caitlin." Hawkins touched her cheek. "That wasn't quite what I had in mind." "Oh, for heaven's sake," she burst out, "do you not see how silly you're being?" "It's only silly if you continue to shy from me like a maiden. You're the MacBride. You've done worse than kiss an Englishman." His hands held her fast at the arms, and he bent to whisper in her ear. "I won the forfeit." His breath caressed the curve of her ear. "I want to feel the fullness of your lips with my own. I want to slide them open with my tongue and taste the sweetness of your mouth. I want to feel your body pressed to - " Summoning the last of her composure, she said, "You've made your point." His hands lifted to her shoulders. "Well? I'm waiting. — Susan Wiggs

That if you never get your hopes up," she said, taking a sip of hot chocolate, "you'll never be disappointed." "Ouch, — Susan Wiggs

Here's the thing about broken hearts. You can always survive them. Always. No matter how deep the hurt, the capacity to heal and move on is even stronger. — Susan Wiggs

You're right. I have no heart because I lost it to you. — Susan Wiggs

Feed your friends, and their mouths will be too full to gossip, Bubbie used to say. Feed your enemies, and they'll become your friends. — Susan Wiggs

The undulating terrain was cloaked in lush abundance, the vineyards like garlands of deep green and yellow, orchards and farms sprouting here and there, hillocks of dry golden grass crowned by beautiful sun-gilt houses, barns and silos. And overhead was the bluest sky she'd ever seen, as bright and hard polished as marble.
There was something about the landscape that caught at her emotions. It was both lush and intimidating, its beauty so abundant. Far from the bustle of the city, she was a complete stranger here, like Dorothy stepping out of her whirling house into the land of Oz. Farm stands overflowing with local produce marked the long driveways into farms with whimsical names- Almost Paradise, One Bad Apple, Toad Hollow. Boxes and bushels were displayed on long, weathered tables. Between the farms, brushy tangles of berries and towering old oak trees lined the roadway. — Susan Wiggs

There is something about losing your mother that is permanent and inexpressable - a wound that will never quite heal. — Susan Wiggs

What is home? Maybe it's not a place, but a moment in time. When I was safe. Secure. Cared for. Home. It's more than a point on a map. It's a sensation. A feeling of comfort - feet — Susan Wiggs