Blaylock Quotes & Sayings

America, I know we have our problems. I realize that the scale and our waistline
are foremost among them. I'm willing to make concessions, I really am. I drink, and prefer, skim milk. I'll take water packed tuna over oil packed tuna any day. I can stomach low-fat ranch or I-Can't-Believe-It's-Not-Anything. I'll even look the other way on sugar free ice cream (believe me that one hurts), but I'll be darned if I'm gonna let somebody take my delicious delicious pig fat from me. I'd rather die. — Aaron Blaylock

I don't need any explanation about what you do with your life. You and I ... we grew up together,and that's it. Yeah, we shared a lot of stuff back then, and we were there for each other when it mattered.
But neither one of us can fit into the clothes we used to wear , and this relationship between us is just the same.
It doesn't fit in our lives any longer.
We don't ... fit anymore. And listen., I didn't mean to get pissy in the truck, but I think you need to be clear on this.
You and I? We have a past. That's it.
That's ... all we'll ever have (Blay to Qhuinn) ... — J.R. Ward

He stared right back at Blaylock and let everything he had in his heart show in his face.
He just let that shit fly.
Because there was a lesson in this Fade ceremony tonight: You could lose the ones you loved in the blink of an eye - and he was willing to bet, when it happened, you weren't thinking about all the reasons that could have kept you apart. You thought of all the reasons that kept you together.
And, no doubt, how you wished you'd had more time. Even if you'd had centuries ...
When you were young, you thought time was a burden, something to be discharged as fast as possible so you could be grown-up. But it was such a bait-and-switch - when you were an adult, you came to realize that minutes and hours were the single most precious thing you had.
No one got forever. And it was a fucking crime to waste what you were given.
-Qhuinn — J.R. Ward

As a teenager Valentine's Day was a stressful time. Either I didn't have a "girlfriend" and was forced to endure a day of hearts, cards and stuffed animals parading through my loneliness or even worse I had a "girlfriend" and felt pressure to provide just the right combination of cards, candy and stuffed animals to show the appropriate level of affection. Are flowers and a card enough? Should I get her balloons? Does she like balloons? If I don't get her candy will she think I think she's fat? Why did I want a girlfriend again? Valentine's Day was a report card on how you were, or were not in some sad cases, perceived as "boyfriend" material. — Aaron Blaylock

I suppose this is for the best," Blay said into his shoulder. "You can't cook."
"See? I'm so not Prince Charming. — J.R. Ward

How many of them were there?' Her voice wasn't joking around. Eighteen. Hundred.' Four,' Blaylock interjected. 'An honor guard of four.' What did they work you over with? Those bruises on your thighs are severe?' Crowbars. Big, massive-' Blay cut in. 'Clubs. Had to be those ceremonial black clubs. — J.R. Ward

The thread of will-they-or-won't-they was the real driver of every word and glance and shift of body.
So ... this was a date, Blay thought. A subtextual negotiation slipcovered in talk of books read and music enjoyed. — J.R. Ward

Are bacon and chocolate the foundation of a good meal? No, everybody knows
that is a deep fryer and/or gravy. However, I have long held the notion that you can't name a food that I can't improve by adding either bacon or chocolate. — Aaron Blaylock

Can somebody tell me why it is that trips to Home Depot are like potato chips, you can never have just one? — Aaron Blaylock

When they got to thew bottom of the stairwell, they stopped dead. Blay's father was facing off with a lesser, a Civil War sword in one hand, a dagger in the other.
Behind his Joe Friday glasses, his eyes were lit like torches, and they flicked over for a split second. "Stay out of this. This one's mine."
The shit was done faster than you can say, Ninja Dad.
Blay's father went Ginsu on the slayer, carving the thing up like a turkey, then stabbing it back to the Omega. — J.R. Ward

Abruptly, Blay's blue stare found his.
And what Qhuinn saw in it caused him to falter: Love shone out of that face, unadulterated love untempered by the shyness that was very much part of his reserve.
Blay didn't look away.
And for the first time ... neither did Qhuinn.
He didn't know whether the emotion was for his cousin - it probably was-but he'd take it: He stared right back at Blaylock and let everything he had in his heart show in his face.
He just let that shit fly.
Because there was a lesson in this Fade ceremony tonight: You could lose the ones you loved in the blink of an eye-and he was willing to bet when it happened, you weren't thinking about all the reasons that could have kept you apart.
You thought of all the reasons that kept you together. — J.R. Ward

Enough, Qhuinn thought. Enough with the excuses and the avoidance, and trying to be someone else, anyone else.
Even if he got shanked, even if his precious little ego and his dumbass little heart got shattered into a million pieces, it was time to stop the bullshit. It was time to be a male.
As Blay started to straighten like a message had been received, Qhuinn thought, That's right buddy:
Our future has come — J.R. Ward

One thing, though," Qhuinn murmured.
"What?"
The voice that came out his throat was unlike anything he'd ever heard from himself before. "If any guy breaks your heart or treats you like shit, I will bust him apart with my bare hands and leave his broken, bloody body for the sun."
Blay's laughter rumbled around the tiled walls. "Of course you will
"
"I'm dead fucking serious."
Blay's blue eyes shot over his shoulder.
"If there are any who dare to hurt you," Qhuinn growled in the Old Language, "I shall see them staked afore me and shall leave their bodies in ruin. — J.R. Ward

Considering the number of ghastly love poems that had been written and which seemed fairly clearly a waste of everyone's time, Jonathan couldn't help but be surprised that coffee hadn't been thus immortalized. — James P. Blaylock

The sense that in his mother's view, he had let down his family just by being who he was ... was a failure of acceptance that he was never going to get over. He just wanted to live, honestly and out front, with no apology. Like everyone else. To love who he loved, be who he was ... but society had a different standard. — J.R. Ward

I want to be with you, too," he said.
"I'll come to your room after dawn."
Qhuinn didn't want to ask. Had to. "What about Saxton?"
"He's gone on vacation."
Reaaaaaaaaaaaaaally. "For how long?"
"Just a couple of days." Too bad. Any chance of an extension ... for like a year or two? Maybe forever?
"Okay, it's a - " Qhuinn stopped himself before he finished that with date.
There was no sense kidding himself. Saxton was away. Blay wanted to get laid. And Qhuinn was more than willing to supply the male with what he wanted. — J.R. Ward

Blay's head whipped around to his mate. "Really? You asked my dad?" Qhuinn nodded, then started to smile like a mother fucker. "It's my one and only shot. So I wanted to follow protocol. — J.R. Ward

...the word "fine". As in "I'm fine", "it's fine", "that looks fine", etc. For a man the word fine has, tops, three or four meanings and that's only because of the fairly recent edition of "Dang, girl! You look fine!" Otherwise "fine" would range somewhere between satisfactory and of superior quality. For a woman the word "fine" has like seventy meanings and depending on voice inflexion can actually mean 'If I'm questioned again I'll stab you in your sleep'. — Aaron Blaylock

The male who'd just arrived laughed as he embraced Qhuinn. You have such a way with words, cousin. I would say ... trucker meets sailor crossed with a twelve-year-old. — J.R. Ward

The lesson here is temperament. Wanting something is fine but there's no need to
be reckless. If you've lost the upper hand in a relationship you've got no one to blame but yourself. Taking a relaxed or even an aloof approach sometimes is the wise path. Be cautious though because being indifferent or callous to someone you care about is just stupid.
The principle of least interest is like building a fire. You can't just stack piles and piles of wood on and light a match, you'll smother it. The fire needs fuel, it needs room to breathe. Put a little space between you and what you want, be willing to let it breathe, and before you know it you'll be enjoying the warmth and light from the flames. — Aaron Blaylock

I love you. You are my heart beating
outside of my chest. — J.R. Ward

All that matters is that you be the very best you you can be ...
And that's something no one else can do. — Aaron Blaylock

He'd given up squid merchanting when he'd found that the creatures inhabited his dreams, all leggy and cold. — James P. Blaylock

We've all become so conscious of how we'll be perceived and so frightened to
possibly offend someone that we've filtered ourselves to what borders on dishonesty. Sure, as my wife constantly reminds me, you don't have to say everything you think; but when did speaking plainly become such a sin? — Aaron Blaylock

If he set out right now to make a list of the things he had taken for granted in his life, he'd go broke buying paper. — James P. Blaylock

I judge you not by the sex of whom you love ... but by how you love them.
-Layla, page 306 — J.R. Ward

As for the young men whose company I keep (Why does it keep sounding like
that?), I try to teach them that every young lady is somebody's sister or daughter with the potential to be somebody's wife and mother. I ask them, "Would you want
somebody treating your(sister/daughter/wife/mother) that way?" The response invariably comes, "No." To which I respond that we should keep in mind that every girl is somebody's baby. — Aaron Blaylock

My name Quan. Quan Nguyen. This Kim-Ly, wife. We next door. Do nails. We with Mr. Blaylock. He fight, we fight. We come here from Viet Nam. This good country, but sometimes, good people in good country have to fight. — Dan Groat

Anger is seldom a useful emotion, and the more self-righteous the anger, the less useful it is. — James P. Blaylock

If asked for an opinion we'll say what we think. And by "what we think" I mean the answer that comes to our mind first, seems most logical and requires the least amount of effort to articulate, while getting us in the least amount of trouble. Really that's what our communication boils down to. — Aaron Blaylock

Holy shit . . . They'd joined the war. — J.R. Ward

As a society we've progressed to a point where it is unacceptable behavior to knock someone down who is acting a fool. I teach my children to use their words when faced with a conflict. That's what civilized people do. All that is fine and good except for one small thing; we've enabled the fools ...
... What if people could expect a measure of instant justice when they were out of order? The acts of thoughtlessness would decline exponentially. If you give people license to be fools then you are left to deal with fools. However, if you put fools on notice then they'll be forced to snap to attention and act right or suffer the consequences. Think of it as an adult spanking. — Aaron Blaylock

As a child Valentine's Day was fun. You got to design your own little heart-laden box to accept all your classmate's Valentine's. Then you'd get to fill in the To: and From: fields on your G.I. Joe cards (because nothing says "Be Mine" like Snake Eyes). I remember each time taking extra special care when filling out a card for the girl who I happened to like that particular year. When the day arrived and cards were exchanged I would rifle through my haul finding the one from whichever girl it was and kept it apart from the others. It was special even though I'm sure she'd written the exact same thing on mine that she'd written on everyone else's. No matter, love was given and received. Valentine's Day was for a young boy not yet mature enough to express his affections and for him to hold fast to even a token expression from the object those affections. — Aaron Blaylock

Rough times." Qhuinn shrugged. "And I'm not interested in saints."
"Really? You're in love with one," Layla chimed in.
As Qhuinn glanced over at Blay, his mismatched eyes narrowed.
"Damn straight I am," he said softly.
As the redhead turned red
natch
that connection between the two males became positively tangible.
Love was such a beautiful thing. — J.R. Ward

Our plump predicament comes from the way we think. In America life has
become a daily quest for instant gratification. Do we think about the long term? Rarely. We ask ourselves, "What sounds good?" That's where we get into trouble focusing on what we want rather than what we need. Then we invent new ways to satisfy ourselves. — Aaron Blaylock

Saxton smelled really good and had a handshake that was firm. "You've grown up a lot."
Blay found himself flushing as he took his hand back. "You're just the same."
"Am I?" Those pearl eyes flashed. "Is that good or bad?"
"Oh ... good. I didn't mean
"
"So tell me how you've been. Are you mated to some nice female your parents set you up with?"
Blay's laugh was sharp and hard. "God, no. There's no one for me. — J.R. Ward

You know, Qhuinn's an interesting character." Saxton reached out with an elegant hand and picked up his port. "He's one of my favorite cousins, actually. His nonconformity is admirable and he's survived things that would crush a lesser male. Don't know that being in love with him would be easy, however."
Blay didn't go near that one. "So do you come here often?"
Saxton laughed, his pale eyes glinting, "Not for discussion, huh. — J.R. Ward

Publishing your writing is a bewildering mix of emotions somewhere between parental angst and walking down a public beach wearing only a thong. [scrub all you want that mental picture isn't going anywhere] You feel all the pride and joy as well as the fear and trepidation that come with putting your child out into the world. At the same time you've exposed a part of yourself that is normally private and while you hope people will appreciate it, there is a very real possibility of a backlash.
You've prepared yourself for either eventuality but a 'no comment' feels like crickets chirping in your soul. — Aaron Blaylock

With a quick jerk, Qhuinn wrapped his arms around the single most important person in his life. It was not Layla, although he felt a pang at that denial. It was not John, or his king. It wasn't the brothers. This male was the reason for everything. — J.R. Ward

There was a time when that kind of thing looked like the kingdom of heaven, but somewhere along the line it had lost its glow. Maybe that was just the cost of growing up. And maybe the cost of growing up was too high. — James P. Blaylock

Strange things are said to have happened in this world - some are said to be happening still - but half of them, if I'm any judge, are lies. — James P. Blaylock

Kids don't act right. Sure it's embarrassing when it happens but any reasonable person won't fault a parent when a kid throws a fit. However, when a child doesn't act right and a parent doesn't act at all then we've got a problem.
Parents get up off of your rears and parent your children. Please I beg you stop these little bedlamites from running amuck at church, in restaurants, at the movies, in the store or really anywhere that I may be. — Aaron Blaylock

Saxton shifted exhausted eyes over. "Must we do this?"
"What happened
"
"I think you and he need to talk. And once you do, I won't have to worry about being jumped like a felon again."
Blay frowned. "He and I have nothing to say to each other
"
"with all due respect, the ligature marks on my neck would suggest otherwise. — J.R. Ward

Xhex couldn't stop herself from torturing them both. She sent him a mental scene, drilling the image right into his head : the two of them in a private bathroom, him up on the sink and leaning back, her with one foot planted on the counter, his sex deep in hers, the two of them panting. While he stared accross the crowded room, John's mouth parted, and the flush on his cheeks had nothing to do with embarrassment and everything to do with the orgasm that was no doubt pounding up his shaft. God, she wanted him. His buddy, the readhead, snapped her out of the madness. Blaylock came back to the table with three beers hanging from their necks, and as he took a look at John's hard, sexep-up face, he stopped short and glanced over at her in surprise.
Shit.
Xhex waved off the bouncers who were coming up to her and walked out of the VIP section so fast, she nearly bowling-pinned a waitress. Her office was the only place that was safe, and she headed there at a dead run. — J.R. Ward

During my life I've had different goals for working out; to get stronger, to
increase stamina and flexibility, to improve performance in sports, to lose weight. I imagine that most people fall into those categories, but there is one underlying reason that motivates people to work out: to look better naked.
Of all the reasons people say they workout this is the most honest. Plus I take every opportunity to say naked. — Aaron Blaylock

Hey, as you leave, Qhuinn wanted to say, will you do me a favor? I think my left ventricle is on the floor, so don't step on it as you pull out? Thanks. Great. — J.R. Ward

As that fucking chandelier twinkled overhead, Blay said roughly, "I'm still in love with him."
Saxton dropped his eyes and brushed a the top of his thigh, as if there might have been a tiny piece of lint there. "I know. You thought you weren't?"
As if that were rather stupid of him.
"I'm so fucking tired of it. I really am."
"That I believe."
"Im so fucking ... " God, those sounds, that muted pounding , that audible confirmation of what he had been ignoring for the past year
On a sudden wave of violence, he pitched the brandy snifter at the marble fireplace, shattering the thing.
"Fuck, Fuck!" If he'd been able to, he'd have jumped up and torn that goddamn cocksucking light fixture off the goddamn cocksucking ceiling. — J.R. Ward

In the context of the English language, there were many more important words than "in." There were fancy words, historic words, words that meant life or death. There were multi-syllabic tongue-twisters that required a sort out before speaking, and mission-critical pivotals that started wars or ended wars ... and even poetic nonsensicals that were like a symphony as they left the lips. Generally speaking, "in" did not play with the big boys. In fact, it barely had much of a definition at all, and, in the course of its working life, was usually nothing but a bridge, a conduit for the heavy lifters in any given sentence. There was, however, one context in which that humble little two-letter, one-syllable jobbie was a BFD. Love. The difference between someone "loving" somebody versus being "in love" was a curb to the Grand Canyon. The head of a pin to the entire Midwest. An exhale to a hurricane. — J.R. Ward