Tanith Quotes & Sayings

Come and have a go, if you think you're hard enough — Derek Landy

When the night burned its cloak in the sunrise ... — Tanith Lee

For me, everyone I write of is real. I have little true say in what they want, what they do or end up as (or in). Their acts appall, enchant, disgust or astound me. Their ends fill me with retributive glee, or break my heart. I can only take credit (if I can even take credit for that) in reporting the scenario. This is not a disclaimer. Just a fact. — Tanith Lee

Mirrors taught: Perhaps there were always at least two sorts of reality, what you credited, and what was true. — Tanith Lee

At an early school, when I was about 5, they asked what we wanted to be when we grew up. Everyone said silly things, and I said I wanted to be an actress. So that was what I wanted to be, but what I was, of course, was a writer. — Tanith Lee

Tanith: Serpine is used to the Elders taking forever to make their calm, thought-out decisions. So he won't be expecting anything as amazingly rash and reckless as this
Ghastly: That'll teach him to underestimate stupid people. — Derek Landy

It gets cold in the desert at night, particularly up in the mountains; the stars hammer on the rock and strike frost. — Tanith Lee

Louisa beheld the grounds and house with the calm pleasure of one who has seen nothing, been nowhere, expects everything, and has little imagination. — Tanith Lee

As a child, my mother told me lots of fairy stories, many her own invention. She, too, tended to reverse the norm. — Tanith Lee

I will pay you in trouble and terror. — Tanith Lee

World's flying like birds; my car's in flight. The city lights are spattered on my windshield like the fragments of the night. And I'm in flight. The sky's a wheel, a merry-go-round of wings and snow and steel, and fire. We'll tread the sky, we'll ride the scarlet horses. — Tanith Lee

Ladies and gentleman," he said over the speakers, "welcome aboard this recently liberated Gulfstream V. If I could have your attention for just a few moments, I'd like to go over the safety features of this aircraft. It has an engine, to make us go, and wings, to keep us in the air. There are seatbelts, which won't do you an awful lot of good if we fly into the side of a mountain. — Derek Landy

Once his scars were revealed, Tanith kissed him, once, on the lips. "I like steak," she said. "Can't go wrong with steak."
"Steak it is," he murmured.
He stepped away, and Valkyrie grinned at Tanith.
"Oh, good God," China said, rolling her eyes. "I do hope the Remnants kill me first. — Derek Landy

In the usual way I submitted manuscripts to publishers. This was not so much a feeling that I should be published as a wish to escape the feared and hated drudgery of "normal" work. In my twenties some of my work for children was published by Macmillan. However, I was twenty-seven before my adult novel, The Birthgrave, was taken by DAW Books in the USA. This enabled me finally to stop doing stupid and soul-killing jobs, and start working day and night as a professional writer. It felt like a rescue from damnation, and still does. — Tanith Lee

It's very selfish when I write. I'm not aware, ever, of writing for another person; I'm not even really aware of writing for myself. — Tanith Lee

Hatred and jealousy must find a tongue; only the creatures which never feel those things have no need to talk. — Tanith Lee

The guilty are always the most prone to establish complementary guilt, and the most unforgiving thereafter. — Tanith Lee

Pale beauty stands aghast," he said, "at the vulgar ugliness of men. — Tanith Lee

If they had said my writing wasn't good enough, fair enough, that's an opinion. But to say it's too complex is to insult the intelligence of the so-called young. — Tanith Lee

Tanith has a sword.' said Valkyrie. 'I want a stick.'
'I'll get you a stick for Christmas — Derek Landy

Because I'm an English ninja," Tanith replied. "We're just like regular ninjas, except we wear leather and flirt more. — Derek Landy

Tanith: How did Skulduggery sound?
Valkyrie: Angry and worried; He's only OK when I'm attacked by people he knows. He'd never even heard of this Sangunie guy — Derek Landy

I was reading some complex books in my own youth-and no, I didnt always understand every word, let alone every concept-but I got the main thrust, which was like a lifeline in a fluctuating world. — Tanith Lee

I have a question," said Jack.
"Questions later."
"You keep sayin' sneak in and sneak out stuff. My question is-"
"No questions."
"-once this Starke bloke realises he's been robbed-"
"I'm pretty sure I said no questions."
"-the owners of the other weapons are gonna heighten security, so won't that mess up our mission?"
"First of all," Tanith said, "we have a no question rule. I literally just established it, like right there. I know you were here for that because it was two minutes ago. Now, I understand that you're used to being my enemy so your natural inclination is to do the opposite of whatever I say, but you're just going to have to get over it. Agreed? — Derek Landy

Israbel smiled once more. It was difficult to take your gaze away from her mouth - unless you looked into her eyes; and then you could only look at those ... ("Israbel") — Tanith Lee

Tanith frowned. Did people still go on DATES any more? She was sure they did. They probably called it something different though. She tried to think of the last date she'd been on. The last PROPER date. Did fighting side by side with Saracen Rue count as a date? They ended up snuggling under the moonlight, drenched in gore and pieces of brain - so it had PROBABLY been a date. If it wasn't, it was certainly a fun time had by all. Well, not ALL. But she and Saracen had sure had a blast. — Derek Landy

Often misunderstood, Dionysus is far more than a wine deity. He is the Breaker of Chains, who rescues not only the flesh but the heart and spirit from too much of worldly regulations and duties. He is a god of joy and freedom. Any uncultivated, tangled, and primal woodland is very much his domain. — Tanith Lee

What does a clue look like?" Tanith whispered.
Stephanie fought the giggle down and whispered back. "I'm looking for a footprint or something."
"Have you found one yet?"
"No. But that's probably because I haven't moved from this spot."
"Maybe we should move, pretend we know what we're doing."
They started to walk, very slowly, still looking straight down. — Derek Landy

In the greater part of humankind there resides an instinct for survival. It is this which can clutch at straws and effect a rescue from them. It is this which can, now and then, outwit fate. — Tanith Lee

We need the expressive arts, the ancient scribes, the storytellers, the priests. — Tanith Lee

I hate the way, once you start to know someone, care about them, their behavior can distress you, even when it's unreasonable and not your fault, even if you were really trying to be careful, tactful. — Tanith Lee

Dawn rose from the desert and turned the river to wine — Tanith Lee

She was what an aristocrat should be, porcelain and silk, unreachable, gracious, untainted by the dust of all this common death. — Tanith Lee

No one more cynical than an idealist. — Tanith Lee

Cow," Tanith muttered, and that was it, the floodgates opened, and Stephanie doubled over with laughter that echoed throughout the warehouse. Tanith pointed at Stephanie and backed away. "Skulduggery, she's not being professional! — Derek Landy

And their days make no story for they were good and joyful and without event — Tanith Lee

It was so useful to lie with the truth. — Tanith Lee

Archetypes are universal, and, in subtle or extravagant ways, interchangeable. — Tanith Lee

Sanguine: Shackles can't hold me, pretty lady. I'm immune to just about every binding spell I reckon you ever heard of, and a few more you haven't. That's what makes me special
Tanith: That and your psychopathic tendencies
Sanguine: Oh, they don't make me special. They just make me fun. — Derek Landy

She could not mourn. She could no longer weep grasping the essence of annihilation, she wished only to cease, to be no more, as if sunk in some profound sleep devoid of wakening. — Tanith Lee

What is any of this to us? Time is endless and ours. Love and Death are only the games we play in it. — Tanith Lee

Live and let love.
Love and let go.
Go live. — Tanith Lee

I held out my book. It was precious to me, as were all the things I'd written; even where I despised their inadequacy there was not one I would disown. Each tore its way from my entrails. Each had shortened my life, killed me with its own special little death. — Tanith Lee

Living With The Dead Molly Brown I — Tanith Lee

Yes, he was very dangerous, perhaps more dangerous than Vazkor, for his weapon was honesty. — Tanith Lee

(Oscar) Wilde is surely one of the most erotic writers who ever lived. — Tanith Lee

I must suppose that reading wonderful writers may, inadvertently, teach an avid reader a great deal
not only about life and other matters, but about how to write. Therefore doubtless I have benefited from frequent immersions in the glowing genius of others. It would be nice to think so. (I do actually think so). But to improve my skills will never be the prompting force of my reading
that's just literary lust. — Tanith Lee

If anyone ever wonders why there's nothing coming from me, it's not my fault. I'm doing the work. No, I haven't deteriorated or gone insane. Suddenly, I just can't get anything into print. And apparently I'm not alone in this. There are people of very high standing, authors who are having problems. So I have been told. In my own case, the more disturbing element is the editor-in-chief who said to me, "I think this book is terrific. It ought to be in print. I can't publish it
I've been told I mustn't." The indication is that I'm not writing what people want to read, but I never did. — Tanith Lee

Skulduggery, she's not being professional - Tanith Low — Derek Landy

The bitterness of joy lies in the knowledge that it cannot last. Nor should joy last beyond a certain season, for, after that season, even joy would become merely habit. — Tanith Lee

The other writer who had a very important early influence on me when I was about 17 was C.S. Lewis. — Tanith Lee

If I ever get to 100, I'd want to be filled with wonder and wild, adolescent, wide-eyed interest in newness. So let's keep the flame burning. Let's stop thinking everyone over 29, or 49, has to be reinforced by concrete. — Tanith Lee

The kind of teacher who never learned anything herself. Or taught anything, except sarcasm or fear. — Tanith Lee

I've been criticised for writing in too complex a manner for younger people. — Tanith Lee

Azhrarn the Beautiful," said Chuz lovingly, "it is your beautiful madness I have come to see. — Tanith Lee

It's lovely. I hate it. — Tanith Lee

You should visit before you pass judgement on a place. — Tanith Lee

I submitted manuscripts to publishers. This was not so much a feeling that I should be published as a wish to escape the feared and hated drudgery of normal work. — Tanith Lee

Azhrarn, Lord of Terrors, terrified. — Tanith Lee

I loved him, just for a minute. I loved him and I grieved for him and my pity was part of the beauty, before the shame began. — Tanith Lee

I hardly ever work from a synopsis
I find they act like chains. — Tanith Lee

I simply write what I want, wish, long to write ... The state of human life and the god or demon within. The constant internal war that being alive can conjure. — Tanith Lee

He may harp in the Dark One's Hall and take no harm, who is a true harper. — Tanith Lee

Standing by the frozen glass, he stared down at the icy, barely lit streets running towards the river Seine, the bell-clanging local church, then to the sky like black lead. ("Israbel") — Tanith Lee

I wouldn't mind a sister either."
"Any chance of that happening?"
"I can't see what would be in it for my parents. I mean, they have the perfect daughter already - what more could they want?"
Tanith laughed, then tried to cover it up with a cough.
"Found something?" Skulduggery asked from behind them.
Tanith turned, looking serious. "No, sorry. I thought I had, but, no, it turned out to be, uh ... more floor."
Stephanie hugged herself, trying to stop her shoulders shaking from laughter. — Derek Landy

This is stolen? We're in a stolen jet?"
"Not stolen," said Donegan Bane from the co-pilot's seat.
"Almost stolen," Gracious corrected.
"Semi-stolen," said Donegan.
"Quasi-stolen," said Gracious.
Aurora's frown did not turn upside down. "So is it stolen or not?"
Donegan and Gracious hesitated.
"Yes," they both said together. — Derek Landy

Roilant caught himself, with exasperation, slipping into vacuous philosophy, a sure sign his opinion of life was at its very lowest. — Tanith Lee

She looked, and a scarlet butterfly flew away from her, away down the length of the tower, and then another, another, an unraveling scarf of butterflies like winged blood. — Tanith Lee

Donegan Bane and Gracious O'Callahan - the Monster Hunters. Adventurers, inventors, authors of Monster Hunting for Beginners and it's sequels, Monster Hunting for Beginners is Probably Inadvisable and Seriously, Dude, Stop Monster Hunting. — Derek Landy

I do not think I was afraid. There must be substance to breed fear, and I was hollow. — Tanith Lee

I also love Disney, and will defend doing so, because there's so much in those films and I don't care if it's stereotyped. — Tanith Lee

Men are not the causers of history. History itself, by a pressure of events, causes men to resort to particular actions. — Tanith Lee

If you run away from trouble, it always follows.'
Rather my impression, too. Though that never stopped me trying. — Tanith Lee

I never know where I am going, though. That is part of what makes it so wonderful. And after all, who does? — Tanith Lee

Hope is a punishable offense. The verdict is always death; one more death of the heart. — Tanith Lee

There's a saying in High Egypt: The sky won't listen, so complain all you like. — Tanith Lee

Robespierre, crippled and blind, has yet to be healed to the knowledge that service - his desire - is a deed of savage-speaking gentleness, not soft-spoken savagery. — Tanith Lee

I began to feel lighthearted. Don't ever do that; it tempts some dark and evil force abroad in the universe. — Tanith Lee

The dictate of the light says: Know yourself and what you are. The dark replies, By all means, but then become afraid. — Tanith Lee

Go nowhere on a horse that fades. — Tanith Lee

I haven't changed. Something's happened to me, that's all. — Tanith Lee

When will they fight?" I asked. "Tomorrow. Daybreak. It is man's work." I laughed. "I too have fought and killed, Kotta. It is the work of fools, not men. — Tanith Lee

Pirates have always fascinated me. — Tanith Lee

What I remember is impossible. Against the law of God.' 'Why should you suppose that? You must permit God to grasp His own law rather better than fallible man, who has perhaps misunderstood. — Tanith Lee

It was usual to be obedient to authority, to obey a legal letter. But Rachaela left her bills
unpaid until the threats began. She ignored the money-envelopes stuck through the door for starving
children and the sick. — Tanith Lee

Aurora sagged. "Why is it," she asked, "that every time I'm with you two we end up stealing something big?"
"We always return it," Donegan said, a little defensively. "Maybe not always in one piece or necessarily to the right person but return it we do, and so it is not stealing, it is merely borrowing."
Gracious looked at him. "It's a little bit stealing."
"Anyone who leaves a private jet just lying around deserves to have it stolen."
"It wasn't lying around," said Gracious. "It was locked up tight. It took us an hour to dismantle the security system and get inside."
Donegan looked at him. "You're not helping. — Derek Landy

Tanith immediately told them that Valkyrie had beaten up a priest and an old woman. — Derek Landy

Having told of so much beauty, how is it possible to tell of her? There are no words left on the earth in any tongue that will do. Such words vanished from the world when it shook itself free from the ocean of chaos, in a cataclysm that reshaped it like one of the balls small children throw in the air at play. — Tanith Lee

We all have our dreams. May we find them, and God have mercy on us when we do. — Tanith Lee

All the Scarabae - all but one - were crowded in the garden. They watched her. Their grim
old faces gave away nothing. Like elderly kiddies at a play they did not understand yet knew to be
important, they regarded her as she stood behind the gate.
Goodbye, she thought. Goodbye for ever. — Tanith Lee

Tanaquil gently toed the peeve. "I'll unfasten the window. Jump out to the lower roof and run."
"Stay and bite," said the peeve. — Tanith Lee

Though we come and go, and pass into the shadows, where we leave behind us stories told - on paper, on the wings of butterflies, on the wind, on the hearts of others - there we are remembered, there we work magic and great change - passing on the fire like a torch - forever and forever. Till the sky falls, and all things are flawless and need no words at all. — Tanith Lee

I love writers all across the board, but one who influenced me very directly at the beginning was Mary Renault. — Tanith Lee

Excuse me, I believe you're standing on my sword. I don't think this is entirely fair, you're angry with Skulduggery because he didn't kill Valkyrie, but you and me, we've never even met. I mean, you have no reason to attack me, if you got to know me, if you took the time, I'm sure you'd really like me. I'm a likeable girl, everyone says so - Tanith Low — Derek Landy

Condemned and executioner are not coupled in a primitive rite. — Tanith Lee

I thought we were a team," Annis said.
Tanith looked down at her. "We are a team."
"And Sabine? Wasn't she part of it, too?"
"She was a very important part. She was payment."
"Are you going to betray us like you betrayed her? — Derek Landy

The so-called Real World. Human misery and sadness. Blind politics and general cruelty. — Tanith Lee

Stephanie: I wouldn't mind a sister either
Tanith: Any chance of that happening?
Stephanie: I can't see what would be in it for my parents. I mean, they have the perfect daughter already - What more could they want? — Derek Landy

Goddess," he said, "I would strongly advise you to continue this journey as you were - in your carriage." "Vazkor," I said, "I would strongly advise you not to advise me. — Tanith Lee

Well, yeah, but she looks, like, twenty-two. And she acts like a four-year-old. — Derek Landy