I have a peace offering of quotes. (I know, lame, huh?) Quite a few agents ask for a writer's favorite quote from his or her own work, and I can never decide how to narrow it down. Do I go for the best use of language? The most emotional? The one that best summarizes one character? It's a lot of pressure. So since I can never decide, these are some of my faves from Dream of You.
As Jordan sagged back against the door and his eyes did an aimless sweep of the antique sideboards that lined the foyer, the glass and brass lantern above him, the discarded socks tossed over the post at the foot of the stairs, he didn't for a second think "normal" was anywhere close to ideal. Normal was jaded and sleepy-eyed and kicking him out of bed before the sweat had cooled. Normal was no-strings and no love and nothing but cold comfort.
- Page 249
"Tammy," she'd whispered against his neck, voice choked with tears, and the word had wrapped around both of them, warm and tingling with how much she loved him.
- Page 282
For one perfect, precious moment, everything that ate at their sanity melted away into the shadows, and the crackling energy that arced between them was nothing but bright, sparkling memories of all their moments together in this car and all the things she'd let him teach her in it.
- Page 304
Midnight was the first word that came up off the page and made a sound. Start here, that word said, and keep going. Midnight came in on a thunderstorm, Ellie had written, and Jordan could hear the line in her voice, a throaty lover's whisper in the dark.
- Page 308
His voice was different in the small, intimate spaces that existed when they were pressed together like this; it was sweet with a familiar sort of sleepiness, a voice just for her that the rest of the world didn't get to hear.
- Page 313
"I'm good to the people who are good to me.That's a short list most of the time."
- Page 402
"Being responsible for someone - putting a stake in the game and knowing that you might hurt them...that's scary shit. That scares me every day."
- Page 452
He knew what he wanted, down to his bones and deep in his brain and even in the scrawny little heart he sometimes wondered if he even had.
- Page 458
All of these are really good quotes, but my favorite quote of these is the next to the last one. I love this conversation between Jordan and Tam in the kitchen in the wee hours of the morning.
ReplyDeleteThat scene almost didn't make it into the book, so I'm glad I left it in! It's fun to work with such a large cast because they all mean something different to one another. And I never know what will resonate with readers.
DeleteThese are great quotes. They really give an idea of your writing, as well as the characters. I had no idea agents asked for that, so I appreciate the post on it. I should probably figure out some favorites before query time, eh?
ReplyDeleteShannon at The Warrior Muse
Thanks :) Most of the bigger, more well known agencies all seem to want queries in form letter format, but the smaller ones allow for some creativity. So it might not be a bad idea to have a quote or two in mind. I wish you luck when you start the process! It's brutal.
Delete