Nancy Moser > Quotes

“When I read a novel I am not here. I am transported to far-off places, my eyes unseeing of the words on the page, busy with a scene being played out in my mind's eye, with my ears engaged, hearing the voices carry from the pen to the present. What a lovely place to be-not here
- Just Jane (Chapter Four Page 35)”
― Nancy Moser, Just Jane

“Swoon, Dora. Every young woman deserves to swoon over the love of her life.”
― Nancy Moser, Masquerade

“When I read a novel I am not here. I am transported to far-off places, my eyes unseeing of the words on the page, busy with a scene being played out in my mind's eye, with my ears engaged, hearing the voices carry from the pen to the present. What a lovely place to be—not here.”
― Nancy Moser, Just Jane

“And though many women might enjoy the offering of such compliments, I did not want him to love me based on temporal things like a smile or voice or presence, things that could vanish through mood or an unexpected cloud. He must love me for the sake of love alone . . .”
― Nancy Moser, How Do I Love Thee?

“The meanderings of the heart and mind are fickle, and are often wont to be withdrawn or amended. ”
― Nancy Moser, Just Jane

“How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.' The list is long, Robert. Very long. And will grow longer still."
He smiled. "Then let us begin with number one . . .”
― Nancy Moser

“And so...we prayed. And I added a silent prayer of my own, giving God thanks for the blessing of my father.”
― Nancy Moser

“Tea no more! Down with bustles!”
― Nancy Moser, Masquerade

“There is much more to playing the clavier than playing written music. Do you realize with accompanying there is often nothing written out but the bass line--the left hand? There might be a few notations as to a suggested harmony, but it is up to me to fill in the music, at the proper volume, style, and harmony for the soloist--often instantly. I've heard it said that Bach questioned wether the soloist or the accompanist deserves the greatest glory.”
― Nancy Moser, Mozart's Sister

“What also excites me is that the artist attempts with the visual what I attempt to do with words: stop time, create a moment, and celebrate the process.”
― Nancy Moser

“Oh, that God would have made His will ours! Giving us free will was not free; there were costs to consider and balance. The reward for our choices, for our belief in ourselves and our desire to do the right thing, were great. But along the way we had to take risks. We had to try.”
― Nancy Moser, How Do I Love Thee?

“And as for writing my poetry, he claimed the toil of it was too much strain. Toil? Writing is my life. It is not toil. And he cannot stop me.”
― Nancy Moser

“A person content to be bland will never be anyone's first choice as a companion for an idle afternoon.”
― Nancy Moser, Just Jane

“My stories wrap around me like a cozy quilt, and sometimes I long to pull that quilt over my head and pin the blanket shut, allowing me to immerse myself in the world vivid in my mind.”
― Nancy Moser, Just Jane

“I reached for the notebook which was always close by. All thoughts of composing epic poems of Greek heroes had left me. The words that often burst from my onto the paper in recent days would be considered mere nothings to the world, but they were everything to me . . . They were the pourings of my heart FOR my heart . . .”
― Nancy Moser, How Do I Love Thee?

“Robert walked faster than usual, and I had trouble keeping up with him, but I did not hold him back. I was pleased at his urgency. I understood it, for when inspired one does not amble, one runs toward the source.”
― Nancy Moser

“I lifted my face to the sun and let its warmth and light caress me with its favor.”
― Nancy Moser, How Do I Love Thee?

“That our path was hard does not mean it was not also right, nor that it is not paved with blessings.”
― Nancy Moser, How Do I Love Thee?

“Orleans . . . the place where Joan of Arc, while depending on God, had defeated the British in a great battle for freedom.
Joan and I had a lot in common. But there would be no burning at the stake for me.
Robert would not allow it.”
― Nancy Moser

“Words well to the surface and I let them out, even as I know I should not. "Perhaps I do not wish to sparkle, Aunt. Sparkle falsely. I say what comes to mind. I will not waste energy creating idle chatter meant only to impress." Casandra comes to my defense. "Your characters sparkle, Jane." I grab on to the diversion. "Which is even more reason why I personally cannot. For I only have so much sparkle within me, and I chuse [sic] to save it for them.”
― Nancy Moser

“I held out my sisters' letters for him to read. Tears appeared in his eyes, and he kissed the letters and declared, "I love your sisters! It shall be the object of my life to justify the trust shown in these letters. May God bless them.”
― Nancy Moser

“But his letters . . . I took them with me, let the "ounces" cry aloud. I tried to leave, and could not. They would not be left; it was not my fault. I will not be scolded.”
― Nancy Moser

“For who would I be if I tried to be someone besides Jane? The poser of the world try so hard to be what they are not, and yet... how fatigued they must be Perhaps I am not smart enough to be one of them. Nor strong enough in constitution.”
― Nancy Moser, Just Jane

“We have to have faith as if everything depends on God, while we work hard as if everything depends on us.”
― Nancy Moser, The Quest

“Life is a grand puzzle, with pieces interlocking, pieces elusive, pieces missing. But in the end, God puts it all together and we see the full picture. (Sean Culver)~pg 210”
― Nancy Moser, The Fashion Designer

“not over. Any claim Eliza has on her husband’s estate lies in”
― Nancy Moser, Just Jane

“That I have not seen does not mean I cannot appreciate.”
― Nancy Moser

“You wild, dear creatures!”
― Nancy Moser

“The room spun with a thousand threads of words and thoughts and senses invisibly interweaving a cloak around us, embracing us with a warmth that surpassed all previous comfort.”
― Nancy Moser, How Do I Love Thee?

“To own silence . . . How odd that one does not appreciate something, nor even realize its absence, until it is presented as an unexpected gift.”
― Nancy Moser, Just Jane