Daniel Maldonado > Quotes

“he was the current general”
― Daniel Maldonado, May It Please The Court

“The water closet's rusting and slightly broken porcelain throne betrayed its purported grandeur. The air was dank and unrecycled.  The motel room stunk of body odor because all of the windows were tightly nailed shut and never opened, even though that was in violation of municipal ordinances.”
― Daniel Maldonado, From the Streets of Chambers Lane

“For indeed she was a Princess — My princess. And for her, I would do anything, give anything, tell the darkest hurt from of old and reveal secret desires and passions.”
― Daniel Maldonado, The Palace of Winds and Other Short Stories

“With every fanfare of the trumpet, the thunder ominously grew while my despair correspondingly deepened.  Each vapid roar epistolized my heart with foreboding, making me more and more trepidatious until my dismay became the predilection of my life.  I wallowed in it incessantly. Mornings were filled with second guesses, drearied dreams that would not abate, and uncertainty that would feel like an onslaught of listlessness or languid mournings, uncalled and ignored.”
― Daniel Maldonado, Through Thunder And Light

“Daniel always threw himself into work. He wanted to escape the poverty and sad memories of Chambers Lane. To do that, he had to believe in himself. He had to believe in his future as an attorney, as someone who could rely upon his own self and not others, whose dedication and courage would give him the things that he needed.”
― Daniel Maldonado, May It Please The Court

“A toast to the love we drank, the fears unmade and the hope undone.”
― Daniel Maldonado, Through Thunder And Light

“The ringing in his ears was extremely painful and was giving him a throbbing headache. He could barely make out the words spoken by his two captors. Their voices seemed distant perhaps in another room on the opposite side of where he was seated. It sounded as if they were speaking both Spanish and English.”
― Daniel Maldonado, Where Darkness Resides

“Even though Daniel planned to ensure that his simple life stayed the same, he had become estranged from his mother these past few months, invisible in ways that did not matter to him.”
― Daniel Maldonado, When Dreams Abound: A Return to Chambers Lane

“the kids that I am”
― Daniel Maldonado, May It Please The Court

“So Jose Luis could not enter the house and use the facilities for the past week. No showers. No toilet breaks. No cooking in the kitchen. His only resort was to defecate in the plastic bags that he would get when he went grocery shopping with his food stamps. He urinated in a white, gallon milk bottle. Once the gallon jug was half-full, Jose Luis opened the rear window of the shed and poured the urine into the forest-like, backyard. It was his daily ritual which he dutifully complied and resented at the same time.”
― Daniel Maldonado, The Prodigal Son From Chambers Lane

“Yes. We were so successful during the clinical trials in proving the efficacy of the drug we asked to fast-track the approval process. The British government was very pleased with our work and readily approved.” The boastful pride typical of Dr. Shirvani’s illustrious but tumultuous career quickly returned. It was reflected not only in his beaming face but also in his posture. He sat up like a proud parent attending their child’s graduation. James nodded his head slightly confused.”
― Daniel Maldonado, The Mendoza Memo

“The heartache of seeing his only daughter go down a dark road devastated him so much so that he could never get the image out of his mind. Standing over the mound of dirt that covered his daughter’s body at the cemetery, he could see the rows of flowers that laid on top, regularly placed by him or other family and tribal members. Thomas refused to look at her headstone. It only enraged him and filled him with disdain, not for his lovely, lost daughter, but for those whose treachery engulfed her in the tragedy. They were the ones who betrayed Thomas’s trust.”
― Daniel Maldonado, The Fleeing Felon