Terence Sullivan > Quotes

“Your disappointment has nothing to do with me,” Alice proclaimed. “I am not defined by your expectations, but my own choices. My identity isn’t a topic to be debated over with anyone but myself. And that is all there is to say about that.”
― Terence Sullivan, Alice of Oz: A Novel

“Everything is less frightening when you are not alone.”
― Terence Sullivan, Alice of Oz: A Novel

“I was once younger and did not have a compass that led me so faithfully toward what was right. Though one thinks a man would mature as a woman does. That is far from the way of it.”
― Terence Sullivan, Alice of Oz: A Novel

“the dragon screamed once—the short scream, the morning one, the one that meant nothing but I am here, and so is the sun.”
― Terence Sullivan, Alice of Oz: A Novel

“She is quite beautiful,” Alice said. “So is the lily of the valley, but its bloom will stop your heart,”
― Terence Sullivan, Alice of Oz: A Novel

“He had kissed her, and her giggle had been the best part, which he understood was not what the poets promised. The poets had not met Alice. She laughed at the door of enormous things. He had watched her do it at the mouth of a dragon’s cave. And he intended, if permitted, to spend a great many years watching her do it everywhere else.”
― Terence Sullivan, Alice of Oz: A Novel

“Alice wasn’t just another girl with the spark—she was Molloy’s last chance to make something right. And if keeping the truth from her was the only way to protect her, then Molloy would lie through her teeth. Because if Alice ever found her way to Oz, then Oz itself could fall, destroyed by the very darkness she was born to stop.”
― Terence Sullivan, Alice of Oz: A Novel

“I am not defined by your expectations”
― Terence Sullivan, Alice of Oz: A Novel

“And to my mother, who lives now in the unseen lurlicite threads between worlds. Every story I have is one you gave me first. Thank you for all of them. I can still hear you through the glass.”
― Terence Sullivan, Alice of Oz: A Novel

“Alice, nearly every night, it’s as if I escape to a world where you love me as any man could hardly deserve, and in return, I love you with the very essence of my being,”
― Terence Sullivan, Alice of Oz: A Novel

“The two of them had been picnicking on a checkerboard blanket, eating her mother’s cucumber sandwiches, while an army of pink toy soldiers paraded about. Then, as dreams do, the scene changed, and she found herself in an embrace with him that would have made even Brontë blush.”
― Terence Sullivan, Alice of Oz: A Novel

“Loud was battle. Loud was fear, and joy, and Tuesday. Silent was the held breath before the strike.”
― Terence Sullivan, Alice of Oz: A Novel

“There was a time, long before now, when witches would sever the foot of a rabbit and wear it as an amulet so that they could speak to Gods.”
― Terence Sullivan, Alice of Oz: A Novel

“I’m sure it’s possible. You are quite good at impossible things.” The words settled and disarmed her. He held her eyes a moment longer, then looked away just as her cheeks flushed.”
― Terence Sullivan, Alice of Oz: A Novel

“Logic appeared to be the most improbable strategy to unravel the mysteries that surrounded her. In the absence of logic, magic seemed to be a possible solution, one she would not have ever considered before.”
― Terence Sullivan, Alice of Oz: A Novel

“I believe you are raving mad, Alice Liddell,” Wendy whispered.”
― Terence Sullivan, Alice of Oz: A Novel

“He will find you, Wendy!” Wendy smiled tightly, holding back the tears that hung on her lashes. “I can’t wait by the window forever, Alice.”
― Terence Sullivan, Alice of Oz: A Novel

“What sort of name is Alice?” Languidere mused, though she wasn’t truly asking Nan. “Sounds poor!”
― Terence Sullivan, Alice of Oz: A Novel

“I am a queen who is exceptionally beautiful and both extremely good and extremely just. I am, however, not lenient. Some may say I am merciless.” She nodded grandly. “I want things to be their greatest and most beautiful. Beauty is the most important goal for which one should strive. When that potential is not met or, worse, it is disrupted, it must pay a price.”
― Terence Sullivan, Alice of Oz: A Novel

“In that moment, the only thing that her mind began to obsess over was what it would be like to kiss him, and how his strong nose would fit against her face. She tried to push those thoughts from her mind, feeling his gaze fixed on her cheek and eyelashes. The moment was exciting enough without daydreams disrupting it.”
― Terence Sullivan, Alice of Oz: A Novel

“I still dream that he’ll come for me, that he looks for me, even after all this time…”
― Terence Sullivan, Alice of Oz: A Novel

“He pulled away and gently moved his head, kissing her again, this time a bit more fully and deeply. The butterflies in her stomach responded with enormous delight.”
― Terence Sullivan, Alice of Oz: A Novel

“Whether it was a rebellious spirit or simply a contrarian nature, Alice saw glimpses of herself reflected in Wendy’s smiling face.”
― Terence Sullivan, Alice of Oz: A Novel

“He touched her chin so delicately, in a very gentlemanly way, and softly his lips pressed to hers. Alice tried not to assess the experience in her mind, but without fail, her mind began to describe it. It was more enjoyable than anything she had ever imagined while reading the works of Brontë.”
― Terence Sullivan, Alice of Oz: A Novel

“Tick-tock, Alice,” the doctor said. “The mind is like a clock. And yours needs to be reset. This is how we wind you back to where you belong.” The lilt of his nursery-rhyme speech made her want to scream. Maybe she should scream. “Where I belong?” she snapped, turning to glare at him. “I am away, where a madwoman belongs. Why is anything further required of me?”
― Terence Sullivan, Alice of Oz: A Novel

“How quickly one can feel so tiny and insignificant in the splendor of nature, she thought, and how man can bend nature to serve his own needs.”
― Terence Sullivan, Alice of Oz: A Novel

“The pain fades away, and all that is left is a sense of wonder and gratitude. It changes you forever. Your heart no longer belongs to you. Mine lives outside my chest somewhere in the world—with her.”
― Terence Sullivan, Alice of Oz: A Novel

“If you were to answer honestly, you would admit that you know exactly who you are, but that you have submitted to those that challenge you. My guess is it easier for you to submit to someone who is likely less intelligent than you, as it is futile to argue with someone who lacks intelligence, isn’t it?” “I suppose that is not untrue,”
― Terence Sullivan, Alice of Oz: A Novel

“Because it’s you, Alice, you do impossible things! You always have!”
― Terence Sullivan, Alice of Oz: A Novel

“A man must tend to his obsessions to prove to his wife wrong,”
― Terence Sullivan, Alice of Oz: A Novel