C.W. Gortner > Quotes

“The truth is, not one of is innocent. We all have sins to confess.”
― C.W. Gortner, The Confessions of Catherine de Medici

“Love is a treacherous emotion. You will fare better without it. We Medici always have.”
― C.W. Gortner, The Confessions of Catherine de Medici

“The world is only as small as we see it, my lady. Imagination knows no limits.”
― C.W. Gortner, The Queen's Vow: A Novel of Isabella of Castile

“What we do not earn ourselves,” he said, “is never truly ours. It can always be taken away. But even if we lose everything we work for, the achievement is ours forever.”
― C.W. Gortner, Mademoiselle Chanel

“You may come as a proud prince today young Habsburg. But you shall travel many more roads in Castile in death than you ever will in life”
― C.W. Gortner, The Last Queen

“The truth is, not one of us is innocent. We all have sins to confess.”
― C.W. Gortner, The Confessions of Catherine de Medici

“You'll fare beer without love. We Medici always do." As soon as I spoke, I regretted it. I'd remembered Papa Clement's phrase exactly, used it to the same horrid purpose. I saw her flinch, take a small step back. I wanted to console her, to somehow ease the harsh reality of what I'd said. But I could not. I would not lie to her nor pretend the task I set before her was anything other than what it was: an act of submission, which could entail the loss of her youthful dreams.”
― C.W. Gortner, The Confessions of Catherine de Medici

“I fear I lose myself among books. I forget everything.”
― C.W. Gortner, The Vatican Princess: A Novel of Lucrezia Borgia

“Since fortune was dragging its heels, I would lure it out with my hard work.”
― C.W. Gortner, Mademoiselle Chanel

“I admire you. You have learned to rise with the wind, rather than fight it. Too many people struggle to become what is expected of them, when, as we both know, what is expected of us is rarely what we desire.”
― C.W. Gortner, Mademoiselle Chanel

“Youth is no protection; in the end, life scars us all.”
― C.W. Gortner

“Simplicity,” I said, “is true elegance. A woman is closest to being naked when she is well dressed. Her clothing should be seen only after she herself is.”
― C.W. Gortner, Mademoiselle Chanel

“Mis sentidos se acostumbraron a ese bosque de traiciones y engaños, poblado por depredadores bien alimentados que la rodeaban como una manada de lobos a su presa.”
― C.W. Gortner

“There are moments that define our existence, moments that, if we recognize them, become pivotal turning points in our life.”
― C.W. Gortner, The Tudor Secret

“And opportunities are like stories in books,” I retorted. “All we need do is pick one.”
― C.W. Gortner, Mademoiselle Chanel

“Where was it written that I, child of no one, deserved such joy? It only happened at night, this abyss of dread, never during the day. Only in the empty hours between today and yesterday, when I was alone with my sleeping lover and the weight of the past crept upon me like a reproachful ghost.”
― C.W. Gortner, Mademoiselle Chanel

“Nothing is the same afterward, is it? We carry on, as indeed we must, but we are never who we were.” He”
― C.W. Gortner, Mademoiselle Chanel

“Even a bad review is still a review. It means someone cared enough to take the time to say: Hey, this sucks. Don’t bother. Buy a DVD instead...Yes, someone cared. And isn’t that what every writer dreams of?...So, how did I deal with bad reviews? How else? I cry. I get mad. I pretend not to care. Then I pour myself a glass of wine and call a friend to complain.”
― C.W. Gortner

“There comes an inevitable time in every life when we must cross a threshold and encounter that invisible divider between who we are and who we must become. Sometimes, the passage is evident - a sudden catastrophe that tests our mettle, a tragic loss that opens our eyes to the bane of our mortality, or a personal triumph that instills in us the confidence we need to cast aside our fears. Other times, our passage is obscured by the minutiae of an overcrowded life until we catch it in a glimpse of forbidden desire; in an inexplicable sense of melancholic emptiness or a craving for more, always more, than what we already possess.

Sometimes we embrace the chance to embark on our passage, welcoming it as a chance to finally shed the adolescent skin and prove our worth against the incessant vagaries of fate. Other times, we rail against its unexpected cruelty, against the sharp thrust into a world we're not ready to explore, one we do not know or trust. For us, the past is a haven that we are loathe to depart, lest the future corrupt our soul.

Better not to change at all, rather than become someone we will not recognize.”
― C.W. Gortner, The Tudor Conspiracy

“There are many ways to obtain our desires, ma petite. Remember that, for it will serve you well.”
― C.W. Gortner, The Confessions of Catherine de Medici

“Do not make the mistake of thinking you're unique, When we are young, we believe we can wrap life around our little finger, but life has a way of teaching us who is stronger. In The end, you are but a woman.”
― C.W. Gortner, The Vatican Princess: A Novel of Lucrezia Borgia

“Todo el mundo tiene algún secreto.
Como hace una ostra con un grano de arena, lo enterramos a gran profundidad en nuestro interior y lo cubrimos con capas opalescentes, como si eso pudiera curar nuestra herida mortal.”
― C.W. Gortner

“I turned on my heel and left her, exasperated that even as I worked my fingers to the bone to liberate women from our cloth chains, our minds remained as closed as ever to the possibility that we might deserve more than a husband, children, and growing old cooking sausage.”
― C.W. Gortner, Mademoiselle Chanel

“What we do not earn ourselves,” he said, “is never truly ours.”
― C.W. Gortner, Mademoiselle Chanel

“Hay momento que definen nuestra existencia, momentos que, si los reconocemos, suponen un giro definitivo en nuestra vida. Como perlas en un hilo, la acumulación de tales momentos, con el tiempo, constituyen la esencia de nuestra existencia, proporcionándonos consuelo cuando nuestro fin se acerca.”
― C.W. Gortner

“Was it worth it?" she sighed "I have found it is always worth fighting for what we believe in, regardless of the outcome. Risk is never without consequence.”
― C.W. Gortner, The Tudor Conspiracy

“Algunos de nosotros dedicamos la vida entera a mantener oculto un secreto, a salvo de quienes intentan entrometerse y atesorándolo como si fuera una perla, solo para acabar descubriendo que se nos escapa cuando menos lo esperamos, revelado por un destello de miedo en los ojos cuando nos pillan desprevenidos, por un dolor repentino, rabia u odio, o por una vergüenza que lo consume todo.”
― C.W. Gortner

“After the night ended, she spun to me and yanked off her diadem. “There. I had my debut. I still hate parties.”
― C.W. Gortner, The Romanov Empress: A Novel of Tsarina Maria Feodorovna

“Five is the most sacred number in the firmament.” She motioned.”
― C.W. Gortner, Mademoiselle Chanel

“I’m married already—to my work.” I”
― C.W. Gortner, Mademoiselle Chanel