Rachel Aaron > Quotes

“First rule of thievery,' Eli said, grinning, 'only run if you're not coming back.' (...) 'First rule of thievery, never use the same entrance twice.' Miranda rolled her eyes. 'How many 'first rules' of thievery do you have?' 'When one mistake can mean your head on a pike, every rule's a first rule,' Eli said cheerfully.”
― Rachel Aaron, The Spirit Thief

“Why are mortals always so eager to declare things impossible, anyway? It’s not like things do or don’t exist just because you say so.”
― Rachel Aaron, Nice Dragons Finish Last

“How did you get in here?' (...) 'How I got here isn't important, because I could do it twenty times again, each time a different way.”
― Rachel Aaron, The Spirit Thief

“Don’t tell me the Pigeon Whisperer dragged you into one of his stupid schemes.”
― Rachel Aaron, Nice Dragons Finish Last

“I am a mage,” she replied with every ounce of haughtiness three years in a competitive doctoral program had taught her. “We bend the rules of the universe on a daily basis. Presumptuousness is the base line for entry.”
― Rachel Aaron, Nice Dragons Finish Last

“Sometimes the price of doing the right thing is higher than we realize when we do it.”
― Rachel Aaron, The Legend of Eli Monpress

“Help us, Juli-wan Kenobi, you're our only hope."
For a moment, that almost, almost made Julius feel like a hero. And then he remembered. "Doesn't Obi-Wan die in that movie?”
― Rachel Aaron, One Good Dragon Deserves Another

“Why are you still complaining?” Miranda said. “It didn’t help yesterday; it didn’t help two weeks ago. What makes you think it’ll help now?”
― Rachel Aaron, The Legend of Eli Monpress

“Well, he’s not really my friend,” Julius admitted. “I don’t even know his real name, actually, but I was his healer in the game, and the bond between healer and tank runs deep.”
― Rachel Aaron, Nice Dragons Finish Last

“Don't try to nice your way out of this. It's insulting.”
― Rachel Aaron, One Good Dragon Deserves Another

“Nothing good ever happened when you woke up in a room with a drain.”
― Rachel Aaron, One Good Dragon Deserves Another

“So far as I can tell, 'good dragon' is just another name for coldblooded sociopath," he said. "No friends, no trust, no love. Why would I ever want to live like that? It's not like any of you good dragons are happy.”
― Rachel Aaron, Nice Dragons Finish Last

“Lady,” the Master of Security said, shaking his head, “if you’re here to warn the king about Eli, then you’re a little late.”
Miranda scowled. “You mean he’s already stolen the artifact?”
“No.” The Master of Security sighed. “He’s stolen the king.”
― Rachel Aaron, The Spirit Thief

“It’s one of humanity’s worst traits. Good intentions justify all kinds of terrible behavior.” Myron”
― Rachel Aaron, A Dragon of a Different Color

“I know how tempting it is to give up your own happiness for others,” he said gently. “Believe me, I know, but that kind of thing only goes so far. It might seem good and noble, but there’s a point where self-sacrifice becomes a liability, not a gift, and I think you passed that a long time ago.”
― Rachel Aaron, A Dragon of a Different Color

“Their anger just knocked us all down from halfway across the world,” Bob reminded him. “I don’t think running a few more feet is going to do us any good.”
― Rachel Aaron, One Good Dragon Deserves Another

“As soon as the cold became uncomfortable, Eli had opened his shirt and had a nice long chat with the burn on his chest. Karon was happy to help them stick it to the ice and wind spirits, and he cheerfully kept the air around Eli as warm and dry as a smokehouse.

“I only wish it didn’t reek of sulfur,” Josef said, pressing up the mountainside. “I’d almost rather deal with the cold.”

“Well, don’t let me stop you,” Eli huffed, though even he looked a little green. “Who am I to stand between a man and his frostbite?”
― Rachel Aaron, The Spirit Eater

“We have a very busy schedule of cryptic proclamations and appearing where we’re least expected to get back to.”
― Rachel Aaron, No Good Dragon Goes Unpunished

“You can't have a life worth living when you're constantly worrying about things you cannot fight or change.”
― Rachel Aaron, The Spirit War

“The cost of survival is doing things you don’t like,” he said coldly. “Suck it up or give up, but don’t sit on the fence and complain. It”
― Rachel Aaron, Minimum Wage Magic

“Who is the writer here? YOU ARE. Whose book is it? YOUR BOOK. There are no writing police. No one is going to arrest you if you write a teen vampire novel post Twilight. No one is going to send you off to a desert island to live a wretched life of worm eating and regret because your book includes things that could be seen as cliché.”
― Rachel Aaron, 2,000 to 10,000: How to Write Faster, Write Better, and Write More of What You Love

“You don't make humanity stronger by making everyone else weak. That's not power. That's just shooting everyone in the foot because you happen to be better at limping than the other guys.”
― Rachel Aaron, A Dragon of a Different Color

“A book is not a battle, nor is it a conquest. A book is a story, and telling it should be an enjoyable exercise.”
― Rachel Aaron, 2,000 to 10,000: How to Write Faster, Write Better, and Write More of What You Love

“Putting my book down should be the hardest thing my reader has to do that day. Authorship is a merciless business!”
― Rachel Aaron, 2,000 to 10,000: How to Write Faster, Write Better, and Write More of What You Love

“But you’re looking at this all wrong, Julius. Assassination attempts aren’t a threat. They’re a compliment. They’re the final strike, the last desperate move when every other plot has failed.” Ian winked at him. “When they try to kill you, that’s when you know you’re winning.” Julius”
― Rachel Aaron, No Good Dragon Goes Unpunished

“What we did and who we were are just dregs compared to who we are now and how we act when the sword is coming down.”
― Rachel Aaron, The Spirit Eater

“When one mistake can mean your head on a pike, every rule’s a first rule,” Eli said cheerfully.”
― Rachel Aaron, The Legend of Eli Monpress

“Never put a scene you don't love in your book.”
― Rachel Aaron, 2,000 to 10,000: How to Write Faster, Write Better, and Write More of What You Love

“I though the Black Reach lived in China."
"That doesn't mean anything," Bob said with a shrug. "The Black Reach doesn't have to be in the same hemisphere to meddle in you affairs. He didn't get his name for having unusually long arms, you know.”
― Rachel Aaron, Nice Dragons Finish Last

“do NOT go pulling things you like out of your novel because some forum person told you your idea "won't sell.”
― Rachel Aaron, 2,000 to 10,000: How to Write Faster, Write Better, and Write More of What You Love