J.A. Andrews > Quotes

“Flibbet the Peddler has a rule that says, It is a terrifying thing to be truly seen—but it is infinitely worse not to be.”
― J.A. Andrews, The Keeper Chronicles

“Let the past inform your choices today, but don’t let it rule them.”
― J.A. Andrews, The Keeper Chronicles

“Our pasts are complicated, what we’ve done, what has happened to us, but the beauty of life is that each day, we choose again which parts of that past we will allow to shape our actions.”
― J.A. Andrews, The Keeper Chronicles

“Bells of truth ring like cries in the night,” he called out. “If only the world would listen.”
― J.A. Andrews, Dragon's Reach

“Children were unsettling, sometimes. Like they weren’t exactly human yet. They were something wilder, brighter. Of course, now that he thought about it that way, maybe it was the adults who’d stopped being human.”
― J.A. Andrews, Pursuit of Shadows

“We aren’t defined only by our darkest choices. There is much more to us than those. “Our pasts are complicated, what we’ve done, what has happened to us, but the beauty of life is that each day, we choose again which parts of that past we will allow to shape our actions. Most of the worst decisions in history have been motivated by love of some kind or another. The decisions you are haunted by certainly were. The path we take away from those choices is dependent on whether we let the choices compel us, or refocus on the love that motivated us in the first place. “If you don’t want to be a Keeper today, then don’t be one. But if the only thing holding you back is choices you made in the past, well, those choices are done. Let the past inform your choices today, but don’t let it rule them.”
― J.A. Andrews, The Keeper Chronicles

“The light from a kindred spirit can’t heal the brokenness, but it pours into the weakened soul the strength to stand again.”
― J.A. Andrews, Dragon's Reach

“Keepers tell stories, because stories are the most powerful thing on earth. A good story can wiggle its way into the deepest part of your heart. It can shape your dreams or your fears. It can change how you see the world. It can even change—” He tapped her nose with his finger. “—how you see yourself.”
― J.A. Andrews, A Keeper's Tale: The Story of Tomkin and the Dragon

“Everyone is clear-minded in their own mind. Too much time alone traps a man in his own mind. Not enough time alone traps him in other’s. It is a terrifying thing to be truly seen—but it is infinitely worse not to be.”
― J.A. Andrews, The Keeper Chronicles

“We do not cast men out for a single choice because no man is defined by a single choice. With each day, we decide anew who we are, what we will grow toward.”
― J.A. Andrews, A Threat of Shadows

“You don’t have to be some great hero to contribute something good, you know.”
― J.A. Andrews, The Keeper Chronicles

“It is a terrifying thing to be truly seen—but it is infinitely worse not to be.”
― J.A. Andrews, The Keeper Chronicles

“I cannot say that Tomkin and the Dragon lived happily to the end of their days, because happiness is trickier than that. They had plenty of hard days, and plenty of sad days, but they did try to be kind to each other. And kindness takes you a long way on the path to happiness.”
― J.A. Andrews, The Keeper Chronicles

“Were all wars started from fear? He turned the idea over in his mind. Perhaps. Fear that sank so deep that it grew up in”
― J.A. Andrews, The Keeper Chronicles

“C’mon. I need to talk to the brave dragon-charmer girl. I assume she’s hidden inside there somewhere.”
― J.A. Andrews, A Keeper's Tale: The Story of Tomkin and the Dragon

“The way a man tells a story reveals more about the man than it does about the story.”
― J.A. Andrews, Pursuit of Shadows

“The hall door swung open, scattering Tomkin’s thoughts like a startled flock of birds,”
― J.A. Andrews, A Keeper's Tale: The Story of Tomkin and the Dragon

“No, although that took great determination. She was fierce because she could always see past herself and find goodness in the world.” The Shield glanced at her. “And goodness can be harder to find than a mis-shelved book in a seven-story library.”
― J.A. Andrews, Siege of Shadows

“It’s purple!” “Why?” “Some rubbish about it being blessed by an elf maiden with purple hair. There’s no way Patlon has ever seen an elf. Even if he had, who wants the blessings of an elf for their weapon? It would probably just make the axe giggle.”
― J.A. Andrews, The Keeper Chronicles

“If you don’t want to be a Keeper today, then don’t be one. But if the only thing holding you back is choices you made in the past, well, those choices are done. Let the past inform your choices today, but don’t let it rule them.”
― J.A. Andrews, The Keeper Chronicles

“We aren’t defined only by our darkest choices. There is much more to us than those.”
― J.A. Andrews, The Keeper Chronicles

“Everyone is clear-minded in their own mind. Too much time alone traps a man in his own mind. Not enough time alone traps him in other's.”
― J.A. Andrews, Pursuit of Shadows

“You’re a nibling.” Rass giggled. “Sounds like nibble.” “It’s like a niece,” Douglon explained. “Or a nephew.”
― J.A. Andrews, The Keeper Chronicles

“friends don’t let friends ride toward dragons alone.”
― J.A. Andrews, The Keeper Chronicles

“How can we still hear the cries of the bell that has long since faded? How, when our eyes should be able to see clearly, are we still blinded by yesteryear’s fog?”
― J.A. Andrews, Dragon's Reach

“For those who no longer walk with us, but still move within our hearts, For those whose hands are out of reach, but whose touch we still feel, For those who can never be untangled from our past, or our hopes, or our souls, May their names be spoken by our lips and heard in our ears.”
― J.A. Andrews, Dragon's Reach

“Old enough to know that most things are a waste of time. And that wasting time can be a beautiful thing.”
― J.A. Andrews, The Keeper Chronicles

“The same grief Sini had seen in Douglon’s face four years ago was back. It wasn’t as ragged as it had been. It had mellowed, but not lessened. Maybe it had worn itself in.”
― J.A. Andrews, The Keeper Chronicles

“The world is perishing, and everything in it. I do not know its end, but I know this body is perishing. It is not my body, not really. I inhabit it, but it was given to me. The only thing about it that is not perishing is…me. Every year, my body continues to age, and yet the part that is me finds that odd. I can well imagine this body failing, more parts of it growing achy each year. But the part that is truly me is merely carried around inside it. That part wonders how this body has gotten as old as it has. That part…is it arrogant to feel that that part of me is eternal? Aging and dying seem so foreign to it. When this body perishes, what will happen to the eternal part of me? I suppose someday I shall see. The first time I heard the phrase “Everything is perishing,” it depressed me. If it is true, what is the point of life? But that was a child’s question. A child cannot see the value of the work itself. I was given a hand, not to keep it for all eternity, but as a tool. Would I use it to write? To build? Tear apart? Brutalize? Nurture? It might be dexterous or strong, but how can I boast of either? Certainly, I can train it, but at its base, it is something that was given to me. It deserves neither my pride nor my shame. There is a fear that drained away from me when I understood that everything is perishing. I do not have to frantically scramble to save it. Not in a nihilistic way. I am not content merely to let others suffer and die. In many”
― J.A. Andrews, Mistlight

“Do you have any books at the Stronghold?” “Eighty-two thousand three hundred and twenty. Or there about.” Killien’s mouth fell open and Sini’s eyes widened. “Yes, I’ll come,” she said quickly.”
― J.A. Andrews, The Keeper Chronicles