Nichole Van > Quotes

“Have a care,” Jedediah hissed. “I am a force to be reckoned with, Lord Vader.” “Don’t worry, Mr. Jed I. Knight.” Marc leaned forward, crowding the smaller man. “I never underestimate the power of the Force.”
― Nichole Van, Clandestine

“After all, Viola shunned novelists who regularly employed miscommunication as a plot device. Any problem that could be solved through a five-minute conversation was hardly a novel-worthy conflict.”
― Nichole Van, Adjacent But Only Just

“If you ever believe anything I say, Isolde Gilbert, please believe this: You are a remarkable human being. You are the flash of a bluebird’s wing in winter that steals my breath.” He said the words gruffly, fiercely, as if he resented having to draw them from his lungs. “You are draped in bravery and grace. No pampered English miss would have donned a selkie’s skin and saved my hide yesterday. And instead of crumbling under the unknown of our current situation, you made soup from lentils and kneaded”
― Nichole Van, A Heart Sufficient

“Oh please, Arthur,” James said with a grimace. “Marianne hasn’t enough backbone to say ‘boo’ to a stray dog, much less insert herself into a crisis.”
― Nichole Van, Intertwine

“His brows drew together. He carefully lifted the bottle with the words Pepsi scrawled across the side.”
― Nichole Van, Refine

“You know, somewhere a Jane Austen angel just lost her wings over you saying that.”
― Nichole Van, Intertwine

“It was one of those perfect moments. Where your heart takes a picture and you store it away, so that when life becomes less than, you can pull out this one perfect memory and remember. At one point in time, life had been decidedly more.”
― Nichole Van, Intertwine

“He would have to consider adding that to his list. Rule #314: A gentleman conceals all and never feels . . . Absently, he finished both apples and the entire can of Cheez Whiz. Delicious.”
― Nichole Van, Refine

“Allie had an escape to bring off, a despotic brother to thwart, and an Italian blackmailer to disappoint. Engaging in getting-to-know-you banter with a famous Scottish poet was not on her list of tasks.”
― Nichole Van, One Kiss Alone

“Never allow others to choose how you feel.”
― Nichole Van, Suffering the Scot

“Happiness is what we make of our situation, not what the situation intrinsically is,” Leah sighed.”
― Nichole Van, Love Practically

“Anyone who greeted me by crossing themselves and muttering saint’s prayers was a friend for life. Seriously. Everyone needs a friend like that.”
― Nichole Van, Love's Shadow

“I guess I’m going to have to strip off my shirt and go after the poor sunken skiff, aren’t I?” he said with a grimace. Oh yes, please, Alter Emme replied, breathless and chirpy.”
― Nichole Van, Intertwine

“I lost my memories, and you lost your . . . your wife—” She stumbled over the word, as if unequal to saying me. “These losses have changed us. You want to return to the past. I simply want an uncomplicated future.”
― Nichole Van, Remembering Jamie

“To her chagrin, Emme couldn’t help but remember all the movies where bad things happened to heroines—particularly those who wandered into dark unknown basements in the middle of thunderstorms. But she was hardly a heroine.”
― Nichole Van, Intertwine

“She couldn’t remain here, in 1812. Emme didn’t think she could live in a world where women were still viewed as property. Where a woman’s only options were marriage or prostitution, as she had already seen firsthand. She couldn’t bring a child into a world where the threat of disease constantly loomed. Not to mention living in a time without iTunes, indoor plumbing and Xanax. She shuddered at the thought.”
― Nichole Van, Intertwine

“It only becomes an international incident if they find a body.”
― Nichole Van, A Madness Most Discreet

“She wasn’t so much his opposite, as his completion.”
― Nichole Van, Refine

“Those who are the sunniest have generally suffered the worst storms of life.”
― Nichole Van, One Kiss Alone

“Emotions crashed through him.”
― Nichole Van, Refine

“Lemon-Herb Chicken   This chicken recipe is one of my favorites, and something I’ve eaten more times than I can count in the homes of Italians. You can actually find cellophane bundles in the produce section of Tuscany grocery stores that have all the ingredients pre-packaged together (sans chicken, of course.) This is a flexible recipe and can be made with chicken breasts, thighs, quarters, etc. There’s no right or wrong here.   1 whole chicken, washed and patted dry Extra-virgin olive oil 3-4 cloves fresh garlic, peeled and minced 1 lemon, zested and juiced (you can also substitute an orange, if you’d like, or even do both) 10-12 leafs fresh sage (or around 1 T. dried), chopped 3-4 sprigs fresh rosemary (or around 1 T. dried), chopped   Mix the minced garlic, lemon zest (but NOT the juice), sage and rosemary together. Add enough olive oil to create a nice paste. Slather the paste all over and even inside the whole chicken. Let marinate overnight or at least for several hours. Place the chicken on a backing rack in a pan and roast, uncovered, @ 350 degrees for 1-2 hours until a thermometer in the thigh registers 165 degrees. If the chicken gets too brown on top while cooking, cover with tinfoil. Once done, remove the chicken from the oven and pour the saved lemon juice over the entire chicken. Carve and serve, reserving the lemony pan drippings for drizzling over the chicken.”
― Nichole Van, Gladly Beyond

“She was an American, for crying out loud. Americans ‘my lorded,’ like, no one. Wasn’t it against The Constitution?”
― Nichole Van, Refine

“She felt like Cinderella at the ball with Prince Charming. Only with fewer anthropomorphic mice, musical fairy godmothers and frighteningly hazardous glass slippers. Not to mention that Georgiana would never be an ugly step-sister.”
― Nichole Van, Intertwine

“If your dreams do not terrify you, then they are not yet sufficiently grand.” He smiled sincerely. “You should be genuinely frightened by the desires of your heart. Only then will you know you are reaching high enough.”
― Nichole Van, Outshine

“Suddenly, she wanted Sebastian to know.”
― Nichole Van, Divine

“There are moments in life that sear into the soul. Brief glimpses of some larger force.”
― Nichole Van, Intertwine

“She wanted her brother back. Stumbling”
― Nichole Van, Clandestine

“Oh, darling,” she breathed, “there is nothing . . . nothing now . . . nothing then . . . nothing in any time that I love so well as you.”
― Nichole Van, Intertwine

“I’m leaving.” She stood,”
― Nichole Van, Clandestine

“James found it ludicrous. He could not imagine giving his heart to another and then not fighting to secure a future with her.”
― Nichole Van, Intertwine