Kate Willis > Quotes

“Conversation was only awkward because she searched for something important to say. Friends didn't do that. Friends let their thoughts become words without trying to change them.”
― Kate Willis, Kiera

“Singing rose up from the convent, filling the woods with a peaceful echo that tried to penetrate her heart and smooth her features; but nothing could ease the pain of saying goodbye.”
― Kate Willis, The Twin Arrows

“Amy is short for something.”
― Kate Willis, Sincerely, Jem

“Nights like this made her heart and mind wander, and she looked up at the sky again, drawn in by the dance floor of a million blinking lights.”
― Kate Willis, If the Stars Awaken

“A sigh escaped him. It was a necklace of very old seashells, one he had played with as a child. He shoved it into his pocket and eased himself down the ladder before any more memories could find him.”
― Kate Willis, The Night Archers

“Tearing out a sheet, she wrote her address on it and froze as she considered a pen name. Something starting with her first initial, the one she shared with Judy.
What should it be? She thought about her usual nicknames, Jesster and Jess. But those were what her family called her. Too special to give to a stranger. Maybe something starting with a J and an e? The word came to her in a flash. Jem. Unlike anything she’d ever read or heard before, short and easy to write, and still a little bit close to her real name.”
― Kate Willis, Sincerely, Jem

“the post office machines probably would do worse things to it before it reached Anonymous Guy.”
― Kate Willis, Sincerely, Jem

“Jem. Unlike anything she’d ever read or heard before, short and easy to write, and still a little bit close to her real name.”
― Kate Willis, Sincerely, Jem

“Dear Jem,
I finally have time for a real letter! I’m sorry about your ankle. If I invent a time machine, I will go back and trip whoever invented high heels for you.”
― Kate Willis, Sincerely, Jem

“Sometimes I think, my little one, your father should have been a starreader.”
― Kate Willis, If the Stars Awaken

“The Maker never holds judgment in one hand without holding mercy in the other.”
― Kate Willis, If the Stars Awaken

“As they ran to the barn and began the careful climb up the steep ladder, Lily realized she had accidentally put on snow boots in her hurry. When they reached the top, the quiet hush of the still hayloft gave them that whisper-in-the-library feeling.”
― Kate Willis, The Treasure Hunt

“Thunder rumbled and the sky split open with cruel laughter, drenching them and turning the forest floor into little rivers of mud. ***”
― Kate Willis, The Twin Arrows

“Moments later as we crossed the road to the 50’s diner, I recited the restaurant rules in my head one more time.

Rule one: Keep your hands clean.
Rule two: Careful with the food trays.
Rule three: Visit the soda fountain as often as you like, but don’t make yourself sick.
Rule four: Enjoy the poodle skirt.”
― Kate Willis, Enjoy the Poodle Skirt

“It all started with one of those days--one of those muggy, first-of-the-summer-vacation days when everyone older and everyone younger knew what to do, but everyone in between was lost.”
― Kate Willis, The Treasure Hunt

“I could give him business cards...multi-camoflauge background. David, woodworker, amateur computer coder, and decoder extraordinaire," Lily daydreamed.

"Coder and decoder," Anna chuckled.”
― Kate Willis, The Treasure Hunt

“Sir Wystan,” Ryla stated. “You have come. Is the danger quite near?”
“Not yet, little one, but it is always wise to be several steps ahead of it,” the old knight said gently.”
― Kate Willis, The Twin Arrows

“You took the sunrise seriously." She nodded. "Googled it and everything.”
― Kate Willis, Addie's Mountain

“Would you like to try them on?” he asked, blue eyes sparkling. “They look just your size.”
― Kate Willis, Red Boots

“He squinted up at the sky and quickly rose to his feet, sheathing his knife. “Rosie,” he beckoned to her but kept his eyes on the shadows that hung low brushing the top of the keep. “Rosie, come inside. There’s a storm almost ready to hit.”
She skipped over to him and slumped her shoulders, but he teased a grin out of her the next moment. “I’ll fill your bucket for you if you set up the blanket house with Maire.”
She shoved the bucket into his hands and entered the house, sing-songing for her sister.”
― Kate Willis, The Night Archers

“Light slowly grew in the room, planted by a few seeds of morning sun that whispered through the windows. The heater struggled to catch up with the cold brought on by a snowy night, and the old man’s voice helped fill the empty shop.”
― Kate Willis, Red Boots

“That morning all of us girls had put our hair in high vintage-like ponytails, and Aunt Julie joked that we could almost be triplets. I laughed but knew that since my hair was so straight no one would ever confuse Rose and I.”
― Kate Willis, Enjoy the Poodle Skirt

“The only problem with sharing a room with her sisters, Jessie decided, was that she couldn’t wrap their Christmas presents in there. Fortunately, the garage was nearly always empty, so she’d hauled everything in there and spread it across the workbench. Opening a back page of her inspiration book, she glanced from the list to the Santa’s workshop–sized mess of fabric, scrapbooking paper, scissors, tape, and grocery bags layered to hide the presents inside.”
― Kate Willis, Sincerely, Jem

“Marinne dug her fingers into the tree and swallowed the bile rising in her throat. Her heart pounded in her ears and she shut her eyes, pressing her forehead against the rough bark.”
― Kate Willis, If the Stars Awaken

“It would be easier to copy the books without notice than to borrow them. He wouldn’t risk getting caught, not with a King’s guard posted in the room, and he wouldn’t risk damaging parchments as old as the world itself. Copying would be better in all ways.”
― Kate Willis, If the Stars Awaken

“I gladly gave my aunt the privilege of scraping off all gum so my job wasn’t as interesting or horrifying. I did find a few more menu drawings--a baby’s scribble, an elaborate tic-tac-toe board, and some stretched out stick figures that made me miss Addie again.”
― Kate Willis, Enjoy the Poodle Skirt

“They launched into some of their favorite Christmas carols, and the third verse of “Silent Night” brought Kiera back to thinking about the stable and ‘the least of these’. She smoothed the crisp paper of the package sitting in her lap and felt a lump rise in her throat. Anything she could do would never be enough. God would have to act and maybe He would use her.”
― Kate Willis, The Least of These

“Well, you better have a good memory because I have the tail end of high school and six billion books to write before then,”
― Kate Willis, Sincerely, Jem

“He watched as the Queen gathered up everything and tightened the knapsack straps over her shoulders. They were hunched and sharp with worry and hunger, but she carried herself with a resolve he knew would never leave her.”
― Kate Willis, If the Stars Awaken

“I’m so glad I asked my mom to keep Jade so Brennan could play,” Destiny yelled to Thorne.
“That was very thoughtful of you,” Thorne threw back as he churned up snow running from Brennan.”
― Kate Willis, The Least of These