Elly

“Autumn comes early to the foot of the Slovenian Alps. Even before September, the abundant harvests are followed by a sudden poignant rain that lasts for days and brings down leaves in the lanes of the village. Now, in my fifties, I find myself wandering that direction every few years, reliving my first glimpse of the Slovenian countryside.
This is old country. Every autumn mellows it a little more, in aeternum, each beginning with the same three colors: a green landscape, two or three yellow leaves falling through a gray afternoon.
I suppose the Romans - who left their walls here and their gargantuan arenas to the west, on the coast - saw the same autumn and gave the same shiver. When my father's car swung through the gates of the oldest of Julian cities, I hugged myself.
For the first time, I had been struck by the excitement of the traveler who looks history in her subtle face.”
― Elizabeth Kostova, The Historian

“Please don't be afraid of me. Not me. We may have had a rocky start, but I would never hurt you. Never," he whispered harshly.  It was his desperate request that swayed her. It touched her very soul. It was filled with a raw sense of loneliness that she understood all too well.”
― Alanea Alder, My Commander

“That's the awful part about it: the worst days of your life start out just like any other.”
― Jay Kristoff, Empire of the Vampire

“Rachael stared into the rich, lush forest, longing growing in her with a strength that shook her. She heard the continual call of the birds, so many of them, saw them flitting from branch to branch, always busy, always in flight. She had a mad desire to dive out of the boat and swim away to disappear into the dark interior.”
― Christine Feehan, Wild Rain