“It was approaching dusk. That time between late afternoon and early evening when most of us are adjusting our lights and clothing, appetites and mindsets, to make the transition from the end of the day to the beginning of the night. A time when both sun and moon can share the sky.” SunMoonDuskTime Of DayEnd Of Day Book:The Rhythm of Selby Source: The Rhythm of Selby
“Many of the trees and bushes put their finery away for the season and slept in their plain brown skins until the spring warmth would wake them again, and coax out their colors and cooling shade.” NatureSpringWinterTreesWinteringFairies Faeries Book:The Secret Child Source: The Secret Child
“The sun was soft honey and rose colored along the horizon; the old trees were deep black silhouettes against it, with long purple shadows sliding out from their earth-slippered feet.” SunsetShadowsSlippersSilhouettesFairies Faeries Book:The Secret Child Source: The Secret Child
“Cian, the ancient one, looked upon the spirit that was crouched and shimmering before him. The moon slid peacefully across the bay and came to rest under his outstretched feet. He sat absolutely still and listened fondly to the voices of the forest that whispered and sang all around him. “Tell me the dream,” he said at last to the spirit. “The dream is of a new daughter among us,” she replied. “She is surrounded in secrets, unseen by most; a mystical one in her own right.” Cian nodded and smiled and sighed into the wind. “Yes. I, too, have seen the vision. A secret child is coming.” DreamMoonForestFairies FaeriesMystical ExperienceThe Secret Child Book:The Secret Child Source: The Secret Child
“The geese were quick to enjoy themselves, once the sense of alarm had subsided and the spirit of fun took hold. Geese, Marika learned, are typically a serious lot; but after being brought into the game, they become quite committed and surprisingly sportsman-like.” GamesFunGeeseSportsmanshipFairies Faeries Book:The Secret Child Source: The Secret Child
“To the residents of this small southern town, the past is more than history, it is ancestry. It is a compilation of family stories, told and retold, from one generation to the next. It’s old brown photographs framed in silver on the piano. It’s grandmother’s dishes and the family home and ancient trees planted ages ago that still shade the porch and scrape the knees of children who climb them. It’s stables that have never been without horses and hay and Jack Russell Terriers. It’s gardens that have their roots in the 1800s and their fresh-cut blossoms on this evening’s dinner table. It’s an unbroken thread of memories and families and love. And the distinction between past and present often becomes blurred, the past sometimes superimposed over the present in a decidedly unique way.” HistorySmall TownPast And PresentGardensSouthernersStablesFamily StoriesSouthern Town Book:The Rhythm of Selby Source: The Rhythm of Selby
“Many of the town’s residents summered up North, along with their horses. Others took long, slow weekends at the beach or on the lake or in the mountains, in family homes built by their great grandparents and passed through the generations like prized silver. The rest of us simply tempered our pace and entered into the peace that floated around us on the breeze of a slow-moving fan.” BeachLakesMountainsPace Of LifeSouthern SummerFamily HomesSlow Fans Book:The Rhythm of Selby Source: The Rhythm of Selby
“By July, a damp Southern heat had settled down on the town like warm sweet syrup.” SouthJulySmall Town LifeSyrupSouthern SummerSouthern Heat Author:Marti Healy
“Do you believe a place can have its own distinct rhythm? I do. Just as surely as the pulling of tides. Just as meaningful as a beating heart. And just as mysterious as the throaty purr of a well-stroked cat. I believe every place has its own unique rhythm. And I believe we are either in or out of sync with it.” Small TownsRhythm Of LifeIn Sync With Life Book:The Rhythm of Selby Source: The Rhythm of Selby
“The eerie, still, darkness was flickered and slivered by small receding flames, and was wrapped in the brown smell of burned beans and tobacco smoke and human sweat, and Kit had the sense that he was somehow simply a spectator to another side of reality – observing, listening.” Reality Book:Blinding the Moon Source: Blinding the Moon