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Famous Megan Shepherd Quotes

“I've asked myself so many times where my heart felt at home, and the answer is like the walls of that mismatched cottage: I feel at home in my childhood bedroom with shooting-star sheets and my parents reading me stories. I feel at home cozied in bed with Jack, beneath the jack-o'-lantern quilt I sewed for us. I even feel at home-- in my darkest corners-- in my creaky old bedroom in Dr. Finkelstein's house. Belonging isn't about walls and a roof. It's a feeling. I felt an inkling of that when I was flying on Scorch, so careless and free. Up among the clouds, I never had to choose, and I don't now, either. I can be all of these places, all of these people, and still simply be Sally.”

RealizationBelongingSallyBedroomsSimply Me
Book:Hour of the Pumpkin Queen
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“You might be surprised to see how frightening your wife can be." For dramatic effect, I step back so the breeze blowing down the alleyway catches my hair, sending it into writhing snakelike locks. I stretch the seams on my cheeks into a ghoulish, haunting grimace, and let out the moan that sent a dragon quaking down to his paws. Jack staggers three steps backward, startled and entranced, his jaw open so far it practically unhinges. When he finally finds his words, he exclaims, "My beautiful bride! I didn't think I could love you more, yet here you go tying my heart in knots. Talented, kind, and frightening?" He throws his arms around my waist and plants a kiss on the tip of my nose. "How did I get so lucky?”

ScareSallyInnerJack Skellington
Book:Hour of the Pumpkin Queen
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“I am the Pumpkin Queen of Halloween Town. There is nothing-- nothing-- more frightening than me." I channel a lifetime lived among monsters. More Halloweens than I can count. Most of all, I channel Jack's advice about being scary. Play with light and shadow, Jack said. I move toward Scorch's tail fire so its wavering shadows make my eyes look huge. Use your surroundings. I step into the wind, which lifts my hair like writhing silken snakes. Understand why you scare. And I do-- for so long, I thought scares were simply about tricks and treats, but now I understand that the frightening faces we show to the world can do more than merely delight. I am queen of a nightmare land-- and I must save it. For the finishing touch, I let out a haunted wail, like a mournful black cat in the night.”

ScaryQueenSallyJack Skellington
Book:Hour of the Pumpkin Queen
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“I can't help feeling a connection with Luna beyond just our being rag dolls. Both of us quiet. Bookish. Daydreamy. But whereas I grew up as friendless as a lone daisy in a graveyard, Luna has every chance to blossom. Besides, I tell myself, I'm not some lost stray cat hiding in the shadows anymore. Dr. Finkelstein was wrong. I am a queen, and I'm exactly where I belong-- with my family and Jack, who completes me in ways I didn't even know possible.”

RelatableQueenHeroineSallyAllyRag Doll
Book:Hour of the Pumpkin Queen
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“I'm honored that my parents trust me enough to take on their jobs when they retire, so how can I refuse? I am originally from Dream Town. This was my bed. This was my home. I can't just ignore my duty. But in a way, the scenes captured in these watercolor paintings feel like someone else's life. Halloween Town is the only home I've ever truly known. Whether or not I belonged there, I grew to adore it. The black cat's chorus of midnight wails. The silver glow of the full moon. The scent of fire-roasted pumpkin soup on an autumn breeze. I used to sit at my barred window in Dr. Finkelstein's house and watch the townspeople like they were characters in my own macabre little dollhouse: the Mayor wheeling around in his hearse. The trio of musicians playing a morose melody. The corpse family bringing in the pumpkin harvest with their lumbering gaits and rattling chains. They all became such dear characters to me, even if half of them never knew my name. And so, when I married Jack and became the Pumpkin Queen, it meant everything that they embraced me. There were bumps along the road, of course, but now I'm traipsing around that macabre little dollhouse village with them all. Dancing. Delivering potions. Making queenly proclamations. Even now, it brings tears to my eyes. I want to hold on to this beautiful feeling of belonging for all eternity.”

SallySense Of BelongingHalloween Town
Book:Hour of the Pumpkin Queen
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“Despite nearly drowning and narrowly avoiding a mermaid's song, I'm intrigued by this new world. I'm curious how their ruler determines what makes a hero and what makes a villain. It can't be as simple as which side of town a character lives on, if they have horns or halos or use swords or spells. There might have been a time when I thought good and evil were clear-cut, but that all changed when Jack set out to save Christmas and ended up ruining it instead. He became the villain instead of the hero he yearned to be. And what about me? I live in a world of monsters who, by most reckonings, would be considered villains. Yet that's the last way I think about gentle Behemoth, sweet little Zero, friendly Undersea Gal. Do they think of me as a hero simply because I come from a land of sweet dreams? Of course not. If they look at me with any admiration, it's because of my efforts as queen, not the crown alone.”

Good And EvilSallyAntiheroesMore Than Appearance
Book:Hour of the Pumpkin Queen
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“Crisp autumn leaves whip our faces, but then, we break free from the canopy. Nothing but vast sky surrounds us above and all around. Below, Fable Town stretches as far as my eyes can see. Adjusting his satchel strap around his chest, Scorch straightens out his flight path to run parallel to the ground. We skim the clouds over dwarfs' cottages and fairy rings of red-capped mushrooms. Scorch crests a hill, and the impenetrable canopy of trees that makes up Villain Village stretches beneath us. In the distance, the spire of a crumbling, dark castle rises over a tangled, thorny thicket. A salty breeze ruffles my eyelashes, and before I know it, Scorch plunges down a cliff and flies us over the Fabled Sea. I spot the deep blue water where we fell. The half-submersed shipwreck. The beach where we collapsed in tearful, soggy joy. We fly over a rocky promontory where the mermaid warbles her siren song up at us, but the wind blows away her words before she can ensnare us.”

AdventureFairytaleDragonSallyRide
Book:Hour of the Pumpkin Queen
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