“...My friend, there are some things that I cannot tell you. Some I will tell you in time; some, others will tell you; some you may never know, or you may be the first to find the answers.” KnowsFirstsMayAnswersMy Friends Author:Robin McKinley
“And none at all has ridden at the king's side since Aerinha, goddess of honor and flame, first taught men to forge their blades. You'd think Aerinha would have had better sense.” ThinkingMenFirstsSidesTaughtKingsHonorFlamesGoddessBlades Book:The Hero and the Crown Source: The Hero and the Crown
“She poured the water, arranged some bread near enough the embers to scorch but not catch fire, and looked up at Little John. She was so accustomed to his step, to his bulk, that it took a moment to notice his face; and when she did . . . It was, she thought, rather like the moment it took to realize one had cut one's finger as one stared dumbly at the first drop of blood on the knife-blade. You know it is going to hurt quite a lot in a minute.” KnowsFirstsLittlesEnoughMomentsFacesWaterRealizingHurtStepsFireCuttingBloodMinutesFingersBreadKnivesAccustomedBladesEmbers Author:Robin McKinley
“...and again she wished for Sherwood, and the dappled roof of leaves that never weighed upon her. She pulled her scarf closer around her and thought, I would rather live in a hut in the woods; a hut like the one of my first memories, with a clean-swept dirt floor, and a brown-eyed boy watching me from behind his mother's skirts as I watched him from behind mine.” FirstsMotherMemoriesBehindsBoysMinesCleanWoodsBrownRoofDirtSkirtsHutsScarves Author:Robin McKinley
“When you write your first novel you don't really know what you're doing. There may be writers out there who are brilliant, incisive and in control from their first 'Once upon a time'. I'm not one of them. Every once upon a time for me is another experience of white-water rafting in a leaky inner tube. And I have this theory that while the Story Council has its faults, it does have some idea that if books are going to get written, authors have to be able to write them.” IfsKnowsWritingFirstsMayDoeBookIdeasStoriesAbleWaterWhiteNovelWrittenTheoryFaultsBrilliantCouncilTubesOnce Upon A TimeRaftingWhite Water Author:Robin McKinley
“She, too, spoke only when the queen or king addressed her first, but she looked searchingly at every supplicant, and her clear face said that she had opinions about everything she heard, and that it was her proud duty to think out those opinions, and make them responsible and coherent.” ThinkingFirstsSaidFacesOpinionClearHeardDutyProudKingsResponsibleQueensSpokes Book:Deerskin Source: Deerskin
“Mathin said: "It is best to take your opponent's sash. The kysin mark each blow dealt, but to cut off the other rider's sash is best. This you will do." "Oh," said Harry. "You may, if you wish, unhorse him first," Mathin added as an afterthought. "Thanks," said Harry.” IfsFirstsMaySaidWishCuttingMarkBlowThanksOpponentsRidersAfterthought Author:Robin McKinley
“It doesn't matter if I'm only to be gone four days, as in this case; I take six months' supply of reading material everywhere. Anyone who needs further explication of this eccentricity can find it usefully set out in the first pages of W. Somerset Maugham's story "The Book-Bag.” IfsNeedsFirstsBookMatterStoriesReadingCasesGoneFourMaterialsMonthsSixPagesBagsSix MonthsEccentricity Author:Robin McKinley
