I'd studied 16th century science and magic. I thought it was strange that people were interested in the same kinds of things my research was about. The more I thought about it, the more intriguing it became and pretty soon I was writing a novel about a reluctant witch and a 1500-year-old vampire.

Scholars do one of two things when they discover information that doesn't fit what they already know. Either they sweep it aside so it doesn't bring their cherished theories into question or they focus on it with laserlike intensity and try to get to the bottom of the mystery.

The most beautiful experience we can have is the mysterious. It is the fundamental emotion that stands at the cradle of true art and true science. Whoever does not know it and can no longer wonder, is as good as dead, and his eyes are dimmed (Albert Einstein)

Sorry, we've got ghosts.

My ideas about vampires may by romantic, but your attitudes toward women need a major overhaul.

there’s nothing more powerful than human fear—not magic, not vampire strength. Nothing.

You persist in this romantic vision of what it is to be a vampire, but despite my best efforts to curb it I have a taste for blood.