Southampton's barrage balloons floated gleaming in the moonlight like the ghosts of elephants and hippos.

Maddie took the top of her egg off. The hot bright yolk was like summer sun breaking through cloud. The first daffodil in the snow. A gold sovereign wrapped in a white silk handkerchief. She dipped her spoon in it and licked it.

If you show this devious little liar one atom's worth of compassion I will have you shot.

You can come back to friendship. You can let it drop, for five years or ten years, and come back to it.

There is only one reason I did not go down in flames over the Angers, and that is because I knew I had Julie in the back. Would never have had the presence of mind to put that fire out if I hadn't been trying to save her life.

The very term "turning pages" suggests nonstop action. But I am all about character and beautiful writing. I eat that up like popcorn. Whether a book is action-packed or not, all I need are well-written prose and quirky, fabulous characters to keep me going.

Hope is treacherous, but how can you live without it?