Short Story Collection Quotes

“Fiction has been maligned for centuries as being "false," "untrue," yet good fiction provides more truth about the world, about life, and even about the reader, than can be found in non-fiction.”
― Clark Zlotchew

“When they reached their ship, Ed gazed out at the bay. It was black. The sky was black, but the bay was even blacker. It was a slick, oily blackness that glowed and reflected the moonlight like a black jewel. Ed saw the tiny specks of light around the edges of the bay where he knew ships must be docked, and at different points within the bay where vessels would be anchored. The lights were pale and sickly yellow when compared with the bright blue-white sparkle of the stars overhead, but the stars glinted hard as diamonds, cold as ice. Pg. 26.”
― Clark Zlotchew, Once upon a Decade: Tales of the Fifties

“I’ve been asking you to marry me since we met! What more do you want?”
― Chayada Welljaipet, Eternal Love

“I am looking into a silent world.”
― J.G. Ballard, The Complete Short Stories

“On the morning after the storm the body of a drowned giant was washed ashore on the beach five miles to the north-west of the city.”
― J.G. Ballard, The Complete Short Stories

“Well, nothing ever ends well for crazy people in small towns.,”
― Molly D. Campbell, Characters in Search of a Novel

“New York City is legendary for sleeping around. There's hot tail everywhere and it's such a big city that two-timing and even three-timing is very doable, if you plan it right."


From "My Worst Valentine's Day.Ever. (a Short Story)”
― Zack Love, Stories and Scripts: an Anthology

“When I was seventeen I found a man, or maybe he found me. Away from home for the first time, out of reach of my father’s archaic restrictions and my mother’s culinary insistence, I cut off my hair, dropped my Christian name, wore black and toyed with anorexia, passing incognito among the city workers, just another ant in that vast heap.”
― Nell Grey

“I imagine I should have told it to you before? I love you, Sejal.I wish for you to become my wife.Recently I’ve also opened a shop in North Dakota and thinking that, just maybe, you love me too.”
― Chayada Welljaipet , Eternal Love

“Thank you father, thank you. I know you watched me from above and protected me. I promise I shall serve the Magnarian Confederation with all my body and soul. I shall dedicate myself fully to our confederation, the family that you so loved. And I love it too. I shall protect, love and respect it always. This is my promise and commitment. Thank you”
― Chayada Welljaipet, War Between Two Powerful Nations

“If I could do all of that on February 14th, it would be a personal best for me. Something to share with my crew for the glory and the laughs, or to cheer up the next buddy of mine to get dumped or cheated on.

From "My Worst Valentine's Day.Ever: A Short Story”
― Zack Love, Stories and Scripts: an Anthology

“I stood transfixed, the silence ringing in my ears. From the field of wild grasses; cocksfoot, tufted hair, wild oat, tall fescue, reed canary and perennial rye, their subtle shades of green, ochre and pink softly patching and blending in rustling movement, suddenly rose a small flock of starlings that had been feeding quietly unseen among the tall waving stems, the swish of their glossy wings startlingly loud in the stillness of midday. Heat held me captive.”
― Nell Grey

“Oh no, princess. I would never carry out anything which could harm your being. This was just something I was told to say. I'm not sure what is planned, if, you go against their wishes. But, I'm sure you're smart and won't test them.”
― Chayada Welljaipet, The Adventures of Luciana

“The payments of revenge can be served with the bluntest kind of tools.

~ The Jackass in The Road”
― Stephen Deck, Land of the Story Tellers: 24 Stories and 7 Poems

“We should follow every supply that runs into the particular lake below, going upstream in terms of we can. When we do not find Drakes’ path, or even an additional, we should come back straight along,look yourself upward an additional way to obtain foods,and then do a similar for the next water for the south.”
― Chayada Welljaipet, Hill's Adventure

“It had been just about one hundred years now, since any of the smugglers had gone over the notch. History caught up with them. All of them were dead.

~ Dolly Dagger.”
― Stephen Deck, Land of the Story Tellers: 24 Stories and 7 Poems

“At its core, The story is a simple one. For ages humans gave birth to humans and animals to animals. Then one day a woman in La Crosse, Wisconsin, gave birth to a puppy, a Lab-greyhound mix, to be exact. It weighed a pound, they said, though I don’t suppose that meant much to most of us at the time. It was well known that human newborns weigh around eight pounds, but average folks knew nothing of the birth weight of dogs. Later, after the story had broken and the puppy grew into a twenty-five-pound twelve-week-old, the woman consented to an interview.”
― Pascha Sotolongo, The Only Sound Is the Wind: Stories

“Our relationship had been fast, hot, and reckless. Passion-filled, like a pot of pelau bubbling over the fire — rich, wild, and spicy.”
― Scarlet Ibis James, Scarlet Counterpoints: Stories Beyond First Glance

“Now I’m desperate to get out of the dank garage. To feel the breeze on my grill. To prove I’m still worth something.” - Built to Last”
― Kady Ambrose, Automobilia

“The fries are oversalted making me drink more or maybe it’s one of the excuses I’ve learned to repeat to myself.”
― Trista Hurley-Waxali

“Tales on the Go isn’t just a book. It’s a mildly legal form of travel therapy. These are the stories your childhood characters didn’t want you to read.”
― Nish Pillay

“Not everything needs to be spoken. Some truths rest quietly in a gesture, a breath, a presence that stays long after it leaves.”
― S.K. Man, Fragments of Light: In the Stillness, Something Endures

“Some memories don’t fade—they just return in different bodies.”
― S.K. Man, Even the Sky Remembers: The Weight We Choose to Keep

“Love takes no pause and nor should one, if given this, a chance of into heaven glimpsed. For like life, fickle can love be; like time, waits on none to come or be undone. When nothing makes sense, illogical is the sense, for nothing without purpose, these tempestuous life journeys always have a reason, though the “why” of it may not be seen immediately.”
― Rosie Chee, FOREVER IS ONLY AS LONG AS IT LASTS: A Short Story Collection

“Allir í hringnum höfðu hátt um sig og gripu hver fram í fyrir öðrum. Hitalampi brann í loftinu fyrir ofan þau. Lilja fékk sér sopa af bjórnum og þegar hún setti hann aftur á borðið, fann hún að hávaðinn og skarkalinn á reykingasvæðinu fjaraði smátt og smátt út þar til herbergið varð fullkomlega hljóðlaust. Allt stöðvaðist. Fólk hætti að hreyfast; varð líkara útklipptum pappamyndum af sjálfu sér. Hún fann hitalampann brenna á hnakkanum og leit á strákinn sem sat við hliðina á henni og sá birtuna streyma á andlitið á honum. Haka hans lyftist upp í sömu andrá og hljóðið skall aftur á. Einhver kveikti sér í sígarettu. Kolla lyfti bjór að vörum sér og saup hratt og fast. Mannfólkið varð aftur raunverulegt.”
― Ísak Regal, Sara og Dagný og ég

“Ást mín á Arnóri hefur engan stað til að fara á núna. Stundum vildi ég að ég gæti fangað hana, lokað hana inni, en þá veit ég að ég myndi ég sakna hennar. Núna streymir hún bara frá mér í allar áttir hvenær sem er – kemur stundum út í tárum, stundum í brosi. Ég vildi að Arnór gæti séð mig núna. Ég held hann yrði stoltur. Hann sá eitthvað í mér sem enginn annar sá. Eitthvað sem fékk hann til að brosa í hvert skipti sem hann sá mig. Og ég bíð stundum eftir því að sjá hann birtast í dyragættinni heima hjá mér, eða úti einhvers staðar, á bar eða eitthvað, og brosa þessu breiða brosi sínu. Ég sver það er það fallegasta sem ég hef séð.”
― Ísak Regal, Sara og Dagný og ég

“Við vorum stödd á Ægisíðunni. Það var dimmt úti og stjörnubjart. Nóttin hélt okkur föstum í viðjum sínum. Það voru norðurljós á himninum. Þau voru græn og leiftrandi. En mér fannst það ekki skipta máli. Ég hafði séð þau áður. Ég hafði séð svo margt áður. Hvolfið þakti það sem umlukti okkur og hún rykkti höfðinu til hliðar og upp. En hún var ekki að horfa á stjörnurnar. Stjörnurnar voru að horfa á hana,”
― Ísak Regal, Sara og Dagný og ég

“Ég fékk loksins það sem ég vildi. Við sofnuðum saman í sófanum. Og þó hún lægi þarna við hliðina á mér dreymdi mig hana samt. Við vorum úti að leika okkur í stóru húsi sem hafði verið yfirgefið í svo langan tíma að það hafði fyllst af gróðri og arfa. Vinkona hennar var líka með og ég elti þær um húsið. Ég reyndi að finna hana en náði aldrei nema í skuggann á henni. Ég fór upp á aðra hæð hússins og á þá þriðju og fjórðu og hélt áfram meðan tal þeirra og hlátur bergmálaði allt í kring.
Ég hafði ímyndað mér hluti í of langan tíma. Ég vissi það. Og eftir því sem ímyndunin og minningarnar blönduðust saman og hurfu lengra og lengra aftur í tímann fékk ég sterkar á tilfinninguna að það væri úti um mig. Ég myndi ekki finna hana aftur.”
― Ísak Regal

“Worry and anxiety can drive you into a state of paralysis. I, for one, have experienced such, and I have figured it's best to face situations that drive up my anxiety head-on. That way, I don't allow my thoughts to talk me out of taking action. When I am worried, I try to focus on the present. Worry creeps up when we are constantly thinking about future outcomes. Live in the now and focus on getting through today.

Regaining Power and Control From The Overlords of Worry and Anxiety.”
― James B. Agape, Pent Up Thoughts

“These days, you might bump into long-time friends, old acquaintances, or just casual acquaintances and schedule a catch-up session, but the disappointing thing is that the conversations are shallow and surface-level. superficial, if you will. Where do you work now? Which neighborhood do you live in? How much money do you make? Are you driving? Oh, really, which make and model? I find it shallow. Few are those who dare ask whether you're happy and how you're faring mentally and spiritually. What's the point of accumulating all the materialism and riches this world has to offer if you’re still unhappy inside? Certainly, I understand that it makes life easier and whatnot. However, I think having genuine and deep conversations goes a long way toward forming better human connections. It’s refreshing.”
― James B. Agape, Pent Up Thoughts