Women Authors From The United States

"There is a whole generation of kids coming up who don’t know about anything but eating processed food."

"Parents should encourage children as early as possible to begin safely using kitchen equipment."

"I think the importance of having kids in the kitchen is to expose them to something beyond cookies and snacks. It’s like a dumbing down of a child’s palate. By associating the fun of cooking only with sweets, you’re limiting the child’s experience."

"There is such a great lesson to learn in having your children in the kitchen with you. Children can smell the smells and watch all that goes into the preparation of the food. It’s a five-sense experience for them."

"Choosing the freedom to be uninteresting never quite worked for me."

"I learned I couldn’t shed light on love other than to feel its comings and goings and be grateful."

"It snowed softly on , which was the fourth year of 's reign, and on Christmas morning a fleece as white and soft as a lay over London town. It hid the wooden gables and the red roof tiles, it hid the piles of filth dumped into the narrow . It muffled the rumble of carts, the clop-clop of hooves, the acrid cries of the street venders, but the church bells clanged out clear as ever above the stilled city. And while in the impatiently pounded snail shells in a , she heard rowdy singing directly outside the shop door on Old Bailey Street. "Is it ?" she cried, throwing her down on the counter top and rushing to the twinkling-pained, ."

"Seton spent several years researching , and her book has been repeatedly commended for its . It has even been listed in the bibliographies of works of historical nonfiction, which is no mean achievement. On the debit side, this has resulted in it achieving more credibility for accuracy than it deserves ... It is important to note that Katherine is essentially a novel, and although its author made impressive and commendable efforts to get her facts right, there are three good reasons why we should not accept hers as a valid portrayal of the historical . First, Katherine is essentially of its own time. Seton's is derived partly from nineteenth-century perception of him ... and partly from Clark Gable's portrayal of in Gone With the Wind: ... one Internet reviewer described John of Gaunt, as depicted in the novel, as the "sexiest hero since Rhett Butler." ... Second, Katherine is as much about Anya Seton as it is about Katherine Swynford. ... The third reason we should be cautious in accepting Anya Seton's portrayal of Katherine Swynford as historically accurate is that Katherine is essentially a romantic novel in the classic sense. ... Threaded through it are the classic romantic clichés of remembered childhood, , cruel conflict, and lonely exile."

"From all of the nearby s, from as far away as and and , the people were flocking to celebrate at . Weeks ago the King's herald had galloped throughout the country proclaiming the great tournament and inviting all valorous knights to come and participate. There would be tilting at the and other knightly games; there would be jousts and challenges, and there would be a climaxing tourney, or melee, for all contenders. Most of the knights and arrived at Windsor some days ago, and the lesser ones who cloud not be accommodated in the castle were already encamped on the plain below the walls in a bivouac of multicolored tents; many had brought their ladies, and all, of course, their s. But the common people, though not specifically invited, were welcome, too. For these, five hundred oxen were roasting at charcoal fires dotted around the fields, vats of beer had been set up, and a thousand loaves of already baked for distribution."

"On the night of the great storm, the taproom at was deserted. Earlier that evening men had wandered in for beers or rum flip—shore men all of them now, too old to go out with the fishing fleet. They had drunk uneasily, the mugs shaking in their vein-corded hands, while they listened to the rising wind. Ever more boisterous gusts puffed down the big chimney scattering fine ash over the scrubbed boards. In the two hundred yards away, the mounting breakers roared up the , muffling the clink of mugs on the table and the men's sparse comments."

"... I have no illusion about my writing. It is swift, competent, pictorial, emotional, and I am a . I am not very original and have no subtleties of style."

"The children romped together in and , they raced on shaggy ponies, they sailed chips amid protesting ducks on the pond, they wandered the nearby woods and stuffed themselves with . They explored all the fascinating features of the Manor lands, the mill with its big slowly turning sails, the little heath where had once found some Roman coins, the ruins of a castle haunted by a headless lady in gray."

"', the story of the mistress and later, the wife of , was the sixth of the ten popular novels ... written by Anya Seton. All of Seton’s novels were best sellers, yet in the fifty years since its original publication, Katherine stands apart, showing the longevity of a classic. This is illustrated most clearly by the book’s inclusion in the listing of the top 100 favorite books in (2003)."

"The Beautiful Adulteress had been lent by Phoebe , and it must be finished by nightfall so that Phoebe could return it to Deborah Wilson, who had purloined it from her brother's saddlebag. Despite Miranda's eighteen years and elegant education at Philander Button's , despite avid perusal of this and similar books, she had not the vaguest notion of the horrifying behavior that resulted in one's becoming an adulteress. But that point was immaterial. It was the glorious palpitating romance that mattered. The melancholy heroes, the languishing heroines, the clanking ghosts, dismal castles and all entrancingly punctuated at intervals by a tender, a rapturous—but in any case a guilty—kiss."

"I didn't come in the Army to service any of them, I came in to nurse them."

"The character created most closely from my personal experiences is Jean Carson, the teacher in Mirrors. Her struggles were mine, her hopes and fears were mine. She struggled to protect her job, while trying to help a bullied student. I kept my job, but lost a student to suicide."

"It seems as though I was always writing something – little stories, poems. All through school, whenever there was a choice between a written or oral assignment, I always chose the written. Later, writing became affordable therapy. I taught in the public school system for 25 years, as closeted a profession as there is, except possibly the religious sector. Expressing and exploring who I was as an individual, as a whole person, had to be done secretly and during those times when I wasn’t teaching, coaching, or losing my mind. It is the need to express beliefs and thoughts and feelings that had been suppressed for so long."

"The hate crimes described in Love in the Balance are based on the hate crime murders of Susan Pittmann and Christine Puckett, committed in Huron Township in Michigan. I was honored to have their daughter, Cynthia Pittmann, write the poignant Foreword for the sequel, The Indelible Heart."

"One of the reoccurring challenges I incur is that my stories don’t fit neatly into one category – there is too much social commentary for the romance genre and too much romance for general fiction. It makes marketing a challenge, as well as award nominations."

"Without the test of heat, no metal proves its strength; without the test of life, no love can prove its worth. Rare is the love that survives the tests of the life she knew, but the pain from loves that failed those tests could fill more than one lifetime.”"

"Most surprising, I think, was the depth of my sense of injustice. At times it bordered on anger, and it was such a cleansing, therapeutic experience to be able to express and explore that through my characters."

"For me, a story must be relatable and believable. As a writer, I want to immerse the reader in the lives of my characters, in hopes and dreams that may be lofty but reachable, and in struggles that are realistic and frustrating, and even frightening. If I can do that, the reader will be able to live the story with my characters."

"My biggest writing challenge is embracing the freedom that I have now from page and word restrictions. My first few books were published by Naiad Press, and were subject to restrictions. I learned to make every word count, minimalize description, and move quickly from scene to scene, all of which improved my craft. But, now I can expand the scope of my story lines without fear of drastic cuts."

"I have a couple of things niggling my mind. One, partly fueled by the importance of the women’s vote in the recent election, is to explore the history of our fight for the vote. Another is the problem of animal neglect and overwhelmed animal shelters. Of course, these issues will have to explored by characters in a storyline that balances love, hope, and social consciousness. I just can’t seem to help it."

"What is unfortunate is that our community is still embattled, facing ongoing challenges to our rights and security. I would think that as long as those exist, there will be a need and opportunity for me to write stories of how those struggles effect our lives."

"As I said, my next project is a prequel to Under the Witness Tree. I fell in love with Nessie Tinker. Nessie was a 90+ year old black supporting character who challenged me to know more about her and where she came from. I wanted to know what her life would have been like growing up in Georgia in the 1900’s. What were her dreams and hopes, her disappointments? And, what of love, between two young women, one black and one white? This next book is the result of that curiosity and search."

"That balance has been a real struggle for me. And, balance truly is the key, I believe. It’s a fluid thing, something that changes as our lives change. There were times when I could expend time and energy on marches and rallies and petitions, and there were times when I needed to secure my personal place in the world. The truth, I’ve realized, is that it takes a community, recognizing its fluidity and maintaining its focus. It takes leaders. It takes everyone doing what they can. For me, for now, it means writing stories of palatable consciousness."

"That’s the dilemma the group of friends in The Indelible Heart had to face. And, as in our larger society, their opinions ran the gamut from indifference to merciful release to let him rot in hell. As I wrote, I found myself weighing and evaluating my own belief. As it turns out, I find myself leaning closer to Sharon’s ‘let him rot’ opinion, with a gentle nudge to force justice to take the hand of forgiveness."

"My next book will be a prequel to Under the Witness Tree. I never say never, but I don’t foresee featuring these three characters again."

"As have so many LGBT people, I formed a family of choice throughout the years – people who accepted and nurtured and loved me for who I am. During the writing of The Indelible Heart, I lost three of those people. There wasn’t enough time for me to recover from the grief of one loss before I was faced with another. The once solid ground beneath me was gone. And, at the same time that I was trying to get through my own grief, I was having to take Sharon back to hers. It has made this the most difficult book for me to write."

"Within the circle of friends, Kasey and Connie have the most stable relationship. My hope is to leave the reader with the sense that this couple has the tools to work through the challenges that long term relationships face."

"I have written 9 books. Each has something that makes it special to me. The first, Legacy of Love, for the obvious reason. Love in the Balance has an emotional connection to my mother, and to a hate crime that was committed near where I live. Mirrors emerged from my teaching experiences, and losing a student on my watch. Losses in my personal life, and an unexpected connection with the daughter of the hate crimes victims, made The Indelible Heart a difficult and unforgettable effort."

"I believe there are a number of similarities, common struggles to change social attitude. But, unlike the racial struggle, the LGBT community, for the most part, has had the option of the closet – to stay hidden, to live the lie. And, I think in the long run, that has lengthened our struggle. Without that option, we would have had to fight harder and sooner."

"Everybody is running with this one now My friend who works at the NFL told me they’re saying it at the NFL. All I need now is Taylor Swift’s boyfriend to wear one. Wouldn’t that be great?."

"Eagles don’t fly with pigeons, OK? So go get your bread crumbs and get back to me tomorrow."

"I think it’s a disgrace of you people!” she shouted. “I decorated, I cooked, I made it nice!"

"My Dorinda-isms really just come from the moment — and I have a lot of them!"

"I love you guys, but I can’t say I’m not happy to see you leave,”. “I love you for coming and I love you for leaving."

"I have a great amount of respect and admiration for a number of authors. It’s difficult to single out one as a favorite. Each offers me something special, unique to their style and presentation. Alice Walker offers introspection and a raw, yet palatable honesty. Harper Lee gave us an unrivaled one-time shot to the gut challenge to our humanity. Sarah Waters masterfully weaves her fictitious characters through places and time in history. And, I have yet to find an author whose craft is more impeccable, or plotting more effective, than Val McDermid."

"So if you look at our economics of how we bring users onto the platform, they're significantly advantaged relative to the rest of the field. But I think perhaps equally, if not more important, is our product advantage"

"There is still quite a bit of runway ahead of us. If you break that down into its different components, there's still quite a bit of momentum in the sports betting space"

"I always say, life is too short. If you don't trust and respect the people you're working with, there's lots of other places to work, right? That mantra has always been a prerequisite for me"

"There’s a lot of focus on the path to profitability while also gaining share and driving growth in the market. So scalability becomes really paramount for success as we think about the longevity of our business model, as well as the success of the industry as a whole"

"It is also an industry that is going through huge growth. So the ability to come in and understand how you structure your organisation and create a culture for massive change and growth was one of the biggest learnings that was very applicable"

"Learning how to position a company for further growth and regulatory change has also come with the challenge of learning how to prioritise different strategies - and more importantly deciding what areas of business do not require time, energy or resources"

"There’s no one right answer,said Howe. I have lots of friends who are incredibly talented from business school who have made very different choices, and they were right for them. For me, this has been absolutely the right decision"

"I think one of the most pivotal things I took from my previous roles is how you position an organisation for massive growth or change. You could argue that what Ticketmaster was going through is very similar to what sports betting is going through now - it’s an industry that is being disrupted by digital technology"

"I think that as a leader of the largest sports betting company in America, it is my job to help consumers keep betting entertaining"

"When we think about bonuses and player incentives, it’s very easy to get caught up in what the market is doing. But we look at our numbers and we know what numbers pay off. I think that has been one of the key drivers of our success and our ability to actually hit profitability perhaps sooner than some of our competitors have done"

"I don’t even love the term [‘work-life balance’] because it implies that on any given day or week, that you have to have perfect balance"