I Tell Myself He's Better Than He

He Was Gazing At Her, The Way One Did When One Felt One Was Unobserved. He Had That Look On His Face, The Look He Usually Got Only When He Was Playing The Violin, As If He Were Completely Caught Up And Entranced.

He Didn't Know What Books Meant To Her, That Books Were Symbols Of Truth And Meaning.

In A Closed Urban Fantasy, The Magical World Is Secret And No One Knows About It. In An Open Urban Fantasy, Everyone Knows About It. So With A Closed Fantasy, You Have To Figure Out How The World Keeps Itself Secret, And With An Open One, You Have To Figure Out How Knowledge Of Magic Has Altered The World We Know.

Sometimes," Jem Said, "our Lives Can Change So Fast That The Change Outpaces Our Minds And Hearts. It's Those Times, I Think, When Our Lives Have Altered But We Still Long For The Time Before Everything Was Altered-- That Is When We Feel The Greatest Pain. I Can Tell You, Though, From Experience, You Grow Accustomed To It. You Learn To Live Your New Life, And You Can't Imagine, Or Even Really Remember, How Things Were Before.

When I Was A Little Kid, I Realized That If You Say Any Word Over And Over Fast Enough, It Loses All Meaning. I'd Lie Awake Saying The Words Over And Over To Myself--'sugar,' 'mirror,' 'whisper,' 'dark.' 'sister,'" He Said Softly. "you're My Sister." "it Doesn't Matter How Many Times You Say It. It'll Still Be True." "and It Doesn't Matter What You Won't Let Me Say, That'll Still Be True Too.