“That the battles are usually in her head does not lessen the bravery of it. The hardest ones always are.”
― William Ritter, quote from Jackaby
“I have ceased concerning myself with how things look to others, Abigail Rook. I suggest you do the same. In my experience, others are generally wrong.”
― William Ritter, quote from Jackaby
“This world is full of dragon-slayers. What we need are a few more people who aren't too proud to listen to a few fish.”
― William Ritter, quote from Jackaby
“Monsters are easy, Miss Rook. They're monsters. But a monster in a suit? That's basically just a wicked man, and a wicked man is a more dangerous thing by far.”
― William Ritter, quote from Jackaby
“I wondered which was sadder, leaving someone to cry after you were gone, or not having anyone who would miss you in the first place”
― William Ritter, quote from Jackaby
“Hell of a sight. She let out a scream and just fell to pieces. Can't say I blame her. Like I said, this sort of thing is not for the female temperament." He directed that last sentiment at me, making eye contact for the first time.
"I dare say you're right, sir," I conceded, meeting his gaze. "Out of curiosity, though, is there someone whose temperament you do find suited to this sort of thing? I think I would be most unnerved to meet a man who found it pleasant.”
― William Ritter, quote from Jackaby
“Happiness is bliss - but ignorance is anesthetic, and in the face of what's to come, that may be all we can hope for our ill-fated acquaintances.”
― William Ritter, quote from Jackaby
“I excused myself to go see a duck about a dress.”
― William Ritter, quote from Jackaby
“Maybe if you would bother reading a book once in a while instead of hurling them about every chance you get, you would have put the pieces together yourself by now”
― William Ritter, quote from Jackaby
“illusions, so many masks and facades. All the world’s a stage, as they say, and I seem to have the only seat in the house with a view behind the curtain.”
― William Ritter, quote from Jackaby
“It wasn’t that I did not believe in ghosts; it was that I believed in them in the same noncommittal way that I believed in giant squids or lucky coins or Belgium. They were things that probably existed, but I had never given any occasion to really care one way or another.”
― William Ritter, quote from Jackaby
“Does this smell like paprika or gunpowder to you?”
― William Ritter, quote from Jackaby
“Jackaby hesitated, and when he spoke, his answer had a soft earnestness to it. “Hatun sees a different world than you or I, a far more frightening one, full of far more terrible dangers, and still she chooses to be the hero whom that world needs. She has saved this town and its people from countless monsters countless times. That the battles are usually in her head does not lessen the bravery of it. The hardest battles always are.”
― William Ritter, quote from Jackaby
“DO NOT STARE AT THE FROG.”
― William Ritter, quote from Jackaby
“Don't feel too bad" I offered. "I met him face-to-face, and I missed it, too."
"Yes, but no one expected you to be clever Miss Rook."
"Thanks for that," I said”
― William Ritter, quote from Jackaby
“He's quite mad, you know. But adventure can be very appealing.”
― William Ritter, quote from Jackaby
“To the attention of the New Fiddleham Police Department: You've got my middle-C, and I would like it back.
...
Please return Jackaby's tuning fork. He's getting even more obnoxious than usual.”
― William Ritter, quote from Jackaby
“I prefer to look after myself, ma’am, but thank you. I appreciate your concern for my well-being, but some of us have more pressing matters to attend to than practicing our curtsies and turning foolishly sized bonnets into topiaries.”
― William Ritter, quote from Jackaby
“Jackaby turned to look at me. “What in heaven’s name are you doing with my copy of Historia Lycanthropis?” “I—what?” I answered eloquently. “That book. What on earth are you doing with it?” “Well, you had the stick.” His eyebrows furrowed. “This is a shillelagh. It was cut from Irish blackthorn by a leprechaun craftsman, cured in the furnace of Gofannon, and imbued with supernatural powers of protection. That”—he gestured to the book—“is a book.” “It’s heavy, though.”
― William Ritter, quote from Jackaby
“The most recent gentleman has proven to be far more resilient and a great deal more helpful. He remains with me in a . . . different capacity."
"What capacity?"
Jackaby's step faltered, and he turned his head away slightly. His mumbled reply was nearly lost to the wind. "He is temporarily waterfowl.”
― William Ritter, quote from Jackaby
“Come to think of it, I am already keeping correspondence with a dog, with whom, I must admit, I find myself rather smitten. Also, I'm secretly hoping Mrs. Wiggles ends up a full halibut when this is through, because that would save me a trip to the market... although if Hatun's troll keeps company with a tabby, perhaps he wouldn't much appreciate a meal that used to be a cat."
Jackaby stared "I've already ruined you, haven't I?"
"Looks that way."
"And I suppose there's nothing to be done about it?"
"Not a thing.”
― William Ritter, quote from Jackaby
“Saint George's legend tells of the dangers of mythical creatures and the value of man asserting dominance over them. Manu's tale, quite conversely, stresses the value of mercy, coexistence, and peaceful symbiosis. [...] Marlowe is a good man, but he only knows how to slay dragons. The world is full of dragon-slayers. What we need are a few more people who aren't too proud to listen to a fish.”
― William Ritter, quote from Jackaby
“I don’t exactly believe in all this… this… this occult business. I don’t believe in house spirits, or goblins, or Santa Claus!”
“Well, of course not, that’s silliness. Not the spirits or goblins, of course, but the Santa nonsense.”
― William Ritter, quote from Jackaby
“I quickly turned my thoughts away from my mother’s overbearing prudence before I might accidentally see reason in it.”
― William Ritter, quote from Jackaby
“R.F. JACKABY
INVESTIGATIVE SERVICES
ASSISTANT WANTED
-$8 PER WEEK-
Must be literate and possess a keen intellect and open mind.
Strong stomach preferred.
Inquire at 926 Augur Lane.
Do not stare at the frog.”
― William Ritter, quote from Jackaby
“The overall affect of the man was just a shade subtler than a sandwich board with the words BETTER THAN YOU written out in big block letters.”
― William Ritter, quote from Jackaby
“So she’s just a mad woman?”
Jackaby hesitated, and when he spoke, his answer had a soft earnestness to it. “Hatun sees a different world than you or I, a far more frightening one, full of far more terrible dangers, and still she chooses to be the hero whom that world needs. She has saved this town and its people from countless monsters countless times. That the battles are usually in her head does not lessen the bravery of it. The hardest battles always are.”
― William Ritter, quote from Jackaby
“A young woman across the dock pulled her winter coat tightly around herself and ducked her chin down as the crowd of sailors passed. Her shoulders might have shaken, just a little, but she kept to her path without letting the men's boisterous laughter keep her from her course. In her I saw myself, a fellow lost girl, headstrong and headed anywhere but home.”
― William Ritter, quote from Jackaby
“Its a memorial, I said. What have you got in there that you could possible need at a memorial?
That sort of thinking is why you, young lady, have a scar on your sternum, and why my priceless copy of of the Apotropaicon has a broken spine. I prefer preparedness to a last minute scramble, thank you.”
― William Ritter, quote from Jackaby
“She has saved this town and its people from countless monsters countless times. That the battles are usually in her head does not lessen the bravery of it. The hardest battles always are.”
― William Ritter, quote from Jackaby
William Ritter
Born place: in Aloha, Oregon, The United States
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“The point of freewriting is to get past the voice inside your head that tells you your ideas aren't good enough, your words aren't good enough, you're no writer and so forth.”
― M. Molly Backes, quote from The Princesses of Iowa
“He knew the quiet that arrived, the blinding force of panic, and he knew too that each loss brought with it some odd, barely acknowledged sense of relief.”
― Elizabeth Strout, quote from The Burgess Boys
“Oh, no reason,” I said. “Where’s Jordan?” “He’s downstairs watching Fontaine do Yoda.” “What?” Please tell me she meant something else.”
― Tracy Brogan, quote from Crazy Little Thing
“The man who guides himself only by natural light does not comprehend the things of the Spirit of God.”
― St. Louis de Montfort, quote from True Devotion to Mary
“It’s WA today, Minna,” called Orson from across the room, Orson’s name for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Orson played second violin with a sloppy serenity, rolling his eyes and sticking out his tongue, his bowing long and sweeping and beautiful even when out of tune. “If you must make a mistake,” he had quoted, “make it a big one.” Was it Heifetz who had said it? Perlman? Zukerman maybe?”
― Patricia MacLachlan, quote from The Facts and Fictions of Minna Pratt
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