James Patterson

"He could totally be your boyfriend, [Angel] went on with annoying persistance. You guys could get married. I could be like a junior bridesmaid. Total could be your flower dog. I'm only a kid! I shrieked. I can't get married!You could in New Hampshire. My mouth dropped open. How does she know this stuff? Forget it! No one's getting married! I hissed. Not in New Hampshire or anywhere else! Not in a box, not with a fox! Now go to sleep, before I kill you!"

"The funny thing about facing imminent death is that it really snaps everything else into perspective."

"I can talk to fish! Angel said happily, water dripping off her long, skinny body. Ask one over for dinner, Fang said, joining us."

"They turned to Angel. We will call you Little One, the leader said, obviously deciding to dispense with the whole confusing name thing. Okay, said Angel agreeably. I'll call you Guy in a White Lab Coat. He frowned. That can be his Indian name, I suggested."

"Vhat ozzer abilities do you haf? ter Borcht snapped, which his assistant waited, pen in hand. Gazzy thought. I have X-ray vision, he said. He peered at ter Borcht's chest, then blinked and looked alarmed. Ter Borcht was startled for a second, but then he frowned. Don't write dat down, he told his assistant in irritation. The assistant froze in midsentence. You. Do you haf any qualities dat distinguish you in any way?Nudge chewed on a fingernail. You mean, like, besides the WINGS? She shook her shoulders gently, and her beautiful fawn-colored wings unfolded a bit. His face flushed, and I felt like cheering. Yes, he said stiffly. Besides de vings. Hmm. Besides de vings. Nudge tapped one finger against her chin. Um... Her face brightened. I once ate nine Snickers bars in one sitting. Without barfing. That was a record!Hardly a special talent, ter Borcht said witheringly. Nudge was offended. Yeah? Let's see YOU do it... I vill now eat nine Snickers bars, Gazzy said in a perfect, creepy imitation of ter Borcht's voice, visout bahfing. Iggy rubbed his forehead with one hand. Well, I have a highly developed sense of irony. Ter Borcht tsked. You are a liability to your group. I assume you alvays hold on to someone's shirt, yes? Following dem closely?Only when I'm trying to steal their dessert... Fang pretended to think, gazing up at the ceiling. Besides my fashion sense? I play a mean harmonica. I vill now destroy de Snickuhs bahrs! Gazzy barked."

"Life is hard, and a lot of people come home tired from work. If they're gonna spend half an hour reading, they want some entertainment and a sense of achievement. So that's what I give them. That's all I'm trying to do. Is that really so wrong?"

"I don't smile as much as I should, even though I smile inside a lot."

"I'm big on having a blistering pace. That's one of the hallmarks of what I do, and that's not easy. I never blow up cars and things like that, so it's something else that keeps the suspense flowing. I try not to write a chapter that isn't going to turn on the movie projector in your head."

"One of the nice things about books as opposed to television and movies to some extent is it's not a passive entertainment. People really do get involved, and they do create, and they do have their own visions of what different characters look like and what should happen. It's great - it means their brains are working."

"Commercial books don't even get covered. The reason why so many book reviews go out of business is because they cover a lot of stuff that nobody cares about. Imagine if the movie pages covered none of the big movies and all they covered were movies that you couldn't even find in the theater?"

"I don't get a chance to be funny with the thrillers. I like to be funny, and I think I am really funny. So with 'Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life', it was fun to let loose."

"Always expect the unexpected. Right around Thanksgiving, when the new Alex Cross will be out. It's called Four Blind Mice and it's a pretty amazing story about several murders inside the military."

"Let's face it: Most of us don't realize it, but we are failing our kids as reading role models. The best role models are in the home: brothers, fathers, grandfathers; mothers, sisters, grandmothers. Moms and dads, it's important that your kids see you reading. Not just books - reading the newspaper is good, too."

"I grew up in a house full of women: my mother, grandmother, three sisters, and two female cats. And I still have the buzz of their conversations in my head. As an adult, I have more female friends than male ones: I just love the way that women talk."

"To me, that's the ultimate isolation - to be separated from my own mind."

"Yeah, and so Max and Dylan are supposed to, like, go to Germany and have kids together," I heard Gazzy say. My eyes popped open and I bolted upright."What" Fang said, his voice icy."Gazzy!" I yelled. Wide blue eyes looked at me in surprise, then back at Fang's stoic face. "Oh. Was I not supposed to say anything" Gazzy asked."

"“He could totally be your boyfriend, [Angel] went on with annoying persistance. You guys could get married. I could be like a junior bridesmaid. Total could be your flower dog. I'm only a kid! I shrieked. I can't get married!You could in New Hampshire. My mouth dropped open. How does she know this stuff? Forget it! No one's getting married! I hissed. Not in New Hampshire or anywhere else! Not in a box, not with a fox! Now go to sleep, before I kill you!”"

"“The funny thing about facing imminent death is that it really snaps everything else into perspective.”"

"Basically, I have two speeds... Hostile or smart-aleck. Your choice."

"Dear Max - You looked so beautiful today. I'm going to remember what you looked like forever... And I hope you remember me the same way - clean, ha-ha. I'm glad our last time together was happy. But I'm leaving tonight, leaving the flock, and this time it's for good. I don't know if I'll ever see any of you again. The thing is, Max, that everyone is a little bit right. Added up all together, it makes this one big right. Dylan's a little bit right about how my being here might be putting the rest of you in danger. The threat might have been just about Dr. Hans, but we don't know that for sure. Angel is a little bit right about how splitting up the flock will help all of us survive. And the rest of the flock is a little bit right about how when you and I are together, we're focused on each other - we can't help it. The thing is, Maximum, I love you. I can't help but be focused on you when we're together. If you're in the room, I want to be next to you. If you're gone, I think about you. You're the one who I want to talk to. In a fight, I want you at my back. When we're together, the sun is shining. When we're apart, everything is in shades of gray. I hope you'll forgive me someday for turning our worlds into shades of gray - at least for a while... You're not at your best when you're focused on me. I mean, you're at your best Maxness, but not your best leaderness. I mostly need Maxness. The flock mostly needs leaderness. And Angel, if you're listening to this, it ain't you, sweetie. Not yet... At least for a couple more years, the flock needs a leader to survive, no matter how capable everyone thinks he or she is. The truth is that they do need a leader, and the truth is that you are the best leader. It's one of the things I love about you. But the more I thought about it, the more sure I got that this is the right thing to do. Maybe not for you, or for me, but for all of us together, our flock. Please don't try to find me. This is the hardest thing I've ever done in my life, besides wearing that suit today, and seeing you again will only make it harder. You'd ask me to come back, and I would, because I can't say no to you. But all the same problems would still be there, and I'd end up leaving again, and then we'd have to go through this all over again. Please make us only go through this once... I love you. I love your smile, your snarl, your grin, your face when you're sleeping. I love your hair streaming out behind you as we fly, with the sunlight making it shine, if it doesn't have too much mud or blood in it. I love seeing your wings spreading out, white and brown and tan and speckled, and the tiny, downy feathers right at the top of your shoulders. I love your eyes, whether they're cold or calculating or suspicious or laughing or warm, like when you look at me... You're the best warrior I know, the best leader. You're the most comforting mom we've ever had. You're the biggest goofball, the worst driver, and a truly lousy cook. You've kept us safe and provided for us, in good times and bad. You're my best friend, my first and only love, and the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, with wings or without... Tell you what, sweetie: If in twenty years we haven't expired yet, and the world is still more or less in one piece, I'll meet you at the top of that cliff where we first met the hawks and learned to fly with them. You know the one. Twenty years from today, if I'm alive, I'll be there, waiting for you. You can bet on it. Good-bye, my love. Fang P. S. Tell everyone I sure will miss them"