Quotes from Lisa Unger

The watercolor sky—silver fading to blue fading to black, the high slice of moon and glimmering stars—reminded her that she'd always wanted to paint but didn't know how, was in some ways afraid of the idea of putting brush to canvas, of making a mark that couldn't be erased. The idea that she might create something that was laughable, pitiable, or silly had stopped her from ever taking a class or even buying paints. Foolish. It was foolish.

Daily, she forgave his flaws, just as she knew he forgave hers. Maybe that alone was the foundation of a good marriage, an endless willingness to forgive and to love in spite of ourselves, an ability to ride the highs and endure the lows, the decision to always go home. She

My husband used to say, 'The past is history. The future is a mystery. The present is a gift.

Mako show. Not always, but definitely during the workday. He'd bluster in, full of big ideas, or complaints, or ranting about this or that. He'd take up all her energy, without even meaning to.

No one can make it rain, but I'm very good at knowing when the rain will come.

Don't we reveal ourselves slowly, in parts, to the people we are starting to love? Don't we pick and choose what we want them to see and when? Aren't we afraid to be judged or rejected because of who we are, at least a little at first, until we grow more intimate, feel safer beneath each other's gazes?

There's nothing particularly dark in my past... I live in the light. My disposition is basically happy. I have a good life.

The worst violence we can do to each other often is psychological, especially in families. I dwell a lot on domestic danger. That's the backdrop of most of my novels - what kind of damage is done without ever lifting a finger.

Publishing is a business of relationships. The relationships you make at one house can carry over to another.

I've always had this in a kind of worst-case dark imagination. I want to know what the dark form in the window is. I want to know what the noise under the staircase is.

'In Cold Blood' is not a thriller at all, really. It is, however, the first work of its kind: a true crime book that reads like fiction.

Love accepts. Forgiveness comes in time.

When you love someone, it doesn't really matter if they love you back or not. Having love in your heart for someone is its own reward. or punishment, depending on the circumstances.

If I weren't a writer, I'd be a psychiatrist.

I was always the observer, trying to understand what was going on. I was always the new kid. Writing became my safe place.

The universe conspires to reveal the truth and to make your path easy if you have the courage to follow the signs.

Denial: my family heritage. If you don't ask the questions, the truth will never inconvenience you.

Not that she didn't about fighting losing battles.

When you're young it's easy to confuse passion for love.

Maybe I have this fascination with the dark side because I live in the light. I don't have any dysfunction, and I've never experienced trauma.

The business of writing a novel is a long, meandering road into the self, into the imagination. And it's a road the writer travels alone.

I'm a 'bound book' kind of girl. I have a Kindle, and I enjoy it for some things, like convenience or instant gratification, or all the little things that you can do with them.

I love a big, character-rich story with a dark heart, with a compelling mystery or some kind of ticking clock at its center. I want to be lured in by prose, captured by character, and bound by stellar plotting to keep turning the pages.

I read 'Rebecca' when I was a teenager and was swept away by the powerful voice, the gut wrenching suspense and the dark, twisted love story at its center.