Quotes from Joanne Harris

We do not— interpret —God's laws to suit ourselves. Or the laws of our country

This morning it was sunny and bright, and Maman was making Easter things. There were eggs, and hens, and rabbits, and ducks, all in different sizes and varieties of chocolate, and Maman was decorating them with gold leaf, and hundreds and thousands, and sugar roses and candied fruit. Later she'll wrap them in cellophane, like fabulous bunches of flowers, each tied with a long curly ribbon of a different color, and put them all on shelves at the back, as part of her annual Easter display.

Io cucino quando sono irrequieta; mi piacciono le ricette semplici, la preparazione degli ingredienti, il sapere che, se seguo le regole, il piatto non deluderà mai. Se solo la gente fosse così. Se solo il cuore fosse così semplice.

A yielding shepherd could end up with a disobedient, rebellious herd.

A devil doesn't act through evil, but through weakness...

Besides, we have more chocolates to deliver in Les Marauds; coconut truffles for Omi; rose and cardamom for Fatima and her daughters; chili for old Mahjoubi, that warms the heart and brings courage. And one more package, for Inès; tied with a red silk ribbon. The gift that crosses all cultures; that brings a smile to the sourest face; that pulls back the years and takes us to a simpler, sweeter time.

Seven o'clock on a Monday morning, five hundred years after the End of the World, and goblins had been at the cellar again.

Suspicacia y supervivencia son hermanas gemelas, así que perder una supone despedirse de la otra.

The past is an obdurate stranger that puts as many marks on us as we attempt to impose on it.

I put on the radio and sang to myself as I worked, carefully placing the chocolates in pyramids. The magic mountain opens to reveal a bewildering array, half-glimpsed, of riches; multicolored piles of sugar crystals, glacé fruits, and sweets that glitter like gems.

Joe often gave out little charms – goodwill charms, he called them – to visitors, and Jay began to do the same: tiny bunches of lavender or mint or pineapple sage, tied with ribbons of different colours – red for protection, white for luck, blue for healing.

Roux seemed different here, more relaxed, outlined in fire as he supervised his cooking. I remember river crayfish, split and grilled over the embers, sardines, early corn, sweet potatoes, caramelized apples rolled in sugar and flash-fried in butter, thick pancakes, honey. We ate with our fingers from tin plates and drank cider and more of the spiced wine.

Witches don't just quit

My sense of smell seemed preternaturally enhanced, so that I could almost taste every dish- the fish grilled in the ashes of the brazier, the roasted goat's cheese, the dark pancakes and the light, the hot chocolate cake, the confit de canard and the spiced merguez...

Joséphine helped me prepare dinner: a salad of green beans and tomatoes in spiced oil, red and black olives from the Thursday market stall, walnut bread, fresh basil from Narcisse, goat's cheese, red wine from Bordeaux.

Instead she wants to know every detail of the menu I have planned for her party, relishing everything in advance. She is brimming with suggestions. Brandade trufée, vol-au-vents aux trois champignons , cooked in wine and cream with wild chanterelles as a garnish, grilled langoustines with arugula salad, five different types of chocolate cake, all her favorites, homemade chocolate ice cream...

We will be making pancakes. Oh, not for now, of course. But for later, we have crêpes aux mille trous , and harira soup, with lemons and dates. At Ramadan, everyone fasts, but we think about food all the time; we buy food, we prepare food, we offer food to our neighbors, we even dream of food- that is, if this wind allows us to sleep. I will bring some Moroccan sweets; some macaroons, and gazelle's horns, and almond meringues, and chebakia .

Now we add the cinnamon, I said. Sticks, not powder; broken in half. Three or four should do the trick- The summery scent had turned autumnal; bonfires and Halloween. Cinnamon pancakes cooked outside. Mulled wine and burnt sugar.

LaimÄ—. Paprasta kaip stiklinÄ— Å¡okolado, arba kankinanti kaip Å¡irdis. Karti. Saldi. Gyva.

Caro's eyes slid longingly over the display, the pralines, truffles, amandines, and nougats, the éclairs, florentines, liqueur cherries, frosted almonds.

I dreamt that I was old. And you – you were beside me. Forever young – in your hand, a cup of stars.

For a teller of tales will never die, but will live on in stories - for as long as there are folk to listen.

Gli abitanti di Lansquenet hanno imparato l'arte di osservare senza incrociare i suoi occhi. Sento il loro sguardo come un respiro sulla nuca, stranamente privo di ostilità, e tuttavia freddo. Per loro siamo una curiosità, parte del carnevale, una ventata che viene da terre lontane.

Vendo sogni, piccoli comfort, tentazioni dolci e innocue per far scendere una schiera di santi che precipitano uno dopo l'altro tra le nocciole e i torroncini...