Can’t count on no miracles. Sometimes, you just got to have a plan.

I appreciate your thinking on me, marshal, but ain’t no trouble of his what ain’t trouble of mine, too.

But wasn’t time for what was. Was time to settle up the future.

Maybe I’d lost something. Maybe I’d lost a lot—more, even, than I could suffer—but I still had my own self. And lonesome as I might be, wasn’t no force on Earth or from above what could make me less.

But tell you true, I honestly didn’t think nothing about the Green Man beefing that posse. Was just men and the world’s full of them.

wasn’t no bit of me willing to ride shotgun to my own funeral.

Ain’t no good ever comes of it, if you ain’t steering yourself.

Was like the Green Man said, some you got to put to the bullet. Some to the tongue. Often the latter, with me. But some, you just got to put behind you.

Was still between Martha and Jane, then, I was. Between the girl I was and who I wanted to be.

Was Jane now. All Jane. Come calamity or come calm, was myself and none else.

what I like and what I need’s two different things.

For nothing is evil in the beginning.

Anyone who fights the light belongs to no other place than the abode of darkness

As there is no worldly gain without some loss so there is no worldly loss without some gain.... Set the allowance against the loss and thou shalt find no loss great.

I write about African women, that's really my topic. I have no shame or qualm in it because it's a very underrepresented topic, which is part of the reason I started to write.

Religion is a smile on a dog.

I'm surrounded by young people. I'm always now the oldest and the shortest person in the room.

You ought to expect better of people. It encourages you to be a better person yourself.

Relatively few of us will find the time-or take it-to live an ever enlarging life.

Music is about the only thing left that people don't fight over.

Why do I write books? Why do I think? Why should I be passionate? Because things could be different, they could be made better.