dennis scharnberg

placement of tesserae

“Everybody hates him,” claimed Weldon.  “Everybody hates him now, and everybody hated him seven years ago.”

Carla Marks,  The Murder Matter.

rounding the horn

“I just want to be let alone!” is a vicious existential attack on the conventional way of being.  Garbo is engaging in an act of savagery.

Jeremy Breedlove,  A Sardonic View of the Movies.

trunk for sale

“What gets me, Inspector, is that this stuff was not even surreptitious.  He was operating openly, in the light of day!”

Ellen Entwhistle,  The Caravan Murders.

wildroot cream oil

“Hate that picture.  Hate that frame.  And that lamp, Carrie.  That lamp ought to apologize.”

Diana Moone,  Living Well.

new urban paradise

“No, no.  Ellen said that he was patriarchal in a good way.”

Stephanie Biggers,  Cat Farming in Nigeria.

fawning over artists

“But do poets ever make mistakes?” demanded Harry.  “That’s what I need to know.”

Thaddeus Crewes,  Crowded Evil World.

derilection of duty

One has a right to one’s nausea.  Surely.

Godfrey Tooke,  Collected Aphorisms.

hierarchies of complaint

“I’m not saying that everything was falling apart,” admitted Moriarty.  “I am saying that there was no reason for it not to fall apart.”

Buster Kelso,  Crimes Against Music.

come on in

“Of course, Jack, but in those days I could not afford therapy.”

“Well, then, you must thank your lucky star for that!”

Everson Dwight,  Theory of Machines, a Novel.

an excellent life

“She has literally poured her pain onto paper, Clive.”

“Yes, dear, but who asked her to?”

Ralston Dowd,  Less of It.