Whilst descending into the Reddit rabbit hole late last night when I should’ve crammed in as much sleep as possible before Master Liam’s nightly operatic performances (what can I say? I like to live on the edge), I came across a thread for fantasy’s best one-liners.
I have to say, the replies didn’t disappoint.
However, a clear winner floated to the top with 500+ upvotes.
That line?
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Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man afire and he's warm for the rest of his life. – Terry Pratchett, Jingo
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I’ll admit, I’m not that well-versed in Terry’s work, but after reading that, I might just have to.
Humour has an unruly way of lowering my defences, relaxing me, and unleashing those sweet, sugary endorphins.
It can also be quite persuasive, too.
Reminds me of a famous quote I once heard someone say (paraphrased):
“If you want people to do nice things for you, just put them in a good mood.”
And Terry’s one-liner did just that.
So much so that I’ll likely now buy a copy of Jingo and see what other nuggets he has buried between the pages.
Sadly, though, Terry will not be receiving any royalties himself, as I learned after a quick Google search that he joined the Night Shift exactly 10 years ago yesterday (talk about timing).
Nonetheless, I trust that his estate will pass on the proceeds to his relatives, so they can buy an overpriced latte from Starbucks.
In any case, Terry, if you’re listening from across the bridge, hat tip to you, sir.
Your humour is spot on.
It’s a quality I try to infuse in every book I write — even the “darker” ones. I think that’s one of the big reasons readers love the Jangar, Darius, and Alere dynamic so much (main characters of The Divided Region).
The one-liners that dart between them will fill you with equal amounts of disgust and chuckles.
I know it did me.
Such is the fun of character creation.
After enough writing, they soon take on their own life — their own voice — and speaking of voice…
Did you know you can now listen to The Divided Region?
Yes, thanks to the powers of Digital Voice, the audiobook versions are now available to purchase (all for a fraction of the cost of a human narrator).
To listen to a preview, simply scroll down to the product description here:
https://djjwatsonstore.com/products/divided-region-starter-bundle
DJJW