Descriptive Language: A Guide for Creating Vivid Mental Images in Your Writing and Speaking

By Robert C. Brenner

An essential reference listing descriptive terms and expressions used by successful authors and writers to make their words come alive. These words break writer’s block and free your efforts to create content that produces mental images in the minds of readers.

Imagine clicking over to see 247 ways to describe a beach, 282 ways to describe behavior, 228 ways to describe a city, 70 ways to describe someone’s eyes, 60 ways to describe a face and multiple ways to describe a woman or a man. Or perhaps access a myriad of subjects like these:

animal 86
beach 247
bee 96
behavior 282
building 503
city 228
eyes 70
face 60
forest 57
house 64
path 386
road 177
scene 58
smell 182
sound 560
swamp 402
town 423
trail 466,
insects 385
smells 122
sounds 472
weather 390

This book can stimulate the creative side of your brain and let enjoy a unique ability to make your writing interesting and memorable.

(Our content mining efforts continue as we capture more descriptive terms and expressions. Until we release another edition, all confirmed buyers who send us proof of purchase will be periodically sent complimentary addendums to this book.)

Give yourself permission to be creative. You’ll be glad you did.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Robert C. Brenner
• Release date: Dec 20, 2022
• ISBN: 9780929535296

Robert C. Brenner

Robert Brenner is an engineer, consultant, college professor, historical genealogist, and professional speaker with extensive experience in research and information publishing. A retired naval officer with distinguished service in both nuclear submarines and microelectronic research and development, he holds a bachelor's degree (BSEE) and two master's degrees (MSEE, MSSM). He was recognized a Very High Speed Integrated Circuit (VHSIC) microelectronics pioneer by the DOD and served four years in R&D at TRW after a 23-year Navy career.He is the author of 56 books including Going Solar: a Homeowner’s Experience, Power Up! The Smart Guide to Home Solar Power: How to Make a Wise Solar Investment, How to Construct (and Use) the 45W Harbor Freight Solar Kit, Supernatural & Strange Happenings in the Bible, and Supernatural & Strange Happenings in the Family. In addition, he has written over 275 articles including over 50 articles for Survival Life.com and Survivorpedia.He taught computer technology and engineering subjects at the community college, university, and graduate school levels and has been a guest speaker at over 50 national conferences and symposiums. He is an avid supporter of solar technology and learns by doing. A futurist, he enjoys the challenge of research and is currently sharing his findings through his writing and public presentations. Professor Brenner can be reached at [e-mail].

Book preview

DESCRIPTIVE LANGUAGE

A Guide for Creating Vivid Mental Images in Your Writing and Speaking

7,000 Ways to Express Your Thoughts

An Essential Reference for Those Who Write and Speak for a Living

ISBN 978-0-929535-29-6

©2023

All rights reserved. All contents and information herein are the sole property of Brenner Information Group. Reproduction, translation, or republishing of all or any part of this work is not authorized. Brief quotations of the material in this book may be used provided full prominent credit is given as follows: "From Descriptive Language: A Guide for Creating Vivid Mental Images in Your Written & Spoken Words by Robert C. Brenner." For larger excerpts or reprint rights, contact the publisher ([e-mail]).

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SOURCES FOR ENTRIES

13th Century Italian expression

AFFAIRE ROYALE by Nora Roberts

AGENT TO THE RESCUE by Lisa Childs

Article by George Fuermann in Houston Post

Author

BACKDOOR SURVIVAL PREPPER’S GUIDE

CHANGING TIMES

Comment by Frank Norris

Comment by George Jean Nathan

Comment by L. V. Redman

Comment by William B. Robey

Comments by Anthony Thorne

Comments by W. Somerset Maugham

DEVOTED IN DEATH by J.D. Robb

FINAL TARGET by Iris Johansen

HIDEAWAY by Nora Roberts

GUIDEPOSTS Magazine Nov90

JEWELS OF THE SUN by Nora Roberts

Metaphor from Christian author, Patrick Morley

OUT TO CANAAN by Jan Karon

PIRATES by John Matthews

POWER PLAYS POLITIKA by Tom Clancy and Martin Greenberg

REAP THE WIND by Iris Johansen

RED STORM RISING by Tom Clancy

SOUTHWEST MAGAZINE, Oct 2018

STRANGERS by Dean R. Koontz

SUCCESS, November 1987

THE AUDUBON SOCIETY FIELD GUIDE TO NORTH AMERICAN BIRDS Eastern Region

THE CAPTAIN FROM CONNECTICUT by C.S. Forrester

THE DEVIL’S TRIANGLE by Catherine Coulter

THE GRAPES OF WRATH by John Steinbeck

THE MYSTERN OF THE SPIRAL BRIDGE by Franklin W. Dixon

THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER by Tom Clancy

THE LIVING REED by Pearl S. Buck

THE RADIO BOYS AT MOUNTAIN PASS by Allen Chapman

THE RISE OF MAGICKS by Nora Roberts

THE SANDS OF TIME by Sidney Sheldon

THE SECRET WAYS by Alstair MacLean

THE TARAHUMARA INDIANS by Marjorie Wildcraft

THE WINTER OF OUR DISCONTENT by John Steinbeck

THE WOMAN WHO SMASHED CODES by Jason Fagone

Transliterated Chinese phrase from TV series Firefly

TOWARD MORE PICTURESQUE SPEECH - Reader’s Digest

TREASURE ISLAND by Robert Louis Stevenson

WATCHING FOR THE WIND by James G. Edinger

WHITE FANG by Jack London

THE SKY AND THE FOREST by C. S. Forester

THE WHEELS OF IF by L. Sprague de Camp

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

DESCRIPTIONS

[Subjects with multiple entries are listed in bold.]

PEOPLE / PERSON

GENDER

Female

Girl

Mother

Waitress

Woman

Friend

Fruit Growers

Male

Boy

Man

Gender Not Specified

Child

Criminal

Farmers

Fruit Growers

Guests

In-Laws

Musicians

Park Rangers

People

Rental Car Agent

Seamen

Student

Person – Other

Accolade

Action

Accept

Active

Adopt

Agitate

Arrest

Ask

Astounded

Attack

Awake

Barter

Bend

Birth

Bite

Bleed

Blink

Blush

Bond

Breathe

Brush

Build

Bury

Carry

Caught

Change

Cheat

Cheer

Chew Out

Circle

Clasp

Clear Throat

Climb out

Clutch

Collapse

Comb

Command

Cook

Cover

Crowd

Cry

Curious

Dance

Deceive

Decide

Defend

Demand

Descend

Detect

Dig

Doze

Dream

Drink

Drive

Drop

Duck

Eat

Enter

Examine

Exhale

Exit

Express

Extinguish

Faint

Fall

Farm

Fatigue

Feel

Feeling

Feint

Fight

Fist Bump

Fisted Hands

Flee

Float

Flush

Fly

Follow

Fork in Air

Freeze

Gaffe

Gardening

Gather

Gesture

Grab

Greet

Grin

Grow

Guide

Hand to

Hands Together

Handshake

Hang

Hear

Hesitate

Hide

Hire

Hold

Home from School

Horseback Riding

Huff

Hug

Hurry

Inhale

Interest

Jab

Jerk

Jiggle

Jingle

Jog

Jump

Kick

Kill

Kiss

Knock

Knock Down

Know

Laugh

Lead

Lean Forward

Lick

Lie

Lift

Like

Listen

Look

Love

Lower Face

Lower Head

Make Coffee

March

Massage

Meditate

Meet

Miss

Moisten Lips

Movement

Mow Grass

Mumble

Mutiny

Negotiate

Nod

Open

Overpower

Pace

Panic

Park

Pat

Plan

Play

Point

Poke

Polish

Pour

Press

Primp

Puff

Punch

Pursue

Push

Quote

Raise

Ran

Reach

Read

Realize

Recline

Recognize

Relax

Research

Ride

Rock

Rub

Run

Rush

Rutting

Sad

Salute

Scowl

Scratch

Scream

Search

Sedate

See

Shake

Shine

Shook

Shoot

Shop

Shot

Shrug

Shudder

Shuffle

Sigh

Silent

Sing

Sip

Sit

Sleep

Slink

Smile

Smirk

Sneak

Speak

Spot

Spray

Squeeze

Squirm

Stamp

Stand

Standoff

Stare

Start

Steeple

Stiffen

Store

Stretch

Stride

Strike

Stroke

Study

Swallow

Swat

Sweep

Swell

Swing

Swirl

Tap

Taste

Tempt

Threaten

Think

Tilt

Torment

Torture

Toss

Travel

Tremble

Trot

Turn

Twist

Twitch

Type

Unpack

Unpeel

Visit

Waddle

Wade

Walk

Walked

Walking

Wash

Watch

Wave

Whisper

Wipe

Work

Wrestle

Write

Yawn

Attire

Baby

Beard

Behavior

Afraid

Angry

Annoyed

Arrogant

Attitude

Attraction

Bored

Brawl

Busy

Calming

Caught

Change

Character

Complain

Confused

Control

Controlling

Corrupt

Courage

Cover

Cover-Up

Covet

Crazy

Crumble

Deceived

Decision

Defend

Delusions

Demeanor

Demotivated

Descend

Desire

Destructive

Disbelief

Discontent

Discover

Disgust

Dishonest

Distraught

Doubt

Embarrassed

Emotional

Emptiness

End of the World

Energetic

Excite

Excitement

Exhausted

Fact Check

Failure

Fake

Fear

Feeling

Focus

Forgetting

Frustration

Grab Attention

Grief

Grief Stricken

Guilt

Happy

Hole in Past

Honest

Hope

Huff

Hungry

Hurt

Imagine

Impartial

Initiate

Inquisitive

Interrogate

Intimidate

Irritate

Kill

Learning

Lie

Lonely

Matters to Consider

Mental

Mesmerized

Minimize

Mismanage

Mood

Name

Nervous

Nostalgia

Ownership

Pain

Parasitic

Plagiarism

Polite

Pride

Promise

Reaction

Regular

Remember

Resentful

Restless

Rich

Safety

Sarcasm

Season

Self-Reflection

Sensible

Slow Down

Sneaky

Sorrow

Stop

Storage

Stranger

Stubborn

Student

Surprise

Swept Away

Thirsty

Thought

Town Growth

Turn On

Understand

Unpopular

Unsmiling

Visualize

Want

Weary

Worry

Chin

Crowd

Ears

Event

Eyes

Face

Footprints

Feel

Feeling

Glasses

Gossip

Hands

Hair

Hat

Hatbox

In-Laws

Lips

Marriage

Mouth

Musician

Name

Nose

Park Rangers

People

Seamen

Soldier

Student

Terrorist

Tie

PLACE

Anchorage

Attic

Ballroom

Barber Shop

Beach

Bedroom

Boardwalk

Boundary

Building

Abbey

Apartment

Bank

Bar

Campus

Capitol

Cathedral

Church

Clinic

Coffee Shop

Cottage

Estate

Gas Station

Headquarters

Hotel

House

Huts

Inn

Office

Oratory

Restaurant

Saloon

Skyscraper

Store

Temple

Townhouse

Warehouse

City

Denver

District

Jerusalem

Urban Sprawl

City Log

City Wall

Clearing

Country

Palestine

Countryside

Desert

Dock

Driveway

Farm

Field

Foothills

Footpath

Forest

Foyer

Garden

Gorge

Hall

Hallway

Harbor

Hill

Hillside

Home

Island

Jungle

Lake

Land

Landscape

Living Room

Lobby

Marsh (See also SWAMP)

Meadow

Mountain

Mountain Pass

Neighborhood

Ocean

Office

Parking Lot

Path (See also ROAD, TRAIL)

Jogging Route

Prison

River

Road (See also PATH, TRAIL)

Blocked

Highway

Street

Traffic

Roadside

Room

Seacoast

Seaport

Seashore

Shoreline

Sidewalk

Swamp (See also MARSH)

Town (See also CITY, VILLAGE)

Trail (See also PATH, ROAD)

Valley

Village

Waterfall

Woods

Yard

THING

Accolade

Addage

Advice

Aircraft

Alcohol

Algae

Alimony

American

Animal (total)

Bird

Cat

Chicken

Deer

Dog

Fish

Fox

Horse

Mouse

Pig

Rabbit

Snake

Squirrel

Turtle

Animal Scat

Attack (See also Battle, Boat, Explosion,

Missile Launch, Ship, Submarine, Tank)

Attire

Bed

Bench

Blood

Boat

Book

Budget

Cake

Camp

Campfire

Can

Candle

Cap

Car

Carpet Sweeper

Chair

Cigarette

Clock

Clothes

Coffee

Color

Complicated

Concept

Condition

Control

Cooking

Corruption

Crane

Curiosity

Cushion

Debt

Desk

Dock

Doctrine

Door

Dress

Dust

Earthquake

Economy

Election

Electricity

EMP

Engraving

Equipment

Explosion

Expose

Fence

Fire

Firefight

Fireplace

Fishing Theory

Flag

Floodlights

Flowers

Food

Foundation

Fountain

Fraud

Fruit

Furniture

Garden

Gas

Gate

Ginseng

Gossip

Grass

Hackles

Hat

Hatbox

Helicopter

History

Implode

Information

In-Laws

Insect (total)

Bee

Butterfly

Cricket

Firefly

Flea

Fly

Hornet

Horsefly

Mosquito

Tick

Insects (general)

Issue

Jacket

Jamb Spreader

Jeep

Jellyfish

Jet

Kitchen

Knowledge

Land

Landscape

Laser Dazzler

Lawn

Learn about

Leaves

Light

Market

Marriage

Meal

Media

Memories

Memory

Meter

Missile Launch

Money

Monsters

Month July

Month June

Month October

Monument

Moon

Mountain

Mountain Pass

Movie Night

Music

Night Driving

Oil

Painting

Photograph

Plant

Police

Policy

Poltergeist

Popular

Prayer

Prices

Proposal

Question

Quiet/Still/Silent

Raincoat

Rehabilitate

Road Sign

Satellite Signal

Scene

School Bus

Seawater

Season

Autumn

Winter

Spring

Summer

Security

Shadows

Shake

Shape

Ship

Shoes

Silent

Smell

Smoke

Smooth

Snow Globe

Sofa

Solitude

Sound

Spoiled

Spread

Stairs

Stock Market

Stone

Store

Story

Strategy

Stretch

Submarine

Submersible

Supernatural

Surprise

Sweat

System

Table

Talisman

Tank

Taste

Tea

Thick

Thinking

Thought

Tie

Time

Times Square

Tires

Towel

Tragedy

Train

Tree

Trip

Trouble

Truck

Uncertainty

Underground Community

Understand

Urban Sprawl

Value

Vehicle

Vines

Vineyard

Wall

Washing Machine

Watch

Water

Waterfall

Wealth

Weapon

Weather (total)

Afternoon

Air

Balmy

Breeze

Cloud

Cold

Cold Rain

Dark

Darkness

Dawn

Day

Daylight

Drought

Dry

Dusk

Dusty

Eclipse

Evening

Fog

Frost

Full Moon

Heat

Heat Wave

Horizon

Hot

Humid

Late Afternoon

Lightning

Moon

Moonlight

Morning

Night

Rain

Sky

Snow

Storm

Sun

Sunlight

Sunrise

Sunset

Sunshine

Thunder

Warm

Wind

Wharf

What If

Windmill

Window

Windshield Wiper

Wine

Words

Wrapped Up In

SUMMARY

ABOUT THIS AUTHOR

OTHER BOOKS BY THIS AUTHOR

INTRODUCTION

How to Use This Book

This book is for anyone creating or speaking the written word. It’s intended for authors, teachers, reporters, researchers, law enforcement professionals, investigators, copy writers, public speakers, and you.

Good writing comes from good rewriting. And the best writing creates a mental image of what the author is trying to describe. It should involve and capture the attention of the reader.

When you read descriptions in this book; you’ll recognize even more ways you can describe people, places, and things, and you’ll get ideas how best to do this. Through this process your words will come alive in your content and in the minds of your readers or listeners. You really can create some of the finest prose that will surprise even you.

During research for this book, I avidly consumed the works of writers like Pearl S. Buck, Samuel Clements, John Steinbeck, Ernest Hemmingway, Iris Johansen, Jack London, C.S. Lewis, C. S. Forrester, Nora Roberts, J.D. Robb, Tom Clancy, W. Somerset Maugham, and Barbara Cartlin. And less known authors when they had moments of creative writing like Alstair MacLean, Anthony Thorne, Dean R. Koontz, Lisa Childs, John Matthews, L. Sprague de Camp, L. V. Redman, Patrick Morley, H. C. Witwer, Hannah Rothschild, Richard Sherman, and Jan Karon. I even researched magazines like Guideposts, SuccessChanging Times, The Christian Science Monitor, Daily Reckoning, and one of my favorites, The Reader s Digest with their highly successful Towards More Picturesque Speech. I also found some T’s and E’s (terms and expressions) in newspapers like The Wall Street Journal and travel magazines like Southwest Magazine.

No potential source was left out in my research. If it contained descriptions, I sought to find and record them. I was consistently on the lookout for new entries. Some of the entries were created

after a flash of my creativity.

For books that I had purchased, I highlighted the words in them that were descriptive. My wife asked me not to highlight in her favorite books, so I cut apart and used strips of Post-It Notes

to tag Ts and Es that I found while examining them. Some books that I scoured ended up having a lot of strip tags sticking out the side marking the pages. Just by looking at a printed book from the side, I could quickly tell how descriptive the author was.

I occasionally captured terms expressed by well-known speakers and online commentators. Every written word, every comment, every known source was monitored and scoured, and the nuggets captured to create my database. As of this moment it contains almost 7,000 entries that represent the most descriptive language used by writers, speakers, and people who earn (or earned) their living with words.

There are a number of ways to describe certain subjects. Here are examples:

animal 86

beach 247

bee 96

behavior 282

building 503

city 228

eyes 70

face 60

forest 57

house 64

path 386

road 177

scene 58

smell 182

sound 560

swamp 402

town 423

trail 466,

insects 385

smells 122

sounds 472

weather 390

You’ll find details on these and much more in "Descriptive Language."

On following pages you’ll find descriptive text captured during hours of research. Today, our research continues, and free addendums will be released periodically to buyers who have registered their email with us ([e-mail]) until we produce another complete update. The following should stimulate your mind to create even better content. Go for it! Have a descriptive future.

PEOPLE / PERSON

Words, Phrases, and Expressions that Describe

GENDER

FEMALE

GIRL

GIRL: Exhausted and winded, he shouted his daughter’s name again, his voice cracking, fresh tears blurring his vision as he collapsed on his knees. Then he felt a hand on his shoulder. Baby? he said, sounding as if he’d been jolted out of a trance. It was his daughter. He covered her hand with his own. He needed to touch it, to feel her, before he would let himself believe she was really standing there. ? My God, I thought you … your mother … His daughter nodded wordlessly, crying, tightening her grip on his shoulder. Her cheek and forehead were gashed and the sleeve of her tattered coat was soaked in blood, but she was alive. She helped him to his feet and then he was crushing his daughter to him, feeling her chin press into the hollow of his neck, feeling the warm flood of her tears against his face. (Source: POWER PLAYS POLITIKA by Tom Clancy and Martin Greenberg)

GIRL: pretty girl with skin like white rose petals. (Source: DESPERATION IN DEATH by J.D. Robb)

GIRL: She was a gorgeous young mixed race girl with happy eyes and a shy smile. (Source: DESPERATION IN DEATH by J.D. Robb)

MOTHER

MOTHER: Ma called them back, held up their faces with a hand under each chin, and looked into their nostrils, pulled their ears and looked inside, and sent them … to wash their hands once more. (Source: THE GRAPES OF WRATH by John Steinbeck)

MOTHER: One mother claims she suffers from a low-grade infection. Every time she sees her son’s report card, she gets sick. (Source: TOWARD MORE PICTURESQUE SPEECH – Reader’s Digest)

WAITRESS

WAITRESS: A single waitress navigated the tables in high red heels, a short black skirt, white shire, and red bow tie. She served on of the tables what looked like decent bar food and a carafe of white wine. (Source: ABANDONED IN DEATH by J. D. Robb)

WOMAN

WOMAN: It’s my house, she muttered. And a woman’s house reflects the woman. I don’t care what millennium we’re in, it just does. (Source: JEWELS OF THE SUN by Nora Roberts)

WOMAN: … [her] face was flushed, the blue eyes cold and angry. (Source: THE SECRET WAYS by Alstair MacLean)

WOMAN: … a plain, proper woman of age who looked faded, disapproving, ultimately forgettable. She wore a baize suit, baize low-heeled pumps, no jewelry. Her eyes were a flat light brown, hard to get a read on her with oversized black-framed glasses. She wore her hair pulled back into a tight bun, and no makeup. (Source: VORTEX by Catherine Coulter)

WOMAN: … complained like a woman going through life consistently demanding to see the manager. (Source: Readers Digest TOWARD MORE PICTURESQUE SPEECH)

WOMAN: … she cried, tears streaming down her cheeks. (Source: THE LIVING REED by Pearl S. Buck)

WOMAN: … was middle-aged, her red hair peppered with gray. (Source: FINAL TARGET by Iris Johansen)

WOMAN: … with her rather impressive bottom covered by the eye-popping garden of red poppies rioting over her dress. (Source: JEWELS OF THE SUN by Nora Roberts)

WOMAN: A woman sat in a rocking chair, her raven-black hair piled in a loose knot on top of her head, and a pumpkin-colored shawl wrapped around her shoulders. As she rocked, she worked snow-white wool with knitting needles and tapped one booted foot to some internal rhythm. (Source: THE BECOMING by Nora Roberts)

WOMAN: a young woman in snug pants and a green sweater raced into the hall. Her dark hair coiled to her shoulder blades, her dark eyes sparkled against gold-dust skin. Her silvery blond hair fell in long, loose waves to her tiny waist. Her eyes were tawny like a cat’s and had the faintest of glitter on the lids. Her lips, pink and perfectly carved, curved in a smile in a face narrow and delicate and impossibly lovely. (Source: THE BECOMING by Nora Roberts)

WOMAN: After a few minutes, the wooden door opened and a kind-faced brown-haired woman wearing a sleeveless black sheath dress and bright red lipstick gestured her inside. The doctor was in her early fifties, runner-fit, and from fifteen feet away, the patient could see the intelligence in her light-colored eyes. (Source: THE LAST SECOND by Catherine Coulter)

WOMAN: Among the many women of means who contributed to the ministry of Jesus was Salome of Bethsaida. So firmly did she believe in the Messiah that she gave two of her sons to the apostolate—James and his younger brother, John—and she often joined Jesus in his pilgrimages on foot. (Source: THE DAY CHRIST DIED by Jim Bishop)

WOMAN: An elegant woman of fifty-five with the inexhaustible energy and slender good looks of someone ten years younger, she pursed her lips in thought, pretending to make some hurried mental calculations. In fact, she and … had run through this whole scenario in advance. (Source: POWER PLAYS POLITIKA by Tom Clancy and Martin Greenberg)

WOMAN: An older woman sat behind a dark mahogany desk. Both she and her desk looked uncluttered, sleek and intimidating. She didn’t look the type to waste time baking cookies. She looked like a dragon guarding the gates. She was the head of the neighborhood watch. (Source: VORTEX by Catherine Coulter)

WOMAN: Beautiful Devi with her charmingly accented French, her glorious black hair braided halfway down her back, her perfect young body, her brightness, her curiosity pleased him. She was kindhearted, amazing for one so young and beautiful. She came across like a lovely steak on a plate. Her beautiful face was vital with health and youth. (Source: THE LAST SECOND by Catherine Coulter)

WOMAN: By herself she was a social commotion. (Source: Readers Digest TOWARD MORE PICTURESQUE SPEECH)

WOMAN: He thought he could detect in her manner some slight wish, or longing, or perhaps only the inclination of desire in a woman who knows her youth is nearly gone. (Source: THE LIVING REED by Pearl S. Buck)

WOMAN: Her body was warm, and her hair smelled of honey and citrus. (Source: OPERATION JOKTAN by Amir Tsarfati and Steve Yohn)

WOMAN: Her day seemed normal as it passed. (Source: THE BECOMING by Nora Roberts)

WOMAN: Her face was her chaperon.

WOMAN: Her honey-blond hair formed a braided knot at her nape and left her face unframed. She wore slim pants, almost like leggings, with tall boots over them, a sweater the color of the October sky with a long leather vest. (Source: THE BECOMING by Nora Roberts)

WOMAN: Her skin was dead pale, a combination of anxiety and fatigue. (Source: JEWELS OF THE SUN by Nora Roberts)

WOMAN: If her name came up, a cloud fell over the house. (Source: ABANDONED IN DEATH by J. D. Robb)

WOMAN: It was inevitable, she thought wearily. What difference did it make? The dominoes were falling and she couldn’t stop them by pretending they didn’t exist. (Source: FINAL TARGET by Iris Johansen)

WOMAN: Lady Gwen was seen more than once, standing high over the sea, with the wind blowing her pale hair behind her like the mane of a wild horse and her cloak billowing, white as the moon overhead. (Source: JEWELS OF THE SUN by Nora Roberts)

WOMAN: Mutiny ripe in her eyes, she jammed pins back into her falling hair violently enough to drill them into her scalp. (Source: JEWELS OF THE SUN by Nora Roberts)

WOMAN: She closed up the toolbox at her feet, dusted her hands, and stood up slowly, arching her back to relieve the strain of kneeling for so long. A wisp of her graying hair had come loose from the kerchief she wore when she worked, and she absently reached up to tuck it back in place. Then she rolled her head left and right, trying to get a knot out of her neck. (Source: POWER PLAYS POLITIKA by Tom Clancy and Martin Greenberg)

WOMAN: She confirmed her address with the Uber driver and settled in, leaned her head back against the seat, and closed her eyes. Low-level nausea still hovered too close. She took deep, even breaths, and the nausea eased enough for her to text Travis. (Source: VORTEX by Catherine Coulter)

WOMAN: She continued her routine--her classes, her studies, her appointments--without a hitch, even while shuffling in the lawyers and neatly filing the paperwork that symbolizes the end of a union. (Source: JEWELS OF THE SUN by Nora Roberts)

WOMAN: She felt a tingle on her skin, like spider legs crawling down her arm. (Source: THE BECOMING by Nora Roberts)

WOMAN: She had a silly straw hat perched on her head to shade her eyes. Glasses with black wire rims were perched on her nose. A brilliant blue butterfly danced over her left shoulder as if reading the words that popped up on the computer screen. (Source: JEWELS OF THE SUN by Nora Roberts)

WOMAN: She had brilliant red hair and the wide-hipped, sturdy frame that Jude would imagine in a woman required to carry and birth five children. (Source: JEWELS OF THE SUN by Nora Roberts)

WOMAN: She has a solid under-layer of mean, doesn’t give a crap about anyone who’s not in her own social class. (Source: VORTEX by Catherine Coulter)

WOMAN: She hoped she’d have more control, but it was like being sucked into a tornado. (Source: FINAL TARGET by Iris Johansen)

WOMAN: She lightly tapped the heel of her hand to her forehead. How could she have doubted her feeling danger near. (Source: VORTEX by Catherine Coulter)

WOMAN: she lived happily here, with her memories and her flowers. (Source: JEWELS OF THE SUN by Nora Roberts)

WOMAN: She longed to see the wonderful old buildings, the countryside, the hills, and the cliffs, to breathe air where her ancestors were born. (Source: JEWELS OF THE SUN by Nora Roberts)

WOMAN: She looked exhausted, her face as pale as her white shirt, the dash of lipstick on her mouth not much help. Her thick chestnut hair was pulled back from her thin face in a fat French braid. She had expressive eyes, a deep blue, nearly navy, but she shadows beneath them were dark enough to hide in. (Source: VORTEX by Catherine Coulter)

WOMAN: She looked fresh and pretty as a dewdrop. (Source: JEWELS OF THE SUN by Nora Roberts)

WOMAN: She looked like a human rag that had been wrung dry too many times and tossed aside. (Source: DESPERATION IN DEATH by J.D. Robb)

WOMAN: She looked very stylish in a black Armani suit, a white-as-snow turtleneck sweater under the jacket, and three-inch Louboutin heels on her narrow feet. Her dark hair was loose, worn around her shoulders, pulled back from her face by two golden barrettes. (Source: VORTEX by Catherine Coulter)

WOMAN: She made a pretty sight, kneeling by her flower blossoms, singing quietly with her foolish straw hat tipped over her face and a puppy curled sleeping on the path behind her. (Source: JEWELS OF THE SUN by Nora Roberts)

WOMAN: She parked, dashed into the store and the awesome warmth, heard her stomach growl at the divine smells, and bought a pizza. (Source: VORTEX by Catherine Coulter)

WOMAN: she paused to repair her lipstick. (Source: ABANDONED IN DEATH by J. D. Robb)

WOMAN: She popped out of the car, ample breasts and hips plugged onto short legs and tiny feet. (Source: JEWELS OF THE SUN by Nora Roberts)

WOMAN: She pressed her fingers to her eyes. She didn’t mean to say those things. Saying he was powerless and stupid was insulting. But he’s human. (Source: THE BECOMING by Nora Roberts)

WOMAN: She pulled a warm flannel nightgown over her head and eased her aching body into bed, pulled the covers to her chin and lay there not moving, waiting for the aspirin to kick in. (Source: VORTEX by Catherine Coulter)

WOMAN: She put him in mind of a young mare not quite sure of her legs. One who shied at the approach of a man even as she hoped for a nice, gentle stroke. It was an appealing combination, that hesitant manner with the clever mind and educated voice. (Source: JEWELS OF THE SUN by Nora Roberts)

WOMAN: She reached into her stop-sign-red bag the size of Brooklyn and took out a little pink bakery box. Opening it, she nodded at the brownie within then set it on her desk. (Source: ABANDONED IN DEATH by J. D. Robb)

WOMAN: She reminded her of her own mother, a high school counselor, always well dressed and utterly self-assured. (Source: VORTEX by Catherine Coulter)

WOMAN: She sat down and her bottom spread over the sofa like a ripe Brie. (Source: THE IMPROBABILITY OF LOVE by Hannah Rothschild)

WOMAN: She shaded her eyes with the flat of her hand. Riders coming, she said. (Source: THE BECOMING by Nora Roberts)

WOMAN: She started to sit up and her headache caused her to let out a moan. Her brain felt too big, and somehow clogged. (Source: ABANDONED IN DEATH by J. D. Robb)

WOMAN: She stirred his blood with those big sea goddess eyes and sternly bound hair. He liked her vice, the preciseness of it that seemed so intriguingly at odds with her shyness. (Source: JEWELS OF THE SUN by Nora Roberts)

WOMAN: She stored her money away like a squirrel its nuts. When she had enough to content her, she’d be off. (Source: JEWELS OF THE SUN by Nora Roberts)

WOMAN: She took a pin from the knot of her hair and caught into it a golden chrysanthemum and then put the pin into her dark hair again and the flower glowed there like a jewel against the pale cream of her nape. (Source: THE LIVING REED by Pearl S. Buck)

WOMAN: She tried to imagine herself slithering into leather and hopping on the back of a motorcycle behind some burly, tattooed biker named Zero. (Source: JEWELS OF THE SUN by Nora Roberts)

WOMAN: She tugged on her ponytail. (Source: THE LAST SECOND by Catherine Coulter)

WOMAN: She wanted to linger there in the pretty garden with the view of the green fields and the shadowy mountains and wild cliffs. (Source: JEWELS OF THE SUN by Nora Roberts)

WOMAN: She was a long-legged, lanky blonde with eyes like prime whiskey. She wore her hair in a straight, sleek tail down the middle of her back over a trim, well-cut jacket the color of steel. (Source: MIDNIGHT SHADOWS by Nora Roberts)

WOMAN: She was a poster girl for good breeding and old money. (Source: VORTEX by Catherine Coulter)

WOMAN: She was a sharp-featured woman with a disordered crown of maroon hair. (Source: ABANDONED IN DEATH by J. D. Robb)

WOMAN: She was a sturdy-looking woman, no taller than her daughter but certainly wider. Her hair was only slightly less brilliant than her daughter’s but white a bit tidier. She had a plump, pretty face with an easy smile and friendly green eyes that beamed welcome even before she held out her hand.

WOMAN: She was a tall, lovely woman, her thick French braid showcasing her strong face with its high cheekbones and dark, nearly navy blue eyes. (Source: VORTEX by Catherine Coulter)

WOMAN: She was a tall, mixed-race woman with a lot of curly brown hair bundled back. She wore gray sweatpants, a black tank top, and looked terrified as she gestured to chair in her small, tidy, female living area. (Source: ABANDONED IN DEATH by J. D. Robb)

WOMAN: She was a tall, slim woman dressed in a black leather jacket, white shirt, black pants, and black boots. (Source: VORTEX by Catherine Coulter)

WOMAN: She was beautiful, really very sexy; her shoulder-length black hair cut at a neat angle, her large slanting eyes reminding him of an exotic cat, her tweed coat was open and revealed fine long legs below a short leather skirt. (Source: POWER PLAYS POLITIKA by Tom Clancy and Martin Greenberg)

WOMAN: She was dressed in a flowing ocean-blue dress, her hair twisted into a knot on the top of her head. (Source: THE LAST SECOND by Catherine Coulter)

WOMAN: She was drop-dead gorgeous with skin like porcelain, eyes so pale a blue they were almost silver, and absurdly long lashes, even darker than her hair. She looked fit and strong in dark blue sweats, the jacket open to a shite silk cami, soft black ballet slippers on her feet. Her dark brown hair was pulled back into a thick ponytail and fastened with a pink poof ball, an oddly charming effect. (Source: VORTEX by Catherine Coulter)

WOMAN: She was even more gorgeous without the professionally done makeup and the fashion forward dress. (Source: OPERATION JOKTAN by Amir Tsarfati and Steve Yohn)

WOMAN: She was pretty, polished to a high shine, shows off Armani very well. She knows her own worth and values herself highly. She’s arrogant and tries to hide it for the most part. She tried to make nice, but her belief in her own superiority shimmered off her. (Source: VORTEX by Catherine Coulter)

WOMAN: She was quite small and her short, curly blond hair and luminous complexion made her look much younger than her thirty-two years. But there was intelligence in those brown eyes and an incisive boldness in her manner that definitely was not childlike. (Source: FINAL TARGET by Iris Johansen)

WOMAN: She was slight and as delicate as a dry point etching. (Source: Readers Digest TOWARD MORE PICTURESQUE SPEECH)

WOMAN: She was smart and would be as ruthless as she needed to get what she wants. (Source: VORTEX by Catherine Coulter)

WOMAN: She was studying, absorbing everything around her that she could see or hear. (Source: JEWELS OF THE SUN by Nora Roberts)

WOMAN: She was tall with arms like tree trunks. She stood in rough trousers, tougher boots with a belted tunic. She had the tawny eyes of a lioness and hair of oak brown braided to her waist. A warrior’s braid ran down the side of her wide face. (Source: THE BECOMING by Nora Roberts)

WOMAN: She was young, twenty-five, with a penchant for black leather jackets and a French boyfriend who was handsome as sin and picked her up from work every day on his motorcycle. (Source: THE LAST SECOND by Catherine Coulter)

WOMAN: She waved to a red velvet Victorian love seat with graceful scrolled arms, then poured a cup of tea from a whimsical teapot and placed a cup in front of her. (Source: VORTEX by Catherine Coulter)

WOMAN: She wearily rubbed her temple. (Source: FINAL TARGET by Iris Johansen)

WOMAN: She wore a belted gray aviator jacket with harem light-brown pants, and dark-brown boots loose at the laces. Her dark hair was hanging with its natural curl, and she wore just enough makeup to smooth any rough edges that might possibly be on her face. (Source: OPERATION JOKTAN by Amir Tsarfati and Steve Yohn)

WOMAN: The breeze was tousling the black hair around her face. Her eyes were lighter and bluer than the sky. She looked relaxed and happy. (Source: THE LAST SECOND by Catherine Coulter)

WOMAN: The bully was a dreadnought of a woman looking for someone to sink. (Source: Readers Digest TOWARD MORE PICTURESQUE SPEECH)

WOMAN: The dead woman was lying on her back, one eye closed, the other one staring blankly upward from a face that was covered with blood and cement dust, giving it the appearance of a ghastly Kabuki mask. Her hair was in disarray and there was a dark, murky puddle of wetness around the back of her head. She was buried under a dune of jumbled wreckage from her neck to her waist. (Source: POWER PLAYS POLITIKA by Tom Clancy and Martin Greenberg)

WOMAN: The door opened, and a tall, mixed-race woman with a headful of gold-tipped black twists barred the way. She folder her arms over her chest, She wore snug red shorts that showed off the snake tattoo slithering up the outside of her left leg, and a tight white tank top. (Source: DESPERATION IN DEATH by J.D. Robb)

WOMAN: The face that beamed out from under a dung-brown cap was definitely female. She had eyes as green as the wet hills surrounding them. Her skin was luminous with rich red hair tumbling out of the cap. (Source: JEWELS OF THE SUN by Nora Roberts)

WOMAN: The frightening thought made fingers of ice feel like they scraped down her spine. (Source: THE BECOMING by Nora Roberts)

WOMAN: The old mischief and gaiety glinted irrepressible in her eyes and smiles. (Source: THE LIVING REED by Pearl S. Buck)

WOMAN: The Queen was not taller than most women, but she held her head regally. Her features were perfect and in proportion, the nose straight, the cheekbones high, the mouth delicate and yet full, the chin round, the neck slender, her eyes large and black, their gaze direct and fearless. Her skin was white as cream; her cheeks were pink as a young girl, and her lips were red. It was a high, proud beauty, willful and passionate, a sort that demanded a man’s service rather than won his heart. (Source: THE LIVING REED by Pearl S. Buck)

WOMAN: The woman was pegging clothes on a line with a toddler at her feet. (Source: THE BECOMING by Nora Roberts)

WOMAN: The woman wore white and had pale, pale hair that tumbled in lush waves over her shoulders and breasts. (Source: JEWELS OF THE SUN by Nora Roberts)

WOMAN: The young maid had a face fair as a dream with white skin, clear as milk and hair black as midnight. Her eyes were blue as a lake, and she had a loveliness in her kind manner. (Source: JEWELS OF THE SUN by Nora Roberts)

WOMAN: There was a maid known as <...>. She was of humble birth but a lady in her heart and in her manner. She had hair as pale as winter sunlight, and eyes as green as moss. Her beauty was known throughout the land, and though she carried herself with pride, for she had a slim and pleasing form she was a modest maid who, as her blessed mother had died in the birthing of her, kept the cottage tidy for her aging father. She did as she was bid and what was expected and was never heard to complain. Though she was seen, from time to time, walking on the cliffs of an evening and staring out over the sea as if she wished to grow wings and fly. (Source: JEWELS OF THE SUN by Nora Roberts)

WOMAN: They said she looked gorgeous—just like her mother, and the woman confirmed that her mother was a knockout, but she claimed she was only a vague copy. (Source: THE LAST SECOND by Catherine Coulter)

WOMAN: Though the sky held blue, she heard the rumble of thunder. She felt the wind rise and carry the smell of sulfur on it. (Source: THE BECOMING by Nora Roberts)

WOMAN: twin spikes of joy and trepidation rushed through her. (Source: ABANDONED IN DEATH by J. D. Robb)

WOMAN: wanted to make her smile, to watch her lips curve slow and shy and her dimples come to life. (Source: JEWELS OF THE SUN by Nora Roberts)

WOMAN: When he spoke she focused on him and her eyes never left his face. It seemed her curiosity wanted to pull the words out of his mouth. (Source: THE LAST SECOND by Catherine Coulter)

WOMAN: When the blind panic faded into trembling fear, she stumbled onto a stream. Plunging her hands into the cold water, she wept, wept tears so bitter they burned into her soul like acid. (Source: THE BECOMING by Nora Roberts)

WOMAN: With spiked black hair and hazel eyes, she was as tough as her field boots. (Source: VORTEX by Catherine Coulter)

WOMAN:: She was pushy. She could’ve gotten herself killed. She’s like a torpedo heading straight for a target and not realizing she’ll be blown up too. (Source: FINAL TARGET by Iris Johansen)

FRIEND: Jewish friends showed their esteem for each other by always walking hand-in-hand. No one ever slept in the dark, a lamp was always burning in the family sleeping quarters. Bread was never cut; it was broken in wedge shape so that it could be used as a spoon for dinner, and was dipped into a common dish. (Source: THE DAY CHRIST DIED by Jim Bishop)

FRUIT GROWERS: Behind the fruitfulness are men of understanding and knowledge and skill, men who experiment with seed, endlessly developing the techniques for greater crops of plants whose roots will resist the million enemies of the earth: the molds, the insects, the rusts, the blights. These men work carefully and endlessly to perfect the seed, the roots. And there are men of chemistry who spray the trees against pests, who Sulphur the grapes, who cut out disease and rots, mildews and sicknesses Doctors of preventive medicine, men at the borders who look for fruit flies, for Japanese beetles, men who quarantine the sick trees and root them out and burn them, men of knowledge. The men who graft the young trees, the little vines, are the cleverest of all, for theirs is a surgeon’s job, as tender and delicate; and these men must have surgeons’ hands and surgeons’ hearts to slit the bark, to place the grafts, to bind the wound and cover them from the air. These are great men. (Source: THE GRAPES OF WRATH by John Steinbeck)

MALE

BOY

BOY: He had worked like a horse all the school season and felt if he was required to do more, he’d be only skin and bone. (Source: THE RADIO BOYS AT MOUNTAIN PASS by Allen Chapman)

BOY: He was tall, and well built, of rather dark complexion and frank, with merry eyes that always looked straight at you. He was good in his studies and a leader in athletic sports among boys of his own age. He had a firm, decided character, and was always at his best in an emergency that demanded cool thinking and quick action. (Source: THE RADIO BOYS AT MOUNTAIN PASS by Allen Chapman)

BOY: If Marconi is the father of wireless, this boy is a good healthy relative. (Source: THE RADIO BOYS AT MOUNTAIN PASS by Allen Chapman)

BOY: The boy carrying the bag of nuts groaned and complained about the weight until; his friend said, You’d be kicking like a steer if you didn’t have to carry, and now you’re sore because you have enough to last all winter. (Source: THE RADIO BOYS AT MOUNTAIN PASS by Allen Chapman)

BOY: The boy raced out of the school building, and bounded down the steps three at a time, his books slung over his shoulder. (Source: THE RADIO BOYS AT MOUNTAIN PASS by Allen Chapman)

BOY: The boy took the brush and colored inks and painted a picture revealing his hidden thoughts and feelings. (Source: THE LIVING REED by Pearl S. Buck)

BOY: The boy was straight and slim and tall for his years. He had the clear white skin, the leaf-brown eyes, the brown hair of his people, different from the darker Japanese. (Source: THE LIVING REED by Pearl S. Buck)

BOY: The happy boy threw his cap into the air, catching is deftly as it came down. (Source: THE RADIO BOYS AT MOUNTAIN PASS by Allen Chapman)

BOY: The teenage boy was fat, red-faced and good natured, with a special partiality for the good things of life. His nickname was Doughnuts and he did his best to deserve the name. (Source: THE RADIO BOYS AT MOUNTAIN PASS by Allen Chapman)

MAN

MAN: … had a lot of time to think while in prison. It was like being in a cocoon and turning into a butterfly. (Source: FINAL TARGET by Iris Johansen)

MAN: … heart jumped as he saw the shadowy figure in the darkness behind him. (Source: FINAL TARGET by Iris Johansen)

MAN: … with his thick, rich hair ruffled by the breeze, his eyes a clear, wild blue, standing at the gate with the distant cliffs at his back. (Source: JEWELS OF THE SUN by Nora Roberts)

MAN: A dour man of middle age whose dark complexion and thick, flat features bore the somatotype of his Far Eastern ancestry, he was known in diplomatic circles for being as personally loyal to … as we was outspokenly critical of his pro-Western policies. (Source: POWER PLAYS POLITIKA by Tom Clancy and Martin Greenberg)

MAN: A few yards away stood a man,