“Howl pointed a shaky hand up toward the canopy of his bed. “That’s why I love spiders. ‘If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try, again.’ I keep trying,” he said with great sadness. “But I brought it on myself by making a bargain some years ago, and I know I shall never be able to love anyone properly now.”The water running out of Howl’s eyes was definitely tears now.”

British novelist, poet, academic, literary critic, and short story writer

Diana Wynne Jones was a British novelist, poet, academic, literary critic, and short story writer. She wrote in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, and is best known for speculative fiction for children and young adults. Her books are usually classed as fantasy, though they often draw on science fiction ideas such as time travel and parallel worlds, and they can also include realistic detail. Among her best-known works are the Chrestomanci heptalogy, the Dalemark Quartet, the Moving Castle trilogy, Dark Lord of Derkholm, and The Tough Guide to Fantasyland.