Supported.

A bit earlier than expected, here is the triple challenge. Easiest quote first; most difficult one last. Of course, the difficulty is only my opinion and your mileage may vary - you may know the difficult one at once, but not the easy one.

If you know only one or two, feel free to post the answer (-s), and I'll post a confirmation if you're right, but the winner will be the one to supply the last outstanding answer.

So here goes. In which stories do the following female characters appear?

Easy:
“Invisible as new spring winds, fresh as the breath of clover rising from twilight fields, she flew. She soared in doves as soft as white ermine, stopped in trees and lived in blossoms, showering away in petals when the breeze blew. She perched in a lime-green frog, cool as mint by a shining pool. She trotted in a brambly dog and barked to hear echoes from the sides of distant barns. She lived in new April grasses, in sweet clear liquids rising from the musky earth.”

Moderate:
“I am a beautiful woman. I have been beautiful all of my life. Which means that from the start people lied because they simply wished to be with me. I grew up surrounded by the untruths of men, women and children who could not risk my displeasure. When beauty pouts, the world trembles.”

Tough:
“She stood waiting for him, arms outstretched to take him into their soft embrace, sycamore shadows stirring over her cocktail dress, setting it into dreamy motion.”

Hi douglasSP,

The Easy one is "The April Witch".
Having trouble with Moderate and Tough.

Anyone?

Yes, "The April Witch" is indeed the easy one.

The moderate one isn't too difficult.

The tough one is impossible.

I couldn't make it any longer, because there are character names all over the place. Even the quote featuring Cecy, the April Witch, is slightly clipped because her name appears.

My normal rule is to post clues after three days, but if there are heart-rending pleas, I'll do so sooner.

What? No wild guesses? No smug claims of omniscience? Not even a link to where the answer may be found?

All right, then. Time for clues.

For the moderately difficult quote, I can reveal that the speaker of those lines is on a planet in our solar system. Not Earth, though.

To solve the tough quote, you’ll just have to exercise your powers of recollection ... especially where homicide is concerned.

Tough: Return of... "The Trunk Lady"?

Yes, "The Trunk Lady" is indeed the source of the tough quote! That's a brilliant answer by fjp451, who takes the gold medal. Brother Tarkas has already won the bronze but, in accordance with my spur of the moment rule, the baton will pass to the one who supplies the answer to the last outstanding quote.

It's not all that tough, so it's not quite time for another clue just yet. Somebody is sure to get it ... come on, guys. You have Ray Bradbury and a planet ... not rocket science, is it?

Hi douglasSP,

The moderate one is Cara Corelli from "The Lost City of Mars"!

Mission accomplished! Brother Tarkas has correctly identified the last outstanding quote, so the baton passes to him (even though fjp451 answered the most difficult one).

I wasn't too sure what clue to give for "The Lost City of Mars". I was tempted to say that it was a Martian story, but not in the Martian Chronicles, but that would have been an almost dead giveaway. Perhaps that would have been the second and final clue, but fortunately it wasn't necessary.

The tough quote was doubly difficult, because it doesn't even refer to a character - the passage describes a mannequin which someone mistakes for a character!

So well done, BT and fjp. We await the next quote with interest.

I must admit, I was looking to MC and so actually scanned the entire book. Though I came up short, I think I fell in love with Ylla (again), but preferred not to answer the phone call of Genevieve.

I was still quite pleased that Spender knocked out Biggs. I kept warning Capt. Black to be careful in Green Town. The verse of Lord Byron remains introspectively powerful, the sand gliders are fantastic and wonderfully delicate, and the million year picnic was so refreshing and familiar...

The Martian Chronicles is Poetry of another form!

Good challenge dSP and well done BT!

fjp, did you not stop for a hot dog at Sam Parkhill's?

...and hand a brick to Mr. Stendahl?

Okay, name this Ray Bradbury story:

"She lived alone with a house full of rococo pictures, a dusty library, a yellow-mouthed piano, and a music box which, when she ratcheted it up and set it going, prickled the air like bubbles from lemon soda pop."

Good luck and have fun!

Well, how about a clue?

In Bradbury literature attics are wonderful places of expolration, creating, and even habitation.

In this Bradbury story an attic plays a pivotal role. A character goes to one to procure a weapon "against pride and time".

Have fun!

I've checked a few likely suspects, but I've come up with nothing so far. Now to consider the clue ...