Catherynne M. Valente

"For there are two kinds of forgiveness in the world: the one you practice because everything really is all right, and what went before is mended. The other kind of forgiveness you practice because som…"

"War is not for winning, Masha," sighed Koschei, reading the tracks of supply lines, of pincer strategies, over her shoulder. "It is for surviving."

"My percussionist thinks you have a touch of Metastasized Narcissistic Personality Disorder, Blek. My diagnosis? You’re an asshole. Sadly, the only known cure is being set on fire and dropped off a bal…"

"Everyone’s always saying love is the element that binds the universe together, but that’s a load of bollocks; it’s convenience."

"The universe is a very large and very complicated demonstration of having one’s cake and eating it too. It sees no reason not to have it all."

"Oh, certainly it had been alarming at first. But adjusting to certain changes in your circumstances was easy when you didn’t really care about anything. As far as she was concerned, she’d always talke…"

"Sex is universal, it’s just not evenly distributed."

"Everybody fucks.…Being ashamed of it makes about as much sense as being ashamed of the speed of light."