Catherynne M. Valente

No matter what you write, you actually can't help retelling a fairy tale somewhere along the way.

Every morning is a battle between the superego and the id, and I am a mere foot soldier with mud and a snooze button on her shield.

I try to hurt myself, to sprain something, writing every novel and story, because I'm stretching for something new and difficult that I haven't done before.

Fear follows crime and is its punishment.

Shaft was a pop culture figure along t he lines of, I guess, Dirty Harry - except that he wasn't as much of a racist. So yeah, I was always a fan.

I think to have the skill set and the ability to physically help others in matters of life and death must be incredibly empowering.