78 Quotes by Marie Brennan

There is nothing in the world so enticing as that which you have been told you may not have.

Readers of these memoirs, know that I have never been very religious. I am not ashamed of this fact. I have endeavoured to be a good woman nonetheless, and to do good for those around me.

The lack of a husband was, for some applicants, a selling point. I imagine many of my readers are aware of the awkward position in which governesses often find themselves -- or, rather, the awkward position into which their male employers often put them, for it does no one any service to pretend this happens by some natural and inexorable process, devoid of connection with anyone's behaviour.

Consider what story you want to tell. Consider what tale should embody the spirit of our age, when people look back on this time. Will it be the tale of domination that some today sought to write? Or will it be the harmony whose passing my ancient brother immortalized in clay and gold?

I wish it could have been otherwise. But in the end … this is part of our past, whether we are proud to admit it or not. Whatever our place is to be in the world, it must be a place we can claim with honesty, not one we slip into on the basis of a lie.

When I'm working on a novel, I generally do write every day, but in between those marathons, I take breaks. My brain needs time to recharge.

I'd love to see more novels and short stories where the characters have their own folklore that isn't the Plot-Bearing Prophecy of Doom.

Given what I do to my characters, I'm not sure I'd want to meet any of them.

My mood depends heavily on what happens to me right after I get up.