Readers will always insist on adventures, and though you can have grief without adventures, you cannot have adventures without grief.
Catherynne M. ValenteBecause Iโm a cat. A big one, the Panther of Rough Storms, in fact. But still a cat. If thereโs a saucer of milk to spill, Iโd rather spill it than let it lie. If my mistress grows absent-minded and leaves a ball of yarn about, Iโll bat it between my paws, and unravel it. Because itโs fun. Because itโs what cats do best.
Catherynne M. ValenteI have terrible nightmares, you know. Every night when I come home from a long dayโs dying, I take off my skin and lay it nicely on my armoire. I take off my bones and hang them up on the hatstand. I set my scythe to washing on the old stove. I eat a nice supper of mouse-and-myrrh soup. Some nights I drink off a nice red wine. White does not agree with me. I lay myself down on a bed of lilies and still, I cannot sleep.
Catherynne M. ValenteI can't imagine a decent maze that would be caught dead without a minotaur. It's not done! You don't go out of your house without any clothes on, and a minotaur doesn't go into the world without a labyrinth to keep him warm.
Catherynne M. Valente