Do you think I am a fool, Masha? All this time, and you speak to me as though I were a flighty pinprick of a girl. I am a magician! Did you never think, even once, that I loved lipstick and rouge for more than their color alone? I am a student of their lore, and it is arcane and hermetic beyond the dreams of alchemists. Did you never wonder why I gave you so many pots, so many creams, so much perfume?
Catherynne M. ValenteTemptation likes best those who think they have a natural immunity, for it may laugh all the harder when they succumb.
Catherynne M. ValenteTell it fast before you get scared and silence yourself. You'll never wish you'd held back a little more.
Catherynne M. ValenteChildren make prayers so thoughtlessly, building them up like sand castlesโand they are always surprised when suddenly the castle becomes real, and the iron gate grinds shut.
Catherynne M. ValenteHats change everything. September knew this with all her being, deep in the place where she knew her own name, and that her mother would still love her even though she hadnโt waved goodbye. For one day her father had put on a hat with golden things on it and suddenly he hadnโt been her father anymore, he had been a soldier, and he had left. Hats have power. Hats can change you into someone else.
Catherynne M. Valente