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Sarah Zettel

Sarah Zettel Quotes

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Sarah Zettel, born on December 14, 1966, is a talented author known for her works that span various literary genres and are celebrated for their profound insights and rich imagination.

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Famous Sarah Zettel Quotes

“I'm going to go out on a limb here. I've thought a lot about this one, as a feminist, and as an author. How should traditional roles be portrayed? In fantasy literature there is a school of thought that holds that women must be treated precisely like men. Only the traditional male sphere of power and means of wielding power count. If a woman is shown in a traditionally female role, then she must be being shown as inferior. After a lot of thought, and some real-life stabs at those traditional roles, I've come to firmly disagree with this idea. For an author to show that only traditional male power and place matter is to discount and belittle the hard and complex lives of our peers and our ancestresses.”

Feminism Gender Roles Gender Roles In Fiction

Book:Mapping the World of Harry Potter: Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Explore the Bestselling Series of All Time

Source: Mapping the World of Harry Potter: Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Explore the Bestselling Series of All Time

“They were beautiful beyond words, beautiful beyond understanding. So beautiful, I wanted to tear out my heart and hand it over, because after seeing them, I surely wouldn't have any more use for it.”

Fairies Dust Girl Sarah Zettel

Book:Dust Girl

Source: Dust Girl

“I wasn't used to looking ahead. Not like Jack. Maybe that was why he had that ready grin. I could see through the dust, but he could see through time, and he didn't even need magic to do it.”

Future Dust Girl Sarah Zettel

Book:Dust Girl

Source: Dust Girl

“What's it like where they live?" "It's everything you want it to be.”

Fairies Dust Girl Sarah Zettel

Book:Dust Girl

Source: Dust Girl

“Bullets sound like hornets when they pass too close to your head. After a while, the world closes down. You can't hear much, you can't see much, just the way ahead, the next slat, the next open gate. All you know is running; the only place that's real is away.”

Dust Girl Sarah Zettel

Book:Dust Girl

Source: Dust Girl

“I wish I knew who I am," I whispered to the stars in Baya's eyes. Slowly, Baya shook his head. "Oh, Dust Girl, that's the hardest wish of all. Not even Baya can give you that one. That one you earn.”

Identity Dust Girl Sarah Zettel

Book:Dust Girl

Source: Dust Girl

“I'd been right about Jack Holland. He had the kind of face that could make you believe.”

Dust Girl Sarah Zettel Jack Holland

Book:Dust Girl

Source: Dust Girl

“Now that you know the wishing ways, you'll feel the wishes around you. They'll make you itchy, 'cause you know you can do something about them, but that ain't always the best idea.”

Wishes Dust Girl Sarah Zettel

Book:Dust Girl

Source: Dust Girl

“We're not in Fairyland! We're in Kansas!”

Dust Girl Sarah Zettel

Book:Dust Girl

Source: Dust Girl

“I'd never have gotten this far without you," I said. Jack tipped his cap to me. My heart squirmed around to find a new position under my ribs. I closed the door fast before I could say something really stupid.”

Dust Girl Sarah Zettel

Book:Dust Girl

Source: Dust Girl

“A gun is a terrible thing. It's a dark hole pointed at you, and that hole swallows up everything else in the world, your friends, your nerve, until there's nothing but you and what's waiting in that little round space of dark.”

Dust Girl Sarah Zettel

Book:Dust Girl

Source: Dust Girl

“I thought maybe I could just get away from everything. But you can't get away from a thing that's your own fault.”

Dust Girl Sarah Zettel

Book:Dust Girl

Source: Dust Girl

“The makers, the beautiful, the ones cast out because their light was too brilliant for the world beyond. The ones who wish true and deep with their whole hearts for more than they have. They come here, and we love them.”

Dust Girl Sarah Zettel

Book:Dust Girl

Source: Dust Girl

“I feel SF is going through an experimental phase right now.”

Feels Right Now Phases

Author:Sarah Zettel

“I myself was born in Sacramento, California in 1966.”

Born California Sacramento

Author:Sarah Zettel

“For an author to show that only traditional male power and place matter is to discount and belittle the hard and complex lives of our peers and our ancestresses.”

Matter Hard Shows Complexes Males Traditional Peers Discounts Belittle

Author:Sarah Zettel

“I have a better internal and intuitive understanding of folklore and myth than science and technology, so in that way fantasy is easier.”

Way Science Understanding Technology Fantasy Easier Myth Internals Intuitive Science And Technology Folklore

Author:Sarah Zettel

“Becoming a mother cannot help but change things. An author's life is reflected in their writing, whether they want it to be or not, and parenthood is one of the biggest life changes there is.”

Want Writing Helping Life Is Mother Change Becoming Life Changing Parenthood Becoming A Mother

Author:Sarah Zettel

“Then, I realized that there is an indigenous presence in the Solar System. It's us. So, then, I got to wondering what would happen if a more technologically advanced society moved next door to us, the way we moved next door to the American Indians.”

Ifs Way Happens Next Wonder Doors Moved I Realized Indian Indigenous Solar System

Author:Sarah Zettel

“Mama took me in her arms and held me tight. Her embrace was hot and she smelled like sweat, dust, and grease, but I wanted her. I wanted to crawl inside her mind to find that place that let her smile and sing through the worst dust storms. If I had to be crazy, I wanted my mama's kind of crazy, because she was never afraid.”

Ifs Mind Kind Wanted Crazy Worst Arms Daughter Hot Embrace Storm Dust Sweat Mama Being Crazy Grease Her Smile Dust Storms

Book:Dust Girl: The American Fairy Trilogy

Source: Dust Girl: The American Fairy Trilogy

“I did not want to write a story about the invasion of Earth, so I had to create a race capable of living nearby, which meant to either on the Moon, on Mars, or on Venus. I picked Venus.”

Want Writing Stories Earth Race Moon Capable Mars Invasion Venus

Author:Sarah Zettel

“When I'm not at the keyboard, I'm generally reading, practicing tai chi or middle eastern dance, or cooking.”

Inspirational Reading Middle Cooking Dance Reading Books Eastern Keyboards Tai Chi

Author:Sarah Zettel

“Actually, after while, finding the ideas is the easy part. Sorting them through and turning them into stories, now, that's the hard work.”

Ideas Hard Stories Easy Work Hard Work Findings Sorting

Author:Sarah Zettel

“As far as the writing goes, I started telling stories as soon as I could talk, and started writing them down as soon as I could string words together.”

Writing Stories Together Strings Telling Stories

Author:Sarah Zettel

“All of this got me thinking about the history of the westward expansion, and got me to wondering how the exploration of the Solar System would be changed if there were an indigenous presence out there.”

Ifs Thinking Would Be Wonder Changed Exploration Expansion Indigenous Solar System Westward Expansion

Author:Sarah Zettel

“Fantasy is, of course, booming, and I think it's beginning to stretch its range as well.”

Thinking Wells Courses Fantasy Range

Author:Sarah Zettel

“First and foremost, The Quiet Invasion is a first contact story. What would we do if we actually found evidence of alien life out there? It's also about politics.”

Ifs Life Firsts Stories Found Quiet Evidence Contact Aliens Invasion First Contact Alien Life

Author:Sarah Zettel

“I did not feel I could create a more beautiful or interesting Mars than Kim Stanley Robinson or Greg Bear had, so I turned my attention elsewhere.”

Feels Beautiful Interesting Attention Bears Elsewhere Mars Kim Stanley

Author:Sarah Zettel

“Fortunately, many people also enjoy a stand-alone as a sample of something new, like trying the special at a favourite restaurant one night instead of going for the usual.”

People Trying Night Enjoy Special Restaurants Something New Usual Favourite One Night Sample Stand Alone

Author:Sarah Zettel

“I graduated from the University of Michigan with a BA in Communications and left formal education behind.”

Left Behinds Education Communication University Formal Michigan Formal Education University Of Michigan

Author:Sarah Zettel

“I have to do more close research and fact checking for the science fiction. This is not however to say that writing good fantasy does not involve doing good research.”

Writing Doe Facts Science Fiction Fantasy Research Science Fiction Doing Good

Author:Sarah Zettel

“I think people enjoy a series. When you like a story, many readers want more of the same, which is dandy, if the author and the characters have more to say.”

People Ifs Thinking Want Character Stories Enjoy Reader Series Dandy

Author:Sarah Zettel

“I suppose if I was to have to pick a few, Ursula LeGuin would have to top the list. It was while reading her work that I decided I wanted to be an author.”

Ifs Wanted Reading Work Picks Decided Lists

Author:Sarah Zettel

“I think the diversity of authors and readers is expanding, which is wonderful, because it means the type of story being told is also expanding.”

Thinking Mean Stories Wonderful Type Reader Diversity Expanding

Author:Sarah Zettel

“I'm mostly a novelist these days, but I have written short stories in Fantasy, Science Fiction and horror.”

Stories Science Fiction Fantasy Written Horror Science Fiction These Days Novelists Short Story

Author:Sarah Zettel

“I'm told my SF is of the hard variety and my Fantasy is romantic but hopefully all the characters are strong and the plots are lively.”

Hard Character Strong Fantasy Variety Hopefully Plot Lively

Author:Sarah Zettel

“Now, of course, the great thing about the solar system as a frontier is that there are no Indians, so you can have all the glory of the myth of the American westward expansion without any of the guilt.”

Courses Glory Guilt Myth Great Things Expansion Frontiers Solar System Westward Expansion

Author:Sarah Zettel

“Octavia Butler, of course, is brilliant and disturbing.”

Courses Brilliant Disturbing Brilliant Ideas Butlers

Author:Sarah Zettel

“The Lord of the Rings movie set an entirely new standard for fantasy in the movies.”

Lord Fantasy Standards Rings Movie Movie Sets

Author:Sarah Zettel

“When I was in college, I spent a summer working in London. I'd enjoyed tea before that, but then I got actual, really good tea there and never looked back.”

College Summer London Enjoyed Tea

Author:Sarah Zettel

“I describe my plots as follows; A character is walking down the street when all of a sudden a piano falls on them. They spend the rest of the story digging out from under that piano. How they dig, how long and how well, this all depends entirely on the character.”

Wells Long Character Stories Fall Streets Depends Walking Piano Plot Digging

Author:Sarah Zettel

“So, one of the things I was doing with the aliens in The Quiet Invasion was creating that advanced society which had ideas about morality and proper use of natural resources that were radically different from ours, as the Europeans were from the American Indians.”

Ideas Different Use Natural Morality Quiet Creating Resources Aliens Invasion Natural Resources American Indian

Author:Sarah Zettel

“My joking answer to this question is that I leave a bowl of milk out on the back porch every night for the Idea Fairy. In the morning, the milk is gone and there's a brand-new shiny idea by the bowl.”

Ideas Night Answers Morning Gone Brands Fairy Milk Every Night Bowls Brand New Porch Sour Milk

Author:Sarah Zettel

“Now, Venus is an extremely hostile environment, and as such presents a lot of challenges for a science fiction author who wants to create life there. However, as I began to research it more thoroughly, I found myself intrigued by the possibilities the world offers.”

World Want Life Found Challenges Fiction Environment Possibility Offers Research Science Fiction Hostile Intrigued Venus Hostile Environment

Author:Sarah Zettel

“If I get blocked, it is generally because I don't know enough about some aspect of the story or the characters. The answer for this is generally more research, or making more background notes, so the place and person can be more fully realized inside my own mind.”

Ifs Knows Mind Persons Enough Character Stories My Own Answers Research Aspect Notes Backgrounds Blocked

Author:Sarah Zettel

About the Author

Born: December 14, 1966
Known for: Author
Quotes: 45

Related Topics

Dust Girl Sarah Zettel Stories Ifs Fantasy Character Thinking Want Writing Courses

Popular Topics

People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

Books & Sources

Dust GirlRelated source material

Dust Girl: The American Fairy TrilogyRelated source material

Mapping the World of Harry Potter: Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Explore the Bestselling Series of All TimeRelated source material

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