Erin Bow > Erin's Quotes

“Hope will break the heart better than any sorrow.”
― Erin Bow, Plain Kate

“No writing is wasted. Did you know that sourdough from San Francisco is leavened partly by a bacteria called lactobacillus sanfrancisensis? It is native to the soil there, and does not do well elsewhere. But any kitchen can become an ecosystem. If you bake a lot, your kitchen will become a happy home to wild yeasts, and all your bread will taste better. Even a failed loaf is not wasted. Likewise, cheese makers wash the dairy floor with whey. Tomato gardeners compost with rotten tomatoes. No writing is wasted: the words you can't put in your book can wash the floor, live in the soil, lurk around in the air. They will make the next words better.”
― Erin Bow

“Fantasy elevates ordinary and eternal problems of young people into stories via the language of myth. It turns “No one really knows me” into “I’ve got a secret identity.” It turns “I don’t understand why other people act the way they do” into “I’m trapped in a faerie realm.” It turns “my high school must have been built over the mouth of hell” into “my high school must have been built over the mouth of hell.”

There are certain things in life that are glorious, and they are glorious for everyone. There are more that are hard, and they are hard for everyone. We like to see these things retold, but with dragons.”
― Erin Bow

“Be brave. Things will find their shape.”
― Erin Bow, Plain Kate

“It's true that when you read YA you rarely have to read about middle-aged men having affairs. Personally I consider that a plus.”
― Erin Bow

“You made tools of us. Have you never considered: the thing of a tool is that anyone may use it.”
― Erin Bow, The Scorpion Rules