Nnedi Okorafor

“School will bring you more success than marriage.”

“I think speculative fiction has fewer unspoken prerequisites than literary fiction for writers of color.”

“I see the world as a magical place. Therefore, it was only natural that magic wafted from my fiction like smoke.”

“I love ocean life. I'm fascinated that so much of it remains unexplored by human beings. Diluted seawater consisted of nearly the same concentration of elements and minerals as blood plasma. They've got the same amount of sodium, too.”

“There will be danger; some of you may not live to complete your lessons. It's a risk you take. This world is bigger than you and it will go on, regardless.”

“Sometimes a man must throw caution to the wind.”

“I love and am terrified of the water, particularly the ocean.”

“Two footsteps do not make a path.”

“One of my feet is a whole size longer than the other. One is size ten, the other is size eleven.”

“I felt the pain and the glory of growth, was straining and shuddering with it.”

“I go to the ocean to calm down, to reconnect with the creator, to just be happy.”

“I love writing about monsters and food.”

“The Magical Negro rested his red cane on his shoulder and leisurely strolled into the forest to see if he could find him some hobbits, castles, dragons, princesses, and all that other shit.”

“'Lagoon' is an ambitious novel.”

“It's more fun to write villains. They are more of a challenge, and I get a sick kind of pleasure out of delving into their minds. There's rarely emptiness, and there is almost always deep intelligence.”

“Neither (brother) even glaced at the counter. She smiled. Her dumb brothers never cooked. She didn’t think they even knew how! A human being who needs food to live but cannot prepare that food to eat? Pathetic. In this case, it was an advantage. They weren’t interested in any food until it had been cooked for them.”

“There's a story in 'Kabu Kabu' called 'Bakasi Man' where I got to explore the mind of a 'bad man.' It was fun.”

“I grew up reading Stephen King, Peter Straub, Clive Barker, Robert McCammon, Isaac Asimov's nonfiction books, and Roald Dahl.”

“I would try to write 'realistic' fiction, and someone would fly, or there would be a black hole full of demons or a girl who attracted frogs.”

“We all must travel,' the driver said, keeping his eyes on the way ahead. His hands grasped the wheel firmly. 'It is the essence of all things, to move and change and keep going forward and backward and around. Even the spirits and the dead.”