I had my dreams, and even though everyone told me that they weren't practical, I knew in my heart that this is what I had to do. Even if it ended up being a failure, I had to make the attempt. Marjorie Liu More Quotes by Marjorie Liu More Quotes From Marjorie Liu I don't want to give people the wrong advice to follow their dreams no matter what, because it's not fun to be a starving artist. But on the other hand, life is short, and if you are burning with a passion to do something, then do it. Work hard, study hard at it, and don't give up. Marjorie Liu dreams passion work life Marriage isn't the end-point of a relationship. It's just a stepping stone, one aspect of a long-term evolution between two people who have, for whatever reason, decided to take a leap of faith and say, 'Well, hey, this is a person who I want to try with for the rest of my life.' Which is not a guarantee of perfection - far from it. Marjorie Liu marriage faith relationship life I think we worry way too much about where books should fit inside genres. In a romance, the hero and heroine are on a journey together, and no matter how awful it gets, by the end of the book they'll be in love, with the probability of a happy ending. Marjorie Liu journey hero together love It's very scary to become someone new, to take that path less followed. Marjorie Liu become new someone path As women, we have to deal with constant threats of violence. And it's in our media and fiction, too. So we internalize it. Marjorie Liu deal women media violence Superheroes are the best of us. Never mind all those powers or the crazy costumes. The heart of a superhero is meant to inspire. Marjorie Liu best crazy mind heart We imagine 'the end' as a world-devastating event, but every time there's a terrible earthquake, a tsunami, an outbreak of disease - that's apocalyptic, on a micro-scale. Marjorie Liu earthquake end disease time Muscles are fleeting. Bodies give out. But integrity, honor? The confidence to be oneself, to follow one's heart? The compassionate drive to help others, even at great risk? That's strength. Marjorie Liu confidence strength heart integrity Most of the female 'superhero' role models of my childhood came from novels, and they rarely had powers. Take Dorothy, for example, from 'The Wizard of Oz;' or Laura Ingalls and her sisters in the 'Little House on the Prairie' novels. Marjorie Liu her take childhood house I could be shooting myself in the foot, but in some ways, I feel I've said all I've needed to say when to comes to, say, the 'X-Men.' I think I've hit the bright points, I think I've hit what I wanted to hit, and I can be happy moving on doing other things. Marjorie Liu be-happy myself moving-on happy Women have been writing strong women characters for a long time - hello, Maxine Hong Kingston! - it's just taken mainstream comics a really long while to catch up. Marjorie Liu long-time women time long We like to imagine that women would do a better job of ruling the world - and I'm one of those optimists - but women aren't a superior kind of life form just because of our gender. We're awesome but not perfect. We're human. Just like men. Marjorie Liu not-perfect women men life A dark, fantastic adventure set in an alternate 1900s Asia, 'Monstress' is buried deep in the supernatural. It's a story I've wanted to tell for a long time - it just took me awhile to put all the pieces together. Marjorie Liu me together time long Every single girl, whether we want to recognize it or not, is a warrior. Marjorie Liu warrior single girl want I think that comic books have appealed to female readers for years. Marjorie Liu i-think books think years At his heart, Gambit is a good man who believes in taking care of his friends, and his friends are what's most important to him. People are his home. He will do anything for those who matter to him. Marjorie Liu good man home heart The thing about Gambit is that he's a man who knows how to adapt to survive. He plays things by ear, depending on the situation, and never feels obligated to follow the rules, because the only rules that matter are his own sense of honor. Ultimately, that sense of honor includes 'doing no harm' - at least, not to the innocent. Marjorie Liu man innocent situation honor Han Solo has always been - and I think for a lot of people, too - this iconic character who's the absolute definition of cool. Marjorie Liu cool think character people I feel like the character of Han Solo is irreverent. A very serious, precious story about Han Solo would not be that enjoyable. Marjorie Liu story feel serious character People either fall into two camps, where they're pro-fanfic, or they're anti-fanfic. I would not have had the skills to write and publish my first novel if I hadn't been writing fanfic. Marjorie Liu skills writing people fall