01UndatedPeople trust their eyes above all else - but most people see what they wish to see, or what they believe they should see; not what is really thereZoë Marriott / quote ↗
02UndatedAside from wanting to write cracking good books that turn children into lifelong readers, I really want to create stories that enable kids to LOOK at the world around them. To see it for what it is, with wide open, wondering eyes. Our mass media is so horribly skewed. It presents this idea of 'normalcy' which excludes and marginalises so many for an idea of commercial viability which is really nothing but blinkered prejudice. People who are black and Asian and Middle Eastern and Hispanic, people who are gay or transgendered or genderqueer, people who have disabilities, disfigurements or illnesses - all have this vision of a world which does not include them shoved down their throats almost 24-7, and they're told 'No one wants to see stories about people like you. Films and TV shows about people like you won't make money. Stories about straight, white, cisgendered, able-bodied people are universal and everyone likes them. You are small and useless and unattractive and you don't matter.'My worry is that this warped version of 'normal' eventually forms those very same blinkers on children's eyes, depriving them of their ability to see anyone who isn't the same as them, preventing them from developing the ability to empathise with and appreciate and take joy in the lives and experiences of people who are different from them. If Shadows on the Moon - or anything I write - causes a young person to look at their own life, or the life of another, and think, 'Maybe being different is cool' I will die a happy writer.-Guest blog - what diversity means to meZoë Marriott / quote ↗
03UndatedTo ugly ducklings everywhere,Don't worry about those fluffy yellow morons:They'll never get to be swansZoë Marriott / quote ↗
04UndatedI truly believe that if you have more friends than books, you have too many friends. Or not enough books. Probably both.Zoë Marriott / quote ↗
05UndatedHow much easier life was once you learned how to lie. I had gotten into trouble by speaking out of turn, arguing and answering back so many times. Not anymore. Now I would do what I wanted, and no one would stop me.Zoë Marriott / quote ↗
06UndatedCouldn't a woman be happy doing a great many things, just as a man could?Zoë Marriott / quote ↗
10UndatedI’ve learned a lot about love over these last months. And part of what I’ve learned is that you have to want someone for who they are, not who you want them to be. You have to love a real person, not some dream in your head.Zoë Marriott / quote ↗
11UndatedI know what evil looks like under the surface. No matter how beautiful the exterior, how good the lies, I don’t fool myself, not any more. You carry a terrible burden that no one – not even me – can really understand. But that doesn’t change who you are, Frost. You’re a good person. And I love you.” “I wish…” My voice cracked. “I wish I could believe in that.” Luca brushed the dishevelled strands of hair away from my face again and looked into my eyes. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll keep saying it until you do.Zoë Marriott / quote ↗
12UndatedI thought then that you were the bravest girl I’d ever met, and nothing that’s happened since has changed my mind.Zoë Marriott / quote ↗
