Quotes from Octavia Butler

The only lasting truth is change. God is change.

To get along with God, Consider the consequences of your behavior. Earthseed: The Books of the Living

In my years, I have seen that people must be their own gods and make their own good fortune. The bad will come or not come anyway.

Once you grow past Mommy and Daddy coming running when you're hurt, you're really on your own. You're alone, and there's no one to help you.

I lost an arm on my last trip home.

On the other hand, I was very much interested in the way people behaved, the human dance, how they seemed to move around each other. I wanted to play around with that.

I think people really need to think what it's like to have all of society arrayed against you.

Life is getting better, but that won't stop a war if politicians and business people decide it's to their advantage to have one.

We give our dead To the orchards And the groves. We give our dead To life.

Kindness eases change Love quiets fear

I began reading science fiction before I was 12 and started writing science fiction around the same time.

All that you touch You Change. All that you Change Changes you. The only lasting truth is Change. God is Change.

The essentials are to learn to shape God with forethought, care, and work; to educate and benefit their community, their families and themselves; and to contribute to the fulfillment of the Destiny.

No... a novel is a long business. I'm a slow writer, even when I'm doing very well I write slowly.

We're all capable of climbing so much higher than we usually permit ourselves to suppose.

Positive obsession is about not being able to stop just because you're afraid and full of doubts. Positive obsession is dangerous. It's about not being able to stop at all.

Dad decided not to vote for Donner after all. He didn't vote for anyone. He said politicians turned his stomach.

The destiny of Earthseed is to take root among the stars.

But my problem with fantasy, and horror, and related genres, is that sometimes the problems are illogical.

And by the way, I wanted to point out that Kindred is not science fiction. You'll note there's no science in it. It's a kind of grim fantasy.

I recognize we will pay more attention when we have different leadership.

I began reading science fiction before I was 12 and started writing science fiction around the same time.

The thing about science fiction is that it's totally wide open. But it's wide open in a conditional way.

No, I think the future of humanity will be like the past, we'll do what we've always done and there will still be human beings. Granted, there will always be people doing something different and there are a lot of possibilities.