Author

Mining is a dangerous profession. There's no way to make a mine completely safe: These are the words owners have always used to excuse needless deaths and the words miners use to prepare for them.

From Tawni O'Dell

Coal mining is an industry rife with mismanagement, corruption, greed and an almost blatant disregard for the safety, health and quality of life of its work force. Everyone knows this. Everyone has always known it.

From Tawni O'Dell

I'm a novelist, and I'm a woman, and I'm considered to be a serious author whether I like it or not.

From Tawni O'Dell

I write literary, not commercial, fiction - or so I've been told by my publishers who are proud I write literary fiction but secretly wish I wrote commercial.

From Tawni O'Dell

My experience growing up in a rough and tumble town in the blue-collar world of Western Pennsylvania in the 1970s was that anything a man did was always more important than anything a woman did.

From Tawni O'Dell

I was an avid tomboy, and as long as I could ride my bike just as fast, hit the ball just as hard, and catch just as many garter snakes, I was accepted as one of the boys and enjoyed all the perks of superiority.

From Tawni O'Dell

The image I had was that Oprah books were fluffy.

From Tawni O'Dell

I've discovered as an author that the process of writing a novel becomes harder over time, not easier. I used to think the reverse must be true, that it would be like any task, and the more I practiced, the more adept I'd become.

From Tawni O'Dell

Writing an essay is like a school assignment: I have my topic, I organize my thoughts, and I write it. I have complete control over what I'm doing. Writing a novel is like setting out on a journey without knowing who or what I'll encounter, how long it's going to take, or where I'm going to end up.

From Tawni O'Dell

My mind is constantly creating and searching, but I can't make myself put the right words on paper until I'm ready. Once I'm ready, I'm a focused, disciplined writer who will put in twelve hours a day at the computer, but I also spend a lot of time away from the computer getting to that point.

From Tawni O'Dell

Tawni O'Dell

Notable Quotes

Authors with Similar Views

Jeff Goodell

Matt Mead

Jennifer Weiner

Kevin Richardson

Theo Rossi

Authors with Opposing Views

Alice Munro

Ashwin Sanghi

Darby Stanchfield

Dwayne Johnson

Eudora Welty