Marie Brennan said this quote

Matriarchy is a time-honored staple for any writer looking to invent an exotic society.

~ Marie Brennan

...A widow has freedoms a wife does not. But when I look at you, I do not see obstacles for my career, I see- My face burned even more. I see wings. A way to fly higher and further than I can on my own.

~ Marie Brennan

Their characteristics are well-known. They're beautiful -- when they're not astoundingly ugly. They're both goddesses for men to worship, and demons for them to flee. They adore children, sometimes to the point of unhealthy obsession. They have a strong association with nature, from which they're often assumed to draw magical power. Their anger is a terrible thing to behold, and all the more fearsome because anything can spark it; the rules by which these creatures operate are not those of rational men. They are creatures of fanciful whim, and they never, ever, can be understood.I'm talking, of course, about women.

~ Marie Brennan

Jake accompanied us as well, having arrived in Akhia shortly before the excavation team departed. I did not tell him our destination until we were safely away from civilization, and found my caution abundantly justified: he whooped and danced about so much, he fell off his camel and broke his left arm.

~ Marie Brennan