Today we are speaking with another of our graphic novelists who will be attending TeenBookCon. Raina Telgemeier has graciously agreed to answer a few of our questions before you all get a chance to meet her at Alief Taylor HS on 4/9/2011—just a few days from now! And now here come the questions…
TBC: What was your inspiration to tell the story in your latest graphic novel, Smile?
Raina Telgemeier: Smile is the true story of my experiences in middle school and high school, a time in my life when I was dealing with a bunch of dental drama! I was constantly telling the story to people, and they were always fascinated by it — I guess because they couldn’t believe it had really happened to me. But even telling the story didn’t feel like it was enough — I wanted to show the story, too. A graphic novel is a great way to do that!
TBC: You've worked with your husband before on graphic novel projects. How does that compare to working on your own, as with Smile?
RT: Working with my husband is fun because we can generate ideas together and bounce them off of one another. Sometimes we share writing duties, and sometimes he handles all of the writing and I handle all of the drawing. With books of my own, like Smile, I’m in control of every aspect of the project — although Dave still reads my drafts, and sometimes gives me feedback on what directions the story could go in. Even when we’re working on our own projects, we are usually in the same room together. It’s a lot of fun!
TBC: What are your top three “Books or graphic novels to have if stranded on a desert island”?
RT: The Complete Calvin and Hobbes, To Kill a Mockingbird, and the BONE series!
TBC: Do you have any upcoming book projects you can tell us about?
RT: My next graphic novel (still untitled) is going to be about a group of kids who are on their school’s stage crew. We see them design and build sets, work together, and interact with the kids who act in the school play — all with a huge amount of drama, humor, and romance, of course! I’m about halfway through drawing the book, which should be out sometime in 2012.
TBC: Can’t wait! Well, we want to thank you for taking time out of your schedule to talk with us and share a little insight into you and your work. Our teens are looking forward to meeting you on April 9th at TeenBookCon!
Raina Telgemeier is the author and illustrator of The Babysitters’ Club graphic novel series, X-Men: Misfits, and Smile. Find her on Twitter.
Raina will be speaking on the Graphic Novelists Galore panel with Mark Crilley, Misako Rocks, and Doug TenNapel.
Check back soon for another interview…and as always, we love to hear from you so give us some feedback!
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