Raina Telgemeier Quotations

All of the narration in 'Smile' is first-person. Most of the books that I grew up reading had first-person narrators for some reason. My diaries were written in this voice, and since this story is autobiographical, it just felt like a natural extension.

When I sit down to begin penciling a page, most of the hard work for me is done. I can concentrate solely on my art from that point on, which is the fun part!

I've always believed in working hard, and I'm grateful that people seem to connect with the kinds of stories I'm passionate about telling.

I wanted to be into fashion, but I was never the kind of person who could keep up with fashion trends, and I could never style my hair the way everyone else's was - my hair was very thin, so I couldn't do, like, the sprayed bangs everyone else was into.

I did keep detailed journals from about fifth grade on, and every so often as I was growing up, I would re-read them and reflect on the previous years of my life.

I was kind of a cross between Kristy and Mary Anne among 'The Baby-Sitters Club' characters. I was shy, but I was also kind of a tomboy, and I was really good at sticking my foot in my mouth even though I was shy.

New York is great for busy creative types. The city has a pulse that races, and you either keep up with it or you leave.

I used to rely on black-and-white, and while I was working on 'Smile,' I learned to adapt to color on my end.

When I was doing 'Smile,' I was looking back at pictures of myself and going, 'Thank goodness I couldn't do the sprayed-bangs thing! Everybody's so embarrassed by that hairstyle now, but I was never cool enough to pull it off!'

Typically, a book is published and gets one season in the sun. Eventually, you write another book, and maybe your old books get a bump, but my books seem to keep being discovered and recommended to new people of all ages.