Ask the Author: Cece Bell
Answered Questions (49)
Cece Bell
Thanks for your kind words. My advice for all writers is that if you have an idea for a story, don't tell anybody about it right away. Keep it private and nurture it on your own and see what develops. Sometimes you tell someone about an idea you have, and they say something that makes you lose faith in the idea -- and so you abandon it altogether. Wait until you've fleshed it out and feel really confident about it before you share it! Hope that helps and thanks again! Stay safe!
Cece Bell
Hi! Well, Batman was a huge influence on me as a kid (Batman from the 60s TV show). Just like Batman was strapping on his utility belt to become Batman, I was strapping on my Phonic Ear hearing aid to become El Deafo. So it made sense, if Martha was going to be my "sidekick," to make her look a little bit like Robin. I hope that answers your question. Thanks for reading the book!
Cece Bell
Hello, Snowy the wolf! Thanks so much for your kind note. I'm thrilled that you enjoyed the book enough to read it 50 whole times. Good heavens! I have considered writing a sequel, but I'm not sure if I ever will. I keep getting distracted by other books and other projects. But maybe someday! XOXOXO and all my best to you. Stay safe!
Cece Bell
Read Scott McCloud's UNDERSTANDING COMICS and watch TV shows with the captions turned on! It's great for dialogue. And read lots of comics and just draw a bunch...
Cece Bell
Thanks for your kind note, Amanda! I'm really glad that you and your daughter have enjoyed the book and that it resonates for your daughter. I don't do book tours so much as short jaunts. Here's a link showing where I'll be in March—if you're in the Maryland/DC/Charlottesville VA area, you might be able to catch me!
Thanks for writing to me!
Thanks for writing to me!
Cece Bell
My editor sent a copy of El Deafo to RJ Palacio before the book was released. She read it and really liked it. So she sent her comments to my editor, and her comments were printed on the cover of the book so that when it was officially released, everyone could see that RJ liked the book! It's called a "blurb" and some folks think it helps a book sell better to have another writer say nice things about it. RJ was really nice to do that. I know she must be really busy!
Cece Bell
I was born in 1970! I'm almost 50 years old. Can you believe it? I cannot.
Cece Bell
I got stuck on an elevator. No one came to rescue me.
Cece Bell
From kids' books: Klickitat Street from the Ramona books. I'd love to be the Quimbys' neighbor. Pretty sure I'd want Beezus to be my best friend. OR the Secret Garden…but then Mary and Dicken and Colin would put me to work and I'm not sure I'm up for that!
From adult books: I'd go to Barbary Lane in San Francisco from the Tales of the City books by Armistead Maupin. And I'd hang out with all the cool folks who live in this bohemian apartment complex and maybe let Anna Madrigal take me under her wing.
From adult books: I'd go to Barbary Lane in San Francisco from the Tales of the City books by Armistead Maupin. And I'd hang out with all the cool folks who live in this bohemian apartment complex and maybe let Anna Madrigal take me under her wing.
Cece Bell
Hi Maya! Thank you for your kind question and for your nice words about El Deafo! There probably won't be a sequel...but there are new books coming out from me this year. All of them are for early readers and are super-goofy and tons of fun. You might enjoy them! Hope you're having a great year!
Cece Bell
Hi there! Thanks for your kind note. You can email me at [email protected] and I'll give you my address through that. Best to you!
Cece Bell
Hi there! I would think that your little sister's experience right now with the language difference is very much like my own struggle. It's definitely a book about communication struggles, among other things.
I'm still not sure if I'll be continuing the story...but you never know!
Thanks so much for your kind letter and for sharing my work with your sister. Please tell her hi for me! Or rather, "Здравствуйте!" (I clearly cheated and looked that up!) xoxoxo!
I'm still not sure if I'll be continuing the story...but you never know!
Thanks so much for your kind letter and for sharing my work with your sister. Please tell her hi for me! Or rather, "Здравствуйте!" (I clearly cheated and looked that up!) xoxoxo!
Cece Bell
Hi Mariana! Thanks for your question, and thanks for saying you enjoyed the book!
It took about 5 years to write and draw...though some of that time was spent finishing other projects. Those graphic novels can really be a ton of work.
Yikes!
Happy reading to you!
It took about 5 years to write and draw...though some of that time was spent finishing other projects. Those graphic novels can really be a ton of work.
Yikes!
Happy reading to you!
Cece Bell
I spend a lot of my summer staring into space! So I'm not sure. But here's what's on my bedside table: China Dolls by Lisa See; The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas; The Philharmonic Gets Dressed by Karla Kuskin and Marc Simont (I've already read it but will probably read it again!); Prince Ombra by Roderick Macleish; and Hillbilly Elegy by J. D. Vance.
I hope to get my mitts on a few graphic novels...especially Shannon Hale's new one.
And hopefully I'll also just look at books about illustrators and other creators that feature lots of pictures. And stare into space.
I hope you have a great summer!
I hope to get my mitts on a few graphic novels...especially Shannon Hale's new one.
And hopefully I'll also just look at books about illustrators and other creators that feature lots of pictures. And stare into space.
I hope you have a great summer!
Cece Bell
What an unusual question! I'm not sure I can think of anything too mysterious. The only thing that comes to mind is "how come I always get tangled up in stuff like Christmas tree lights and yarn and the garden hose"? Even Sherlock could not puzzle that one out!
Cece Bell
Hi Kirsten!
Thanks so much for your note. I'm thrilled that you enjoyed El Deafo, especially as you are on the "same team" as I am, hee hee! I was a Girl Scout too and loved it. Are you guys singing "Barges" with the altered lyrics as in El Deafo? Ha ha, just kidding. I'm not sure yet what I'm gonna do about future books with d/hh characters...I go back and forth r.e. an El Deafo 2...I dunno. I get wishier and washier the older I get! But if you read some of my other books, there are some similar themes in there about acceptance (i.e. Bee-Wigged), or about communication difficulties (i.e. Rabbit & Robot and Ribbit). We shall see! Tell your Scouts hi for me! Live by the Girl Scout Law!
Thanks so much for your note. I'm thrilled that you enjoyed El Deafo, especially as you are on the "same team" as I am, hee hee! I was a Girl Scout too and loved it. Are you guys singing "Barges" with the altered lyrics as in El Deafo? Ha ha, just kidding. I'm not sure yet what I'm gonna do about future books with d/hh characters...I go back and forth r.e. an El Deafo 2...I dunno. I get wishier and washier the older I get! But if you read some of my other books, there are some similar themes in there about acceptance (i.e. Bee-Wigged), or about communication difficulties (i.e. Rabbit & Robot and Ribbit). We shall see! Tell your Scouts hi for me! Live by the Girl Scout Law!
Cece Bell
What an interesting question! Maybe Margaret Hale and John Thornton in Elizabeth Gaskell's book North and South. Or Anna Madrigal and Edgar Halcyon in Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City. OR Mary and Dicken in The Secret Garden. Do they count? xoxo!
Cece Bell
Hi Liv! Thanks for writing, and especially for reading my book. That means a lot! The book was hard to do in that it took a long time (5 years) and it really pushed my drawing skills (sometimes more than I wanted to be pushed). But it was easy to write because I really knew the story so well, as it's my own story. It was a pretty neat project, I can tell you that! Happy reading to you!
XOXO
Cece
XOXO
Cece
Cece Bell
Boy oh boy it would be cool to collaborate with Raina. But I imagine she gets requests like this all the time...and she'd be driven insane by how slow I am at drawing. You'll have to ask Raina what she thinks! Raina is AWESOME, by the way. The best!
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