John Moore

Nobrow Press - Book Club Q&A with Ditching Saskia Author John Moore John Moore, author of YA graphic novel Ditching Saskia, recently visited The Children’s Bookshop in Muswell Hill, London. There, he answered a series of brilliant questions posed by readers from..

John Moore, author of YA graphic novel Ditching Saskia, visited The Children's Bookshop London to answer questions posed by readers from their Book Club! Thank you to the Children's Bookshop team for allowing us to share the full Q&A on our blog:

Thank you! I hope you enjoy it! 🤩

⭐️ Meet the characters of Ditching Saskia! ⭐️

📖 Ditching Saskia by John Moore and Neetols
https://buff.ly/3ZTYXGV

A heart-warming, supernatural slice-of-life YA graphic novel that weaves together tough, everyday themes of identity, grief, and accepting flaws in those we love.

Nobrow Press - Book Club Q&A with Ditching Saskia Author John Moore John Moore, author of YA graphic novel Ditching Saskia, recently visited The Children’s Bookshop in Muswell Hill, London. There, he answered a series of brilliant questions posed by readers from..

Did a Q&A for the very clever kids of the Children’s Bookshop, Muswell Hill, London 😁

#Author #Writing #GraphicNovel

flyingeyebooks.com/book-club-qa...

It’s a world I loved writing, not just for its emotional possibilities, but for the weird, ridiculous corners that presented themselves.

#GraphicNovel #WorldBuilding #DitchingSaskia #BehindTheScenes #Author

At one point, I reluctantly considered cutting these pages to save space but thanks to @neetols.bsky.social incredible art, they got saved by condensing them into visually packed, character-driven moments (giving Damian’s Grandfather some much deserved page time!).

which resulted in us deciding the best outlet: Trashy TV! 📺

While the plot explores how the flower could be used positively, we imagined how real media might exploit it: reality shows & sensational news. These pages became a blast to write & added to the world-building without slowing the story.

I also didn’t want characters sitting around explaining the magic of the flower. But how do you show its impact without long-winded dialogue?

Early drafts stuck to subtle background details like posters or plot-driven moments until my brilliant editor Niamh encouraged me to have more fun with it…

🌸 Behind the Scenes - World-Building

World building isn't just for fantasy epics!

The central premise of Ditching Saskia is simple: What if a special flower could bring back someone’s spirit? But crafting a world where that’s true (and still feels grounded) was the creative challenge.

👏 When your editor knows you're a lifelong @tottenhamhotspur.com fan so secretly sneaks in loads of Spurs references.

A great surprise when I got the book!

Niamh, you're truly the Son Heung-min of editing ⚽

#coys #tottenham #writing

Swipe to see a script snippet and final panels!
P.S. thanks to @flyingeyebooks.bsky.social for trusting me to write a book!

#GraphicNovel #MakingComics #WritingProcess #DitchingSaskia #IndieComics #CreativeCollaboration

Collaboration is about trust—knowing your strengths and letting others show off all their shiny talent. Together, we built something better than I could have done alone. 🖤 (obviously, I can't draw)

For example:
💡 A simple line like “Saskia bursts out laughing” turned into three dynamic panels showing her face transition from horror to laughter.
💡 We wanted nature to play a big role, and their dialogue-over-environment compositions created an atmospheric vibe I confess I didn’t script.

This sparks the story’s primary conflict in 2 pages—how Damian is going to be attempting to ditch Saskia, & how she's going to be a fierce opponent.

✨ The Collaboration:
Working with @neetols.bsky.social was an absolute dream. Their creative instincts elevated the story beyond anything I imagined.

✨ Setting the Scene:
Early on, we need to establish two key dynamics:
1️⃣ Damian doesn’t want the responsibility of looking after Saskia, but his better nature shows up when it’s challenged.
2️⃣ Saskia isn’t the innocent child in distress you expect. She’s a force of chaos who refuses to take the hint.

Graphic novels are mostly images! "So did you even write anything?!" ...yes :(

I wrote the script in a screenplay format because graphic novels and movies share a lot, turning words into visuals. The goal? Simplicity. No unnecessary details—just a blueprint for the illustrator to work their magic.

What Does Writing a Graphic Novel Look Like? 🤔✍️

It’s a question I get a lot, so let me take you behind the scenes of how Ditching Saskia came to life!

(A thread)

The older pokemon games have always been my go to comfort games - taps into my childhood nostalgia! I'm glad your dad's ok now!

For me, the only part that stands out from writing every day is that it demystifies and normalises the process so you're less scared to write poorly. The quicker you stop being precious about writing, and allow for mistakes, the easier it becomes to write your best work.

Ditching Saskia featured in @theguardian.com ! 🤩

Thank you for including Ditching Saskia! 🤩

found the rough sketches i did for the cover of ditching saskia

Hi Bluesky 👋

📚📖 Lots of lovely comments about the book since launch last month! Here's just a small collection of them 🤩 Thank you all!