During the editing of a book the author has to occasionally steel themselves and kill a few darlings. Out goes a treasured joke for the sake of keeping the story moving. Sometimes you swing the scythe a little too freely and the editor will suggest you reinstate a bit of silliness they treasure. If a book's supposed to be funny there's not much point removing all the jokes.
Sometimes the author will cling to their own favourite moment through multiple drafts. It might have no great bearing on the story, communicate an emotionally charged line of dialogue or even do much more than delight the author for reasons they're not sure of themselves. Nevertheless it has to stay in the book.
The three panels of the middle tier of Page 82 of Punycorn Book 1 (out now in the US, Jan 4th UK) is probably my favourite of the whole story. But what about that ridiculous double page spread with a thousand goblins?, you say. Showboating. True cartooning is capturing a pose or moment just right. Punycorn tossing away the toilet brush is just such a moment for me. I was worried I'd lose that energy as I moved to inks. Quick sketches often capture the essence better than finished work.
Here's the three stages of Page 82 (minus the weeping, swearing and tea drinking).
Punycorn published by HarperCollins
Blackwells/ WHSmith/ B&N/ BAM!/ Bookshop.org/ Hudson/ Target/ Walmart/ Amazon/ AmazonUK
Hardcover : 224 pages
ISBN-10 : 0358571995
ISBN-13 : 978-0358571995
Reading age : 8 - 12 years
You can read more about the making of Punycorn, from pitch to publication over at my patreon.
And if you read and enjoyed the book please leave a positive review online where editors will read them and continue to pay me to make more books in the spirit of generosity and kindness that publishing is known for.
I now have a bunch of my books on Kindle. Dumped, Breakfast After Noon, The City Never Sleeps (short story sampler), Super Hero Pink(previously Gum Girl...it's a long story), Glister and Princess Decomposia.
I have DRM-free PDF versions of more of my backlist on Ko-fi and Gumroad
I still have books out in the world: Sunburn, Paris, Kerry and the Knight of the Forest & the awards nominated The Book Tour. Support my efforts through my store – digital comics – patreon or by leaving a positive review online.