Right after reading When Marnie Was There, when Sam E. Moon was chasing bubbles of inspiration, what happened?
Despite having studied creative writing for half of her life, Sam E. Moon had never completed a story before. She had no idea where to begin, or that the vast majority of ideas she wrote down would stay as that, just ideas on paper.
January 15th, 2021.
An illustration Sam
E. Moon made to
learn how to paint
with a tablet.
At first, Sam E. Moon envisioned the story to be a magical girl-esque journey. Luna would travel to the city with Cassi to find a necromancer and bring her friend back to life. This stayed for the second version of the story, when she wrote 30 chapters for a romance novel contest.
The differences between the first and second version were that Julia (more on her on another page) had to be erased from the story, and the law enforcer/hunter system didn't exist in the beginning.
At first, Sam E. Moon envisioned the story to be a magical girl-esque journey. Luna would travel to the city with Cassi to find a necromancer and bring her friend back to life. This stayed for the second version of the story, when she wrote 30 chapters for a romance novel contest.
The differences between the first and second version were that Julia (more on her on another page) had to be erased from the story, and the law enforcer/hunter system didn't exist in the beginning.
September 6th, 2021.
Fanart made by Sam
E. Moon to
learn how to paint
with a tablet.
[The drawing was scanned from paper]
Claire was meant to be a throwaway character; a parallelism to a small scene in When Marnie Was There. Luna's 'stiff mask' would slip at the sight of an attractive woman. Alas, she made herself an identity in the author's mind, until managing to become a character almost as important as Luna herself.
After losing the contest, Sam E. Moon's life demanded more attention than the book. This took up over half the year of 2024. Worry not, as these lived experiences would shape the book as we know it now. This pause was essential to find the reason to exist for 'Ghost Girl' Phantasma, and it was reflected in its new name.
Claire was meant to be a throwaway character; a parallelism to a small scene in When Marnie Was There. Luna's 'stiff mask' would slip at the sight of an attractive woman. Alas, she made herself an identity in the author's mind, until managing to become a character almost as important as Luna herself.
After losing the contest, Sam E. Moon's life demanded more attention than the book. This took up over half the year of 2024. Worry not, as these lived experiences would shape the book as we know it now. This pause was essential to find the reason to exist for 'Ghost Girl' Phantasma, and it was reflected in its new name.
September 6th, 2021.
Fanart made by Sam
E. Moon to
learn how to paint
with a tablet.
[The drawing was scanned from paper]
Claire was meant to be a throwaway character; a parallelism to a small scene in When Marnie Was There. Luna's 'stiff mask' would slip at the sight of an attractive woman. Alas, she made herself an identity in the author's mind, until managing to become a character almost as important as Luna herself.
After losing the contest, Sam E. Moon's life demanded more attention than the book. This took up over half the year of 2024. Worry not, as these lived experiences would shape the book as we know it now. This pause was essential to find the reason to exist for 'Ghost Girl' Phantasma, and it was reflected in its new name.
Claire was meant to be a throwaway character; a parallelism to a small scene in When Marnie Was There. Luna's 'stiff mask' would slip at the sight of an attractive woman. Alas, she made herself an identity in the author's mind, until managing to become a character almost as important as Luna herself.
After losing the contest, Sam E. Moon's life demanded more attention than the book. This took up over half the year of 2024. Worry not, as these lived experiences would shape the book as we know it now. This pause was essential to find the reason to exist for 'Ghost Girl' Phantasma, and it was reflected in its new name.
Below you'll see a few pages of what were going to be a Paradiso Phantasma comic, as the author didn't even consider writing a book in the first place. Then she realized it'd be better as a book, given how heavy it is on perspective. These were made on November 11th, 2021.
Below you'll see a few pages of what were going to be a Paradiso Phantasma comic, as the author didn't even consider writing a book in the first place. Then she realized it'd be better as a book, given how heavy it is on perspective. These were made on November 11th, 2021.
As you can see, the author recycled these lines for the book.
The comic would start like this, never explicitly stating that her 'husband' had died. It'd then jump to the funeral, where we'd see how she interacts with her family. The empty pages were to be filled with drawings of her reactions.
As you can see, the author recycled these lines for the book.
The comic would start like this, never explicitly stating that her 'husband' had died. It'd then jump to the funeral, where we'd see how she interacts with her family. The empty pages were to be filled with drawings of her reactions.
Some pieces of paper full of ideas for 'Ghost Girl Phantasma' and Paradiso Phantasma over the years. Beware of spoilers if you zoom in, although if you've read the story, you'll appreciate just how many of these weren't added or suffered some type of change. It's the fate of 99% of ideas. A story will be what it has to be.
The 'horror chapter' was not added due to conflicts with the entire book. Its ghost remains in multiple lines of dialogue and even an entire page in one of the final chapters.
Some pieces of paper full of ideas for 'Ghost Girl Phantasma' and Paradiso Phantasma over the years. Beware of spoilers if you zoom in, although if you've read the story, you'll appreciate just how many of these weren't added or suffered some type of change. It's the fate of 99% of ideas. A story will be what it has to be.
The 'horror chapter' was not added due to conflicts with the entire book. Its ghost remains in multiple lines of dialogue and even an entire page in one of the final chapters.
The paper on top holds ideas written when Sam E. Moon first scrapped most of the chapters written for the contest. Half of it had to be censored, as they are ideas that will get used in the future. The paper below has ideas for the illustrations. They were harder to draw than they seem, so the author decided not to do so many. Then she came up with an excuse for it subtly reflected in the story itself.
The paper on top holds ideas written when Sam E. Moon first scrapped most of the chapters written for the contest. Half of it had to be censored, as they are ideas that will get used in the future. The paper below has ideas for the illustrations. They were harder to draw than they seem, so the author decided not to do so many. Then she came up with an excuse for it subtly reflected in the story itself.