The idea for Smitten came to me during a casual walk with my wife and son. We began daydreaming about having superpowers and imagining the incredible things we could do. While I initially thought about the power to transform into a wolf or possess the strength and fierceness of one, we wanted to explore something different. We brainstormed various animal ideas like kangaroos, ants, and squirrels, but when my wife mentioned cats, it kinda stuck with me.

Later that night, I scribbled down some rough notes. Although I felt there was potential, I had other things to do and set it aside for a few weeks. Usually, that would be the end of it, but this idea refused to fade away. I returned to my notes and started shaping the story. Somewhere along the way, the idea of turning it into a graphic novel struck me, and I couldn’t ignore it. That’s when it hit me—what if the hero was a cat? A cat with the ability to transform into a human at will. Inspired by the werewolf concept, I added a twist where the cat would involuntarily turn into a human during certain lunar phases, temporarily losing its feline abilities. This revelation made me realize I had stumbled upon something special. Since then, I’ve been diligently working on the story, rewriting and refining it into a coherent piece, with the potential for future instalments in the series.

However, there’s another reason why it has taken so long to bring Smitten to life. While I enjoy writing, I am no artist! If I was going to make this happen, I would need a talented partner to collaborate with. Creating a graphic novel requires a tremendous amount of effort and dedication from both the writer and the artist. Having previous experiences working with artists, I knew the challenges they faced and wanted to ensure a fair relationship from the start. So, I set out to find an artist who shared my vision.

During those early days, I held the hope of finding a partner who would be willing to work on Smitten without any upfront compensation. The idea was that we would sort out the details and financials once we secured a publishing deal. It may sound naive, but surprisingly, it worked to some extent. I connected with a young Russian artist in Berlin who showed great interest and made an effort but had to step away due to other commitments. Next, I found an incredibly talented artist from Poland, and we developed a close bond over the years. Unfortunately, he too had to reluctantly move on. Despite setbacks and the loss of several years, I remained determined. I decided to give it one final shot and reached out across the internet. That’s when I connected with Jorge Luis Juarez Villalva (also known as Zipactli), an immensely gifted artist from Mexico.

As fate would have it, Zipactli was actively seeking a new project to collaborate on, having previously contributed artwork to several novels. We quickly realized that pursuing my “magic solution” of creating the entire book and hoping for a publisher’s contract probably wouldn’t work. Instead, I agreed to pay upfront from my meagre savings to cover Zipactli for his artwork, and I would continue on with the story and in getting the book published. This way, the book would be ready and would only require funding for printing and distribution. It was undoubtedly a risk, but at that stage, I couldn’t resist taking the leap. Even in the worst-case scenario, we would have a completed book, making it easier to explore future opportunities.

So now to the present day. Whatever spare time I can muster, I spend trying to finish off the speech bubbles, and other design elements needed for the book. Although Zipactli and I hope to earn some money from it, our primary goal has always been to share this story with the world (because it’s really awesome!). We also have ambitious plans for a total of nine books, each representing one of Smitten’s nine lives. There is a long road ahead, but with your support and encouragement, we can hopefully turn this vision into a reality!