To Dance the Moon and Stars by illustrator Tasia M S and Eisner Award-nominated, award-winning and bestselling queer writer Barbara Perez Marquez is available now at a local bookstore and/or public library near you. The graphic novel is the story of a future high priestess from a world where dancing is forbidden must break the rules so as to put a halt to an ancient evil, or risk losing everything… including the crown prince.
Comics Beat caught up with Tasia and Barbara over email to learn more about the romantasy graphic novel. We asked about the creative catalyst for the story, about the collaborative process in which the two creators engaged, and about the inspirations behind To Dance the Moon and Stars. And if you’re interested in reading a excerpt of the graphic novel here at The Beat, you can click here now.
AVERY KAPLAN: What was the creative catalyst for this graphic novel?
TASIA M S: I wanted to make a graphic novel for what felt like forever. My first idea was a coming-of-age story set at a witch school, but no matter how many times I reworked it, it just never fully came alive. At some point, I had to stop trying to make it happen and let myself follow what felt more natural. That led me back to the stories I loved most growing up: fairytales. I’ve always been drawn to that dreamy, magical feeling where everything feels more beautiful than real life. I really wanted to bring that sense of wonder into To Dance the Moon and Stars and make something that felt nostalgic, but still completely my own.
AVERY: Can you share some details about your collaborative process with our readers?
TASIA: The project actually became much more collaborative than I expected. I started by writing a rough draft of the story and putting together some sample pages for my editor. She really loved the concept, but felt the story itself still needed a little more room to grow. My agent suggested bringing on a co-writer, and because I was completely new to making a graphic novel, I was very open to having someone guide me through that process. Working with Barbara ended up being incredibly valuable. She helped me take the story I had in my head and expand it into a proper comic script, which then became the blueprint for the artwork. It was such an interesting process of passing the story back and forth, building on each other’s ideas, and watching it become something much fuller than I could have made on my own.
BARBARA PEREZ MARQUEZ: When we entered the scripting phase, we also found worldbuild elements that we needed to cement along the way to make the world feel as lush and full as possible even if they were secondary to the main storyline. Being able to shape things at that level with a collaborator is an outstanding creative exercise and I feel really fortunate that Tasia was so willing to work through things and trust in the elements that I brought into it as well.
AVERY: What went into the process of worldbuilding for To Dance the Moon and Stars?
TASIA: The worldbuilding was honestly one of my favorite parts of the entire process. I spent a lot of time researching folklore and myths from different cultures, looking for those little details that could make the world feel both familiar and completely its own. I also pulled so much inspiration from nature, historical fashion, architecture, and the art of classic fairytales.
BARBARA: In addition, when it came to the staging of the dance scenes and the stage play we see later in the book, a lot of that research came super handy to pull elements from different traditions and even time periods. Those of course helped the cultural worldbuild of the story, but we also spent quite some time thinking about the social, political, and even some of the economical systems within the story. I think even if many of those just informed our own decisions while working on the book, they still exist in the margins of it for the attentive reader to explore.
AVERY: Tasia, welcome to the wonderful world of sequential art! How does working on a comic compare with your previous creative endeavors?
TASIA: Thank you so much! One of the things I loved most about working on a comic was getting to really play with the pacing of a story. With illustration, you’re often trying to capture a moment in a single image, and so much is left for the viewer to imagine. With comics, you get to guide them through it a little more, deciding when a moment lingers, how an emotion builds, or even where a page turn can add a tiny bit of drama to make you continue reading! It was such a different way of thinking creatively, and I ended up loving that challenge. It felt like I was finally bringing together two things I’ve always loved: illustration and storytelling!
AVERY: Can you tell us a bit about your artistic process for this graphic novel? Is there any aspect of the art of which you are particularly proud?
TASIA: I gathered a lot of visual inspiration and I would often build simple 3D scenes to help me work out the composition and lighting before painting over them. It became a really useful way to keep the world feeling cohesive, especially across such a long project with so many different scenes. More than anything, I’m proud that I finished A BOOK! Making an entire graphic novel is such an undertaking, and I learned so much about both art and storytelling along the way. Looking back, there are definitely things I’d love to refine or approach differently now, but I think that’s part of finishing something this big, you come out of it as a different artist than when you started. I’m really proud of how much I grew through the process, and I’m excited to bring everything I learned into the next book.
AVERY: What do you view as the central themes for To Dance the Moon and Stars? Transition of power, the magic of dance, or…?
TASIA: I think at its heart, the story is about the tension between duty and passion. It’s about characters learning who they are when the expectations placed on them don’t align with what they truly want.
BARBARA: Alongside that, I think that brings a healthy amount of concepts of determination and the ability to adapt and shift as we pursue our goals. I think that of course feels very aligned with themes you would find in a fairytale, which is truly such an amazing synergy both of us were excited about.
AVERY: What made it important to center dance in this graphic novel?
TASIA: I think that came from something very personal for me. Growing up, I wasn’t allowed to take dance classes, so dance became something I admired and longed for from a distance. I think that feeling of wanting something naturally found its way into the story. At the same time, dance feels incredibly universal. Across so many cultures, people have used it to connect and express things that are sometimes too difficult to put into words. I loved the idea of taking something personal to me and letting it become part of the language of freedom in the story.
AVERY: Were there any particular comics (or music, prose, or any other form of media) that were particularly inspirational for you in working on To Dance the Moon and Stars?
TASIA: I pulled inspiration from all over. I revisited fantasy films I grew up loving, like Cinderella, Aladdin, Tangled, Stardust, The Princess Bride, and Studio Ghibli films. Music was a big influence too. I grew up during a huge K-pop era, so that naturally influenced how I imagined the dance scenes. For comics, I read a lot of YA and shōjo manga and in general I’m just a huge fan of anything with romance!
BARBARA: During scripting I was watching Bridgerton on loop and reading romance novels (which isn’t much farther from my usual haha). In terms of music, I tend to write to instrumental music, so I tried to focus on ballroom dance tracks to keep it as atmospheric as possible for myself.
AVERY: Can you tell us about what you have in store next?
TASIA: I’m currently working on my next graphic novel, and this time I’m attempting to write it on my own (wish me luck!) I’m incredibly grateful for everything I learned while collaborating on To Dance the Moon and Stars. The process taught me so much about storytelling, pacing, and writing for comics, and it gave me the confidence to take the next step and try doing it myself. I’m really excited to see where it takes me!
BARBARA: On the young adult side, I’m fiddling with a teen romance set during a Summer job and characters at rival schools, but more immediately I have a middle grade graphic novel coming out next titled The Library of Memories.
AVERY: Is there anything else you’d like me to include?
TASIA: Just a thank you to everyone who’s supported To Dance the Moon and Stars.Making a graphic novel was something I dreamed about for a long time, and seeing it finally out in the world has been equal parts nerve-wrecking and special! I hope readers connect with its message that it’s never too late to choose the life that feels true to you.
BARBARA: I’m excited for this story to find its readers and hopefully make them fans of fairytales as much as us.
To Dance the Moon and Stars is available now at a local bookstore and/or public library near you now.
