Instagram sensation and webcomic superstar Cassandra Calin joins Zibby to discuss her debut graphic novel, THE NEW GIRL, a comically charming story about change, inspired by her own immigration experience. Cassandra shares what it was like to move from Romania to Canada at the age of 10 and then delves into her book's themes of cultural adjustment, puberty, and personal growth, as experienced through the eyes of her 12-year-old protagonist, Lia. Cassandra discusses her journey into drawing, the experience of growing meteorically on social media, and the creative process behind the creation of this novel.

Transcript:

Zibby: Welcome, Cassandra. Thank you so much for coming on Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books to discuss your graphic novel, The New Girl.

Congratulations. 

Cassandra: Thank you. Thank you for having me. 

Zibby: As I was just saying to you, my daughter, who is 11, is obsessed with this book, loved it so much and told me about it, which is why we're here. And then I did dive into you and I'm like, oh my gosh, how would I not even, how did I not know all of this already?

So that's the great thing about being a mom. My kids introduced me to the coolest stuff. 

Cassandra: Oh, that's awesome. 

Zibby: So can you please tell listeners what your book is about? 

Cassandra: Yeah, so to summarize a little bit, the book is inspired by my own immigration experience. I am born in Romania and I immigrated to Canada when I was about 10 years old, but the main character, Lia, is 12.

And during that time, I also went through my first period and puberty. So all these changes were happening at once. You know, new home, new school, new friends, new language that I didn't speak at all, and also new body. So all of these changes. Thrown at me at once and you know going to a new school and moving somewhere else is not easy to begin with so Leah had so many things to deal with throughout her journey and that's what the book is about how she tackles those changes and how she is on her journey to acceptance.

Zibby: Why did your family come to Canada? 

Cassandra: Because, well, in Romania, the situation was not that great. You know, there's a lot of corruption and also it was just after communism and the conditions, the living conditions were not great. Economically wise, it was not great. And my parents always wanted to immigrate and our options were either Australia or Montreal.

And my parents chose Montreal because all of their friends decided to move there, so we kind of came as a big community here. 

Zibby: Ah. 

Cassandra: And, uh, yeah, it all turned out very smoothly. 

Zibby: Wow. So then did you have to learn French and English? 

Cassandra: So English I knew a little bit, because growing up we had a lot of cartoons in English.

We had Cartoon Network, we had all those channels, and they were subbed, they were not dubbed. So we were listening to English constantly. And French, I had Zero knowledge. I just knew how to say hello, my name is Cassandra, and I'm 10 years old, or 12 years old, or whatever my age is, yeah. 

Zibby: So how, how did you get through that, and how does Leah get through that, and how can other people, it's a, you know, about to be the start of a new school year, what, Is the secret to getting through a period of a lot of change, especially for someone at age group.

Cassandra: Well, I was fortunate enough to have a welcome class, which is basically a class where immigrant students all come and no one speaks French. So we're all on the same boat. And that kind of helps because you got to have to navigate the language in the same way. You know, if one of your classmates doesn't speak French, but they speak a different language from you. You have to talk through gestures or through translation apps or you kind of have to figure it out. But it kind of reassures you because you're not the one standing out. We're all on the same boat. So that really helped. Fortunately. 

Zibby: I feel like one of the things about this age group in particular in this time of transition is that it feels like it's happening to you.

And yet to everyone, but it, everybody can be, I remember being very self conscious about everything that was going on. 

Cassandra: Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Especially at that age. I feel like you're Very aware of everything that's happening, and especially if you're moving to a new place, it's such a big change. 

Zibby: Wow. Did you always draw?

When did drawing and illustrating and all that become an outlet for you? 

Cassandra: Oh yeah, I started drawing since I was a toddler. I think I was not even one years old. I basically, as soon as I could hold a pencil, I was drawing all the time. And I even drew on my parents furniture, and fortunately, they were cool about it, but at first they were, you know, a bit, you know, taken aback to see their furniture with a lot of scribbles everywhere.

But I was fortunate to have really encouraging parents and they always wanted me to pursue, to do whatever I love. So they really, uh, they were happy that I had a passion for art and they encouraged it and they bought me pencils all the time. And I even had a drawing table when I was little and I had a bunch of sketchbooks.

So, yeah, I started drawing since I was little and I never stopped. 

Zibby: That's amazing. You have like almost 3 million followers on Instagram. How, what happened and when did that happen? I read a little bit about how you were sharing your webcomic series and obviously very funny and you not wanting to get out of bed and your crazy hair and all the stuff, all the illustrations.

Cassandra: Yes, as you can see. 

Zibby: It's funny now. 

Cassandra: Oh, thank you. 

Zibby: But how did that all happen? And what has that whole experience been like for you? 

Cassandra: So I started making webcomics when I was in college. It was back when Tumblr was very big. So if you posted on Tumblr, you would most likely get reposted and, you know, reblogs and all that jazz.

So I was in college, I was kind of bored and I wanted to share my art with people because I was always drawing for myself. And someone suggested just go on Tumblr. It's great. And I shared my first comic there. And it blew up, it circulated so much, and I wasn't expecting that. So then I thought, okay, maybe I could do something with this.

So I just kept making those kinds of webcomics, which are about my daily life, um, beauty, hair, relationships, all that good stuff. And it kind of just went gradually and naturally, I grew an audience and then I started to post my stuff on Instagram and same thing, just organically grew. And here I am. 

Zibby: Oh my gosh.

What is the difference, and this is probably a stupid question, a webcomic versus a regular comic? Is the length the same? Is it like a comic strip that used to be in the newspaper? Is there a different format? 

Cassandra: Well, webcomic is in the term, it's on the web. So it's really purely digital. And also I think it's shorter form.

I don't know if there are longer webcomics. Maybe I'm wrong on that, but it's mostly, you know, four or five, six panels maybe. The punchline is right at the end, pretty quick, uh, versus a comic that is an entire book and you have to read and it's pretty short. You can have multiple comics, right? Multiple books, it's a series, more long form.

So yeah, I think that's the main difference. 

Zibby: So if there's somebody starting out today who's talented but hasn't really found their audience yet, what are your tips? Or is it too different since you're, you started at a different time? Like what would you suggest? 

Cassandra: I still think social media is a great way to start.

I think that if you are passionate about drawing, you know, don't be afraid to try it out and try Instagram, whatever there is. Facebook, I guess. I don't know if it's still big. I never use it, but you know, just put your work out there. And I think that is always a good idea. And of course, you know, with the algorithm, things can change.

So you really have to adapt, you know, now Instagram, it's a lot more reels. So let's say you like to draw, then maybe make speed drawings or make, I don't know, uh, some, some sort of animation video, you know, you really have to adapt based on what's, currently popular, but I just know that if you like what you do, it will show and people will be, you will attract people because they will see that you enjoy what you do.

So, you know, that's always a good thing. 

Zibby: Wow. You have any questions? 

Zibby's Daughter: Um, no. 

Zibby: I asked a bunch. 

Zibby's Daughter: I can't think of 

Zibby: Anything about the art, her pencils, what she is. 

Zibby's Daughter: How long did it take to make the book? 

Cassandra: So the book took about three years from, you know, from the concept to the script, to the sketches, to the final.

It's a lot of back and forth. It's a lot of teamwork. It wasn't just me. So, you know, I had an editor, I had people at Scholastic who were commenting and helping me out. There was the design team and we designed the cover together. So it's quite a process. It doesn't seem like it, but it's about two or three years at least.

Zibby: Wow. 

Zibby's Daughter: That's amazing. I would not have the patience. 

Cassandra: No patience. I think once you're in it, it's a lot easier because, yeah, at first it's daunting, but once you're in the rhythm, it kind of just, you don't see time passing as much. 

Zibby: As soon as she finished it, she asked me to look up to see if there was another book in the series and how many books were in the series and when could she get them.

But then we sadly found out that there were no other books to buy in the series yet, so are there going to be a book? 

Cassandra: Yes. 

Zibby: And when? 

Cassandra: Yes, we kind of spoiled it because on the website, whenever you buy the book, it says book one. 

Zibby: I saw that. I did. 

Cassandra: Yeah, we spoiled it indirectly, but yes, there will be a book too.

And I'm working on it right now. Actually, I have it right next to me here. 

Zibby: Can we see it? Can we see it? 

Cassandra: I don't think I can show, but yeah, it's on my computer and I'm currently sketching. Yeah. 

Zibby: Wow. And do you do all your sketching on the computer or by hand? 

Cassandra: So I do my thumbnail sketches by hand. Thumbnail sketches is like very small, quick sketches to make sure that each page is organized and what the panels will be, what the scene is about.

But the main sketches, it's on the computer and everything else is on the computer too. 

Zibby: And what program do you use to do that? 

Cassandra: I use Photoshop, but I want to try something new too. I want to try Procreate at some point, but Photoshop for now is really good. 

Zibby: When you're writing the script, since you're the one drawing it, like, do you already have something in mind and how much detail do you put in to the outline versus like, cause actually the two of us are trying to write our own graphic novel to be perfect.

Cassandra: Oh, cool. Okay. 

Zibby: Which has been really fun. Uh, and each time we have a scene, we kind of write a couple of things like, She's sitting here or whatever. Like, how do you know how to craft the scene in the right way? And what are some of the tricks of the trade? 

Cassandra: So one trick I have also is to have a timeline and I have actually a schedule in front of me and to make sure that the story flows you have to make sure that it's happening at the right time and I even have Leah's period schedule, so whenever she gets her period to make sure that it's consistent I have it all written down in the calendar.

Um, so that's really important to keep the continuity of the story. And also how I write my script is basically I try to visualize it. So I kind of have the scene in my head as a visual and I just write down whatever's in my head. Even if, let's say it doesn't really make sense, like as a conversation, but I just write it down, have it there, and then go back to it and see, okay, maybe we can tweak this, and maybe we can do this. Just basically writing whatever's in your head really helps, and then going back to it after. And especially going back the next day, not right after, because sometimes with a fresh eye you can see things differently.

Zibby: Do you have a vision of how long the series will be, or how many books will be in it, or is there something that you already know where you want to happen to like, finalize the series, or is this just you're gonna do it as long as you can? 

Cassandra: I'd love to do it for a longer time. I'd like to see her even as an adult, like, growing up.

I don't know. I have so many ideas in my head, so we'll see how it goes. But I even have ideas for her summer vacation and, you know, what is she going to do in summer and what's going to happen? And I don't know. I have a lot of ideas. We'll see. But I can't say more than that. 

Zibby: Okay. 

Zibby's Daughter: Um, do you have any more questions? Yeah, I'm trying to think. 

Zibby: What about something, some, one of the characters or something in the actual book? Are all the characters going to come back? 

Cassandra: Yes, they will. 

Zibby's Daughter: When, I forget his name, but um, the, the other boy from Romania at school. Yeah. Like that, who like, was from the same place, but kind of like, ditched you.

Zibby: Good question. 

Cassandra: Sorry. I didn't hear that. 

Zibby: She said, was there someone who also came from Romania, but ditched you in the same way that it happened to Leah? 

Cassandra: So it wasn't as harsh. I did exaggerate that detail a little bit, but yes, I had someone in my class who was from Romania, but their assimilation experience was different.

They were a lot more open to the idea of moving and they were just a lot more open minded in general. And I kind of wanted to show that everyone has a different experience when they immigrate. It's not just one way, you know, Leah was a bit overwhelmed. She was taken aback. She wanted to go back home, but some kids they're actually excited and they see it as an opportunity "hey, like Canada's cool". We can see so many things. I've never been to North America. I can travel around and see the United States. I don't know. Like some kids see it differently and I've known kids like that too. So I wanted to show that experience. It's just as valid. 

Zibby: What has it been like connecting with readers?

Cassandra: It's been great. I've been loving seeing parents commenting and saying that their kids have been reading the book like 10 times, 20 times in a row and someone even said that their daughter was talking to them as if they were spilling tea about their own friends. Like, Oh, look what happened. Look what she did. Look what happened between those people. And I love that. I think it's so cool. It's so awesome that younger readers are engaged and they're actually reading the book and enjoying it because my audience is mostly young adults, adults for my webcomics. So it's nice to, you know, reach a broader audience with this book.

Zibby: That's amazing. 

Well, what advice do you have for aspiring authors? 

Cassandra: Oh, I always get this question and I feel like. I never know how to answer it properly because I think really, when you write a book, you really have to just trust the process, commit to it. Sometimes it can be daunting. Sometimes it can be, you know, you have ups and downs, you have days when you don't want to do it.

When you're just thinking, why am I doing this? Like I could do something that's taking way less time and is way less you know, energy draining maybe, but just trust the process. It is worth it in the end, you know, this book, like I couldn't be more proud of it and it came out. Even better than I expected.

So I think that, you know, if you're, if you're an author and you truly enjoy what you do, go for it. Trust the process and trust that it'll be a great product in the end. 

Zibby: Amazing. 

And did you do all the coloring and all of it too? Do you color everything? 

Cassandra: Yes. Yeah, everything, everything from the ink, the color, everything.

Zibby: So impressive. I mean, because you have so many, what is this, how do you decide how many things to have on the same page versus not? Do you know what I mean? Like some of your pages have like eight boxes and some of them have fewer and some have words and you know, all of that. How do you decide? 

Cassandra: It really depends.

Let's say I want to show an emotion and I want to emphasize it. Maybe I add more panels because I want to really get the reader in it. Like if Leah's feeling sad, I want them to actually get in that scene and feel for her. Or if let's say the scene is a bit at a slower pace, then we're going to add more panels just to make it breathe a little bit.

If it's faster paced, then obviously we're going to add a lot of panels at once and a lot of things happening at once. Just do like fast forward, right? So it really depends how you want the story to flow, what the scene is about, what the emotions are in that scene. Those all play a factor. 

Zibby: There's a scene where Leah gets her period and she's in excruciating pain.

I feel like she might need to see a doctor or something, but anyway, she said nothing about this pain is easing and you just can't help but, you know, really feel for her in this moment. What was the situation that put you in a lot of pain like this? 

Cassandra: Oh, so I've had terrible cramps all of my life, uh, since I got my first period.

And I just know that that pain can feel so isolating and so, you're so vulnerable in that moment because you don't even know what to do. You you're kind of just, and you saw on the bed, she's doing like so many positions trying to make herself comfortable, but nothing works. And I really wanted to illustrate that feeling of you're desperate for that pain to go away and you don't even know what to do.

You're just trying your best and going through it and it feels like it takes forever, even though it's like maybe an hour or two, but it just feels awful. And I wanted to show that. 

Zibby: It is amazing. Any other questions? 

Zibby's Daughter: No, I don't have any more questions. 

Zibby: Do you have plans for more adult books coming? 

Cassandra: For now, no, because this is my main focus, but I would love to do maybe something with animation in the future or, you know, something a bit different.

I always look for new projects and new challenges, so anything creative, I'm up for it. So we'll see. 

Zibby: By animation do you mean, like, A TV show about her? 

Cassandra: Maybe TV show. Yeah. That would be great if that could happen. If not just short animations or a movie. I don't know yet, but I'm open to anything. 

Zibby: Okay. Well, that's it then.

Thank you so much. I really appreciate you coming on. Thank you for all of the advice, making my daughter and all the girls out there feel like they have someone who's their friend who they haven't even met until now because we got to meet you. So it's really wonderful. 

Cassandra: I'm curious what your graphic novel will be about if you can share a little bit, uh, like a general.

Zibby: Yeah, we can share. Yeah. You want to share? 

Zibby's Daughter: So it's basically about these girls who... Don't have very much. 

Zibby: Wait, I know, but just the premise of it. 

Zibby's Daughter: Well, so, uh. 

Zibby: Give her the title. 

Cassandra: No spoilers. 

Zibby's Daughter: It's called Diary Hunters. 

Cassandra: Okay. 

Zibby's Daughter: It's about these girls who, um, they're all friends from school and they stumble into their mom's, her, um, one of their, the girl's mom's office to look for the dot, uh, for yearbooks, but they come across her mom's diaries.

And when they start reading, they get sucked back in time to when, uh, they're, uh, they're Their mom, uh, her mom was her age. 

Cassandra: Oh, okay. Oh, interesting. 

Zibby's Daughter: So we have SOPA. 

Cassandra: Yeah. Oh, that's fun. 

Zibby: It's about this group of girls and one of their younger brothers, and they can go back in time to their mom's, through their mom's diaries.

And the whole point of it is that the girls realize that the mom. That they're, they're more similar than they thought and it helps repair their relationship and makes them feel less alone. So. 

Cassandra: Yeah, I love a mom daughter relationship type of stories. I feel like they're always so much fun to read. Oh,.. 

Zibby: We're working on it.

Cassandra: Yeah. 

Zibby: Working with an illustrator. 

Cassandra: Oh, that's fun. 

Zibby: Yeah. We're just having a good time. 

Cassandra: Are you planning to make it a series or just one book or? 

Zibby's Daughter: We were planning to make a series. 

Cassandra: Okay. 

Zibby: We thought it would be cool if all the girls could do it, because there are four girls. 

Cassandra: Oh, that's fun. Okay. 

Zibby: So maybe a, you know, a collection of four books, one from each of their 

Cassandra: Oh, that's awesome.

Zibby: Yeah. 

Cassandra: Yeah. 

Zibby: That's the goal over time. But, you know, 

Cassandra: I'd love to read it. I'd love to read it. 

Zibby: Thank you. Well, we can send you what we have. 

Cassandra: Awesome. Yeah. I'm a huge fan of graphic novels. So, yeah. Awesome. 

Zibby: Amazing. Well, thank you so much, Cassandra. So impressed by you in every way. And, uh, thank you for spending the time with both of us today.

Cassandra: Yeah. Thank you for having me. 

Zibby: Okay. Take care. All right. 

Cassandra: Okay. Take care too. 

Zibby: Bye. Thanks for listening to Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books. If you love it, please leave a review and follow us on social at Zivi Owens and at Zivi Readers.