Astro & B.O.B.

Interview with the Author - Wayne Thomson

• Can you please introduce yourself? My name is Wayne Thomson and I am the author of Astro & B.O.B. I split my time between living in England and Guinea.

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• When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? I don’t think I ever thought of myself as a writer and still do not. I have full respect for true authors who weave together such complex story lines and characters in a novel. I think of myself more of a designer and someone who likes to teach. The words in the story are important, but so are the characters, the visual interactions, the comedy and facial expressions.

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• How long does it take you to write a book? There are 8 books planned for Astro & B.O.B. Series One and I have completed volumes 1 and 2 in 2025. Book 3 will be finished in the next 30 days. Some books develop faster than others and I’m not trying to rush or force the creative process. Each book has a scientific theme at the core of the storyline and graphics, and it takes time to decide how to share this in the unique style of Astro & B.O.B. so it feels natural and not like a school textbook.

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• What is your work schedule like when you’re writing? I have a very full-time job doing something completely different, so my work on Astro & B.O.B. is normally late at night once my world is calm. I do not have a set routine or schedule and for this first year it has been more like a hobby for me, but it is now beginning to turn serious and I am really motivated by how this is all coming together.

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• What would you say is your interesting writing quirk? The books are written as a script, a dialogue. The book series and the idea came from my love of reading with my daughter before her bedtime each night. We would read stories like Winnie the Pooh, Cat in the Hat, Room on the Broom. My daughter and I would take different characters each, have funny voices or accents and read together out loud acting it out. In my head, Astro & B.O.B. have very developed voices and personalities and I act out the lines and the interaction before I write anything down.

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• How do books get published? I started thinking self-publishing, but with a full-time job and family I realised I couldn’t give it the attention it needed. So I searched online for publishers, found a few sites with submission forms, and sent the manuscript (PDF) and a description to about five of them. They review in monthly batches, so you just submit and wait. One replied in three weeks, another took eight or nine. No phone calls, no quick route. I didn’t use an agent, didn’t really know much about them. Four out of five came back interested, and one took it forward. It’s slow and patient, but that’s the process.

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• Where do you get your information or ideas for your books? I’ve got the same core characters and premise from book one: Astro and B.O.B. are sent to Earth to explore and document, but they never go back. That thread runs through everything. Each book then has one scientific theme, gravity, friction, sound waves, light, and so on. I start with the science facts (school-level stuff, nothing too heavy), then think how Astro and B.O.B. would accidentally bump into those ideas in the real world, animals, weather, water, insects. Sometimes the story flows easily; other times I get stuck and have to pace around talking the scene out loud until it clicks and feels funny without sounding like a textbook.

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• When did you write your first book and how old were you? I didn’t write anything until quite late in life and this was never something I planned. Somewhere between 30 and 60 ;) 

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• What do you like to do when you’re not writing? I have a very intense full-time job that takes up a lot of hours. When I’m not working and I get back to England, everything is about spending time with my daughter Emily. We find incredibly silly fun, daft games, silly adventures, anything that makes us laugh. I also play guitar every evening; I just pick it up and play whatever comes into my head.

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• What does your family think of your writing? I didn’t really discuss it much at first, it felt quite private while I was developing book one. I’d share bits with Emily sometimes, show her early character designs or read her bits of text because she was my target audience and I wanted to make sure it was on the right path. 

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• What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books? How slow and difficult the publishing process is. You have to be incredibly patient, weeks with no response, then a reply that sends you in a direction you didn’t expect, and you have to keep bringing it back to your vision. I think it’s almost a deliberate test: they make it hard so only people who really want it stick it out to the end.

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• How many books have you written? Which is your favourite? I’ve written four so far. Books one to three are completely finished, story, illustrations, everything. Book four is fully scripted with artwork in progress. I don’t have one favourite book. What I love are the little comedy moments where Astro and B.O.B interact with guest characters like inquisitive cows (Vol 1), the condescending crows (Vol 2), and the argumentative ducks (Vol 3), that sort of thing. 

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• Do you have any suggestions to help me become a better writer? If so, what are they? I’m not really one to give writing advice, I don’t consider myself a writer. I’m a designer, focused on the look, feel, graphics and comedy of the whole thing. If I had to say anything, it would just be: write like you talk, and don’t force it.

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• Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say? I’m only just starting out, so only a few readers have gotten back to me so far. But the responses have been really pleasant and encouraging. The children connect with the characters straight away. And as a parent, some say they enjoyed reading it together with their child, which is exactly what I wanted.