Photo by Zoe Larkin
Sabrina Moyle is the author and her sister, Eunice Moyle, is the illustrator of the new kids' graphic novel The Cosmic Adventures of Astrid and Stella: Blast from the Past!. It's the latest in their Astrid and Stella series. They live in San Francisco.
Q: What inspired you to write The Cosmic Adventures of Astrid and Stella: Blast from the Past!?
SM: Blast from the Past! is the fifth book in the Astrid and Stella series. In it, I wanted to reveal Astrid and Stella’s origin story: how did their relationship come to be, and what motivates their love of cosmic adventure? I also wanted to give Bobo, their robot sidekick, his own story arc.
To do this, I created one narrative that flows through all three chapters – a first for the series, whose earlier books have each consisted of three unique stories.
The adventure begins when Pugnacious D. and his band of nefariously silly space pugs hack the Friend Ship and kidnap Astrid and Stella. While they are in a deep dank dungeon pining for home, we learn Astrid and Stella’s back story (their “blast from the past”).
Meanwhile, Bobo hatches a rescue plan that involves inventing his very own sidekick – an adorable robot with a giant hammer arm – who he lovingly names Zobo. Bobo and Zobo come to the rescue, and Astrid and Stella blast off to their next adventure!
Q: How do the two of you collaborate on your work?
SM: I typically start by crafting a synopsis – a catchy book title, back cover
teaser, engaging chapter titles, and a one-paragraph summary of each chapter.
In the case of Blast from the Past!, I got my teenage sons in on the action; they are readers, creative writers, and film buffs – my inspiration and creative thought partners.
I then run my synopsis by Eunice for her feedback. If it makes her laugh out loud (and, ideally, snort), I know I’m on the right track. Once I have a good synopsis, I write the manuscript, which consists mostly of dialogue. I always read it aloud to make sure it’s flowing.
To give Eunice structure and to overcome her terror of a blank page, I provide page and panel numbers, and illustration prompts. It’s a lot like being a writer, director, and art director all in one.
She takes the manuscript and creates sketches, sometimes coming back for revisions if certain panels or sections aren’t working (or if the panel involves trees; she hates drawing trees).
I review her sketches (which are more hilarious than I could possibly imagine), and then she colors the panels, often with the help of another designer – coloring 108 pages is a lot of work! (at least, until we figure out how to vibe-color with AI . . . no doubt that is on the horizon!).
Q: How would you describe the relationship between Astrid
and Stella?
SM: Astrid and Stella have a friendly rivalry, with complimentary personalities
and a love adventure and horsing around.
Astrid, a unicorn, is perennially upbeat, distractible, and artistic – a bit like a golden retriever (and a lot like Eunice!). Stella, a flying squirrel, is a visionary leader, a bit bossy, and temperamental (more like me!). She wishes she could fly but can only glide, so she is always striving.
Their differences make a great team – Astrid is happy for Stella to solve tough problems and exercise her ambition, while Stella appreciates Astrid’s creativity, silliness, and “what, me worry?” attitude (even if it’s annoying sometimes).
Q: What do you hope kids take away from the story?
A: We hope kids learn that home is where your friends are; that a lot of us
need to leave our hometown or home life to reach our full potential; that
friendship is all about sticking together through tough times; and that
ingenuity and creativity and get you out of any sticky situation, including
being kidnapped by evil space pugs!
Q: What are you working on now?
A: We’re working bringing Astrid and Stella (and all of our 25+ books!) to life
with music, animation, and videos.
We recently released a new song, Robot
Astronaut, a conversation between Bobo and Astrid, and we just filmed an
Astrid how-to-draw video – out next month on YouTube. Our
favorite things in the galaxy are the versions of Astrid drawn by our kid fans!
In addition, for younger readers, we’re releasing a new set of die-cut mini board books called My Box of Feelings with Abrams Appleseed in May (along with music and videos!), and an interactive book about trucks called A Truck Will Roll in August, also with Abrams Appleseed (and more music and videos!).
Q: Anything else we should know?
A: Eunice is currently obsessed with ceramics, and made dozens of creative
objets d’art for her kids’ school fundraising gala. Sabrina sings in a band and
is thinking about mastering the art of French cooking after having her mind
blown by The Taste of
Things. We love being sisters and creative collaborators!
--Interview with Deborah Kalb
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