Tom Huddleston
About Author
Tom Huddleston's Cosmic Creatures is an animal-rescue series set in a sci-fi world. Alongside his older novels FloodWorld, DustRoad and StormTide, Tom has also written for the official Star Wars: Adventures in Wild Space saga and the Warhammer Adventures series for Games Workshop. He is also a musician and film journalist. He enjoys outdoor swimming, chewy sweets and watching too many movies.
Interview
Cosmic Creatures (Nosy Crow Books)
The Runaway Rumblebear & The Friendly Firecat
March 2022
Tom Huddleston's new animal rescue series for younger readers takes us into a sci-fi world of new landscapes and exotic animals, with a focus on protecting the new species and supporting the environment.
Read a chapter from Runaway Rumblebear and The Friendly Firecat
Enter our Competition to win a set of the books
In this video, Tom reads from Rumblebear, talks about the world he has created and how it developed, and suggests how children can create their own 'alien planet' world:
Q&A with Tom Huddleston
Cosmic Creatures
1. Can you tell us about your new series, Cosmic Creatures, and what inspired it?
Cosmic Creatures is a series of sci-fi adventure stories for younger readers, set on a far-distant planet called Vela, which is home to all kinds of incredible alien creatures alongside a small population of human settlers from Earth.
The hero of the stories is Charlie, an animal enthusiast who loves to explore the planet with her best friend, a robot called Random. The inspiration comes from my love of stories set in outer space, and my childhood obsession with animals.
2. Why did you decide to write a sci fi series for younger readers?
As a young reader I always loved stories set in outer space - books like the Starstormers series by Nicolas Fisk and the Star Wars movie novelisation were always on my bedside table when I was a boy.
There's a bit of a resurgence at the moment of good sci-fi for kids, from Philip Reeve's Railhead books and Alistair Chisholm's Orion Lost to my own FloodWorld trilogy (which is set on Earth, but in the future). I thought it'd be great to include younger readers in this.
3. What happens in the first two books, The Runaway Rumblebear and The Friendly Firecat.
Well I don't want to give too much away, but in each story Charlie and Random stumble across a young alien animal that needs their help, and decide to take matters into their own hands.
Otherwise, though, the stories are very different: The Runaway Rumblebear takes place largely in a huge, trackless forest, while The Friendly Firecat transports the action to a baking hot desert, and a spaceship owned by some intergalactic rustlers!
4. How did you create the world in which Charlie and Random live?
I just wanted to imagine the perfect planet for a young person to live on. So there are forests, and waterfalls, and oceans, and mountains, and loads of places to explore and creatures to meet. It has three moons and two suns, and the sky goes purple and the seas go green… it's just a cool, otherworldly environment for the stories to take place in.
5. Why does Charlie have a robot as her best friend?
Well, wouldn't you? Random is funny, he's helpful and he's kind - plus he can help Charlie to fly (sort of)! He's an old robot with a few crossed wires, found by Charlie on a junk heap and repaired by her Mum. But he's a great pal to have around in a crisis.
6. What sorts of problems will they face in this new world? Why did you want to explore these kinds of issues?
Well, the key theme of the stories is living in harmony with nature, which is obviously quite an important one at the moment. The humans have come to Vela to found a new colony, but they need to find a way to live there without upsetting the planet's natural balance the way we've done here on Earth.
I also explored ecological and climate issues in my FloodWorld trilogy - I just think these are issues that are not only vital for humanity, but really emotional for younger readers. What could be more important than saving the planet?
7. Which part of planet Vela would you visit, if you could?
I'd love to go strolling in the forest, and see all the strange plants and wildlife. But my favourite place on the planet (so far!) is a place that won't show up until Book 3 called the Shimmering Pools - a maze of pools and streams perfect for swimming, all heated by underground hot springs. I love wild swimming so this would be my kind of place.
8. Is there anything on planet Vela that you'd love to bring back to Earth?
No, I think that everything on Vela deserves to stay there! Particularly the animals. In The Friendly Firecat, Charlie and Random meet a gang of people trying to steal animals so they can sell them back on Earth, but they get more than they bargained for…
9. What do you think of the illustrations by Sophy Williams?
They're gorgeous! She really brings the world of the books to life. My favourite illustrations are the ones in the forest in The Runaway Rumblebear - you really get a sense of the size of the trees and the mystery of the place. I also love her illustrations of Charlie and her family, they look just like I imagined them.
10. What other adventures have you got planned for Charlie and Random?
Well I can't say too much, but there are two more stories due to come out before the end of the year. Both of them are set in completely new and exciting environments, full of wonder and danger and excitement. And both of them introduce really cool new creatures.
11. What other kinds of books do you enjoy writing?
I love writing adventure stories, whether it's for younger readers like the Cosmic Creatures books or for slightly older kids like my FloodWorld trilogy, which is for readers 10 and up. Those books were really enjoyable to write - they're set in a future where climate change has flooded the major cities of Earth, and they're about two kids who find a mysterious map and find themselves in all kinds of trouble.
12. What do you enjoy doing when you're away from your desk?
Well, I've got a young child so I spend a lot of my time looking after him! We go to the park and play music and try exciting foods together. I also love watching movies (after he's gone to bed, of course) and travelling, though that's obviously been quite difficult recently. I play in a band called The No Sorrows, we're working on our second album at the moment. But most of all I enjoy just sitting around thinking up stories, and planning my next book.
Cosmic Creatures: The Runaway Rumblebear
Cosmic Creatures: The Friendly Firecat
