Frequently asked questions

How did you come to write this book? We spent years trying to get Space Dogs off the ground as a TV series, and although there was tentative interest, producers often suggested it be in a form that did not suit the idea. We finally realised that we were actually writing a feature-length story, not an episodic one, and seized upon the idea of writing it as a novel. In that form no producer can moan about the expense of outrageous special effects – just write ‘the sky turned purple and the planet exploded’, and it’s done! The mind’s eye is a wonderful, inexpensive thing.

How long did it take to prepare? We wrote part-time for a year, got some valuable feedback from other writers and friends, and then revised it for another six months. In that new form we scored an agent very quickly; but it would need to be trimmed down (to its benefit) before we finally found a publisher. We were thrilled that the publisher ended up being Random House, USA – the biggest publisher in the world!

Anything funny happen along the way? It was funny to discover the differences between US and Australian English. Our book is an Australian story, but its first publisher was Random House in New York. We were relieved when they demanded no changes to our Australian characters or settings, but they were quite stumped by some Aussie sayings. They had no idea what a ‘school dux’ was, what ‘bubblers’ or ‘tuckshops’ were, and had never heard of a ‘frayed, white singlet.’ They also put many red question marks around the word ‘cooee!’. However, because of Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, they suggested we use ‘crikey!’ as often as possible.

How do two people write a novel? People always ask us how two people write a novel together but nobody ever asks the same thing about a screenplay. Big studio movies are almost always written by a small team. We just sat down and discussed the story, plotted it out then allocated ourselves certain chapters to write. Since we developed it together we both knew pretty well who the characters were, how they talked, thought and what they'd do in certain situations. We put all the chapters in place and went through the manuscript together smoothing it out and making adjustments. By the end of it we'd reached such synchronicity that we could write links with one of us starting a sentence and the other finishing it. We could write whole paragraphs like this.

What are the major themes of the book? The two girls in our story, Lucy Buckley (11) and her sister Amy (14) learn valuable lessons about self-confidence. A subtle, secondary theme exists too – the notion of unity. If we fail to unite with one another, we tend to fail. Our heroes, two tiny aliens from the planet Gersbach, tend to lose track of their mission when they squabble. In a School Sports Day sequence, when the children fight amongst themselves rather than pull together, they lose.

Are any of the characters based on real people? We realised long ago we were a lot like the two main aliens in Space Dogs. Evan is Belka, headstrong and fearless, launching himself like a missile into the closing hatches of ascending alien spaceships. Justin is Strelka – laidback with a wicked sense of humour, and loves eating really big cakes.

What are its distinctive features? Space Dogs is a blend of comedy, science fiction and action. The comedy, however, sits subtly between the lines, often sneaking up to deliver a comment on pretentious people or society. The book’s other claim to fame is being an intergalactic adventure with the fate of two planets in the balance, and it all takes place in a suburban backyard!

Who’ll like it? Great for kids 9+, but the adults will get it too, in much the same way all ages love Toy Story and Finding Nemo. And, if you love Aussie comedy, science fiction and action, this is for you. Also for dog lovers everywhere – there really is more going on in their heads than you thought…

Is it true that the book is going to be made into a big Hollywood movie? We were very lucky to get an agent in Australia with a first book. We were really lucky to get a deal with a big publisher in America. Because of this we got to go to Hollywood and meet some people…but we can’t tell you more than that! Space Dogs would make a great movie.

Do you believe in aliens? Definitely. Evan has a theory on this: the only (but big) problem with meeting aliens is that they live so far, far away. It’s really strange that people doubt aliens exist – it’s like saying there is no newsagent near your house, but only walking one centimetre from your front door to look for one. Space is huge! In Space Dogs we have wormhole (a shortcut through space) to get our alien friends to Earth quickly. Otherwise they’d spend years to get here!

Justin says he doesn’t believe in newsagents.

Do you think dogs are smarter than humans? Yes. They have a nice take on life – eat well, sleep often, chase a ball whenever you can, and if someone’s nice to you, be nice to them. Mind you, someone has to throw the ball…