Meet R. A. Spratt - Reading Time

We put some questions to the author of Friday Barnes. She answers them generously. There is a new Friday Barnes out, and a review will be up soon! Enjoy!

Science stars in the Friday Barnes’ books, particularly the new No Rules. Was that an intention right from the start?

My starting point with a character is usually the way they think. With Friday, I did consciously decide to make her logical and extremely good at deductive reasoning. But with the books as a whole I never set out to feature science. The Friday Barnes series also has a lot of references to literature and history, for example Sisyphus, Proust and ‘Lord of the Flies’ are all references. Friday is very well read, so she knows about all sorts of things. Even though she doesn’t care for sport she knows about kendo and boxing because she had read about them. I personally have a great affection for science so given my stream of consciousness style of writing it is only natural that would come through.

What do you make of the renewed enthusiasm for science in popular culture?

I didn’t realise there was a renewed enthusiasm for science in popular culture. I don’t get out much. I’m really busy with work and looking after my kids, so I’m not very good at keeping up with things. I have recently found out who Taylor Swift and Megan Trainor are. I’m quite proud of that. I do really like watching ‘Mythbusters’ and I think that is an awesome way to learn about physics. But I don’t like watching all those CSI type murder shows. I don’t like the violence. The Kids Discovery Channel is excellent. I love the Canadian show ‘Finding Stuff Out’.

How did the years working for shows like Good News Week influence you and your writing?

Writing jokes was excellent training in brevity. It also taught me the discipline of writing to deadline every single day. And I had to read three newspapers every day, and that was great training too. It was a great way to soak up ideas.