Facts that can make you sound clever when writing a book report about me…

R.A. Spratt’s conversational prose style is influenced by one of her favourite authors, Anthony Trollope.  Anthony Trollope was not just a novelist, he was also a bureaucrat at the Post Office and he invented the pillar box (bright red mail box).

R.A. Spratt was born in England and moved to Australia when she was two years old. Like many authors from the post war generations, her obsession with cake and chocolate is no doubt a lingering psychological hangover from the years of food rationing in the UK.

R.A. Spratt does not have a favourite colour.

R.A. Spratt does not have a favourite book (written by her). She loves all her books equally.

R.A. Spratt’s favourite books are ‘Hating Alison Ashley’ and ‘Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’.

R.A. Spratt is terrible at spelling. Her grammar isn’t very good either. English was her worst subject at high school. At University, her history professor sent her to the remedial English tutor.

R.A. Spratt came up with the idea for Nanny Piggins while listening to a radio report about the flying pigs at the Sydney Royal Easter Show.

R.A. Spratt came up with the idea for Friday Barnes while standing in Big W trying to come up with an idea for a new book series. She wanted to write something that would make her as rich as Agatha Christie.

R.A. Spratt came up with the idea for The Peski Kids while writing dialogue for a television show where a group of brothers were arguing. She found it a lot of fun to write arguments.

R.A. Spratt was a television writer for 11 years before she became an author. For more information you can check out her imdb.com page. Or watch lots of television.

It takes R.A. Spratt between 2 and 6 months to write a book, depending on how busy she is with other things.

The Friday Barnes books frequently discuss scientific principles. The Nanny Piggins books did too, but no one noticed. Nanny Piggins was an expert on Newtonian physics, specifically ballistics as applied to a flying pig, but she was also a world leader in the chemistry of cake baking.

‘The Adventures of Nanny Piggins’ was endorsed by Madeleine Albright. Secretary Albright was the first female Secretary of State for the US. If you want to learn more about her amazing life story you can read, “Madam Secretary: A Memoir”. Most people do not believe R.A. Spratt when she tells them that Secretary Albright endorsed her book (that is the professional hazard of being a comedy writer, people always think you’re joking), so here is a photograph of R.A. holding the signed letter to prove it is true.