Ask the Author: Sarah Dalton

Sarah Dalton’s fiction takes up the critically important topic of Pierce Brosnan in the London Calling issue. Today, we get into Daniel Craig’s tears, faith in British celebrities, taking the piss out of someone and so on and so forth.

1. Does Daniel Craig cry too much to be James Bond?

No. I like the vulnerability and human qualities he gives to James Bond. It brings a rather shallow and two dimensional character into the 21st Century.

2. How do you walk the fine line of dialect without alienating your reader?

The fine line of dialect is tricky because a large number of readers may have never visited the area you’re mimicking. Yet on the other hand you want the dialect to be recognisable and authentic. I think it is important not to change every word in a sentence. For instance with the Yorkshire accent almost every word is spoken differently, many words are missed and other words combined. But in writing there is only so much you can change before the sentence becomes completely incomprehensible. People can work out a lot from context if you give them a chance, but to do this you need to leave some words untouched.

3. Which British celebrities do you believe in?

Wow, that’s a tough one! Unfortunately most seem to live up to a certain stereotype such as the plummy but pretty public school girl (a la Keira Knightley or Emma Watson) to the cheeky cockney (Russell Brand). But it does seem to be an era where British actors are taking over American TV and film but whilst doing an American accent which is a little strange. My favourite is Andrew Lincoln who I almost did a double take as the lead in Walking Dead because we remember him from the amazing Teachers in England. If you’ve never seen it, check it out. Witty, sexy and cool, it shaped my teenage years.

4. What do you fight over?

I’m not much of a fighter. I hate confrontation but I did used to have endless debates about music. Controversially I’ve always disliked the arrogant swag of Oasis, whereas my peers love it. I prefer art-house style indie like Radiohead or Interpol which many Oasis fans (not all!) find pretentious and ‘poncey’.

5. Who is the best James Bond?

I think everyone prefers the very first Bond they see and for me that was Roger Moore. I love the Roger Moore films because they are so filled with humour, even if in many places it’s extremely cheesy and unfortunately sometimes really quite sexist. My favourite Bond films are the Spy Who Loved me and Moonraker because I always loved the rivalry between Roger Moore and Jaws. Especially at the end of Moonraker when Jaws finds love – aww!

6. How do you take the piss out of someone?

Well, this is definitely an artform and one I’ve never been particularly good at! Unless you’re taking the piss out of good friends never do it about personal things. There are certain topics in Britain that people banter about constantly, and these are fine with most people – football teams (or sports in general) and region (but really don’t try to do the accent!). In films British football fans are stereotyped as hard nuts with shaved heads but this isn’t true at all. In fact most people you meet will be a football fan, at the very least they will know something about football. And it isn’t just men.