I had decided to retire the literary Would You Rather series, but didn't want to stop interviews on the site all together. Instead, I've pulled together 40ish questions - some bookish, some silly - and have asked authors to limit themselves to answering only 10 of them. That way, it keeps the interviews fresh and connectable for all of us!
Say hi to Daniel Skentelbery. Daniel (he/him) is a writer, artist, and PhD graduate (Keele University). He is currently living in South Wales, but eager to move back to North England.He writes experimental poetry and prose with a fondness for the spooky and strange. Daniel likes: the paintings of Edward Hopper, the music of dodie, and quiet environments. Daniel is currently writing an interactive game book. His debuted Poetry Chapbook, ‘Miss Peacock and the Actress’ was published by independent ethical press Bent Key Publishing at the end of 2022. The book is a unique soap-opera that explores the intricately-woven tapestry of human life presented by the Monmouth Film Re-enactment Society.
Why
do you write?
Writing
is a powerful compulsion. I need to write to express myself and exorcize the frenzy
of ideas that inhabit me. Of course, writing can be a frequently laborious
vice, but I don’t ever plan to stop writing or to stop experimenting with new forms.
Writing and creating art is one of the most valuable things in my life.
Describe
your book in three words.
Surreal
Sexy Soap-opera.
Would
you and your main character(s) get along?
Miss
Peacock and the Actress takes the form of a
soap-opera TV pilot and therefore the chapbook has quite a big cast of
characters. There are lots of characters in the chapbook which I know I
wouldn’t get on with, many of them are self-interested, violent, awful upper
middle-class Tories, or just grim unpleasant people.
But I suspect that I would get on with a couple of
the main characters. The titular Miss Peacock for example, is loosely based off
several people I know and hold dearly in real life, so I know that I would get
along with Miss Peacock. The Actress on the other hand is based off me.
Hopefully we would get along, me and the Actress, but even if we didn’t get on,
at least we would understand one another.
If
you could cast your characters in a movie, which actors would play them and why?
I
love this question. Given the chapbook plays with the television soap-opera,
and sells itself as a TV pilot awaiting commission, it is appropriate that I ought
to give some thought as to who should be playing each character. Whilst the
soap-opera features a primarily young adult cast, my favourite actor is Toby
Jones, so we’d have to find a role for him somewhere. Playing the actress (so
the person I’d pick to play myself) is Amelia Gething a fantastic comedy writer
and actress best known for her CBBC show The Amelia Gething Complex.
Playing the role of Tory Fuck Boy one of the main antagonists I would cast Louis
Oliver, they gave an intense performance in BBC’s Inside Man, and I reckon
that they’d give a fantastic performance in this role. Taylor Russell’s
performance in Bones and All was incredible another intense performance,
I think she’d be good as either the Rock Star or Penelope. For the role of Miss
Peacock, I would cast lots of unknown performers and the role would be played
by a new person in every scene.
What
are some of your favourite books and/or authors?
I
like a lot of genre fiction, such as the Fighting Fantasy books by Steve
Jackson and Ian Livingstone, or the science fiction works of Timothy Zahn and
S.D. Perry. These genre writers write such bold visuals, there is a cinematic quality
to their writing which I take a lot of inspiration from.
There are many poets I’m inspired by, Dylan Thomas’ Under
Milk Wood, I frequently credit as what got me into writing poetry. Other
writers such as Luke Kennard, Sarah Wallis, Jen Campbell, Eddie Jones, and Isabelle
P. Byrne are all exciting artists who capture my imagination. Eddie Jones’ The
Dead and I was my favourite poetry collection of 2022, he is an incredibly
talented writer.
My favourite writers and favourite people are Mel
Piper and Tom Evans, we frequently read and edit each other’s work. They are
both incredibly talented and it is always such a joy to work with them.
What
do you do when you’re not writing?
If
I’m not writing, I’ll probably be reading or researching (this could be for a
creative or academic project). Perhaps, you’d find me painting, I’ve been making
lots of water colour paintings of different birds and rabbits recently. Though
realistically I’m more than likely playing Pokémon. Over the last couple of
years, I’ve been playing through all the games, and I’ve just started playing
Pokémon White 2 for the first time.
What’s
on your literary bucket list?
For
years and years, I have wanted to write an adventure game book, in the vein of
books like “Choose Your Own Adventure” or “Fighting Fantasy”. I’ve written my
fair share of short stories with multiple possible paths and outcomes, but
never a full novel length adventure. This is my dream, and my current project.
It’s in its early stages, but I am passionate to see it through. I will have
this adventure game book written by hook or by crook!
What
are you currently reading?
I
am currently reading Leone Ross’ This One Sky Day, and I am enjoying it
very much. Set on an odd magical island, this book has something of a dreamlike
quality, it’s a haunting and sensual read. There have been more than a few
times I’ve felt my body tingle with excitement at the odd erotica of this book.
Alongside this, I am reading Jen Campbell’s poetry collection The Girl
Aquarium which I am finding a compelling read. I am adoring Campbell’s voice,
there are so many clever phrases and descriptions within her poems. Campbell
has such mastery over words and seems to come up with endlessly captivating
oddities.
Next on my reading list is Mizuki
Tsujimura’s Lonely Castle in the Mirror (English translation by Philip
Gabriel), alongside which I will be reading Caitlin McKenna’s poetry chapbook Now
Say It Back.
What
songs would be on the soundtrack of your life?
For
the last three or four years dodie has always been at the top of my Spotify
Wrapped, so dodie would be on there. I listened to her endlessly when I was
writing Miss Peacock and the Actress. Dodies song “Guiltless” is one I
frequently have on repeat, again the same goes for “Monster” and “In the Middle”.
On her album Build A Problem there are four consecutive tracks: “?”, “Four
Tequilas Down”, “.” and “Sorry”. I feel that these four songs should always be
listened to one after the other, it’s an incredibly sad listen, but also incredibly
beautiful.
In addition to dodie’s discography,
I’d also have: Kate Bush’s “Cloudbusting”, The Divine Comedy’s “At The Indie
Disco”, Tessa Violet’s “Bad Ideas”, and in tribute to my love of musicals I’d
have “When He Sees Me” from the Waitress soundtrack too.
What’s
the one thing you wish you knew when you were younger?
I
wish sex education at school had gone beyond “This is what puberty is…” and
“This is what STD’s are…”. It would have been productive if we had been taught
sexual and romantic intimacy, different types of attraction and desire, consent,
and respect, how to communicate both vocally and physically with a partner. All
the stuff that films say, “it comes naturally”, when these things really ought
to be taught.
It has taken me too long to
understand myself.
In this one-of-a-kind collection of poetry, Daniel
Skentelbery and The Monmouth Film Re-enactment Society present Miss Peacock and
the Actress - a unique soap-opera that explores the intricately-woven tapestry
of human life. From chance meetings to unrequited love, sexual attraction to
missed connections, this is a sometimes confusing, always endearing examination
of the fragility of life post-pandemic.
Sadly, this
is the one and only episode. Enjoy.
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