Your Zodiac Sign Should Try *This* French Manicure Style

In person, Dolly Alderton deploys the same kind of cheeky, self-assured confessions that have made her “Dear Dolly” column a mainstay for nearly a decade, and have informed her novels — like her latest, Good Material, which came out stateside this winter and instantly hit the New York Times bestseller list. The takes come at a steady clip, as she’s ordering a vodka martini, discussing the state of sex scenes, or reflecting on our culture’s current Irish guy obsession.

Perhaps it’s Alderton’s give-it-to-you-straight-ness that’s helped her identify the most compelling catalyst in love stories today: miscommunication. “[It’s] the thing that lends itself most to frustration and an audience’s desire for the story to keep chugging along,” the 35-year-old tells me. “It’s what Normal People is about, intention not lining up with action. That's what One Day is about, two people who can’t seem to understand each other. How it leads to lost opportunity.”