Q&A With Laura Botten

Today’s Q&A is with author Laura Botten whose debut novel A Recipe From Rome came out on September 1^st of this year and is available to read now.  

Q: So Laura would you like to tell the readers of the blog a little bit about your debut novel A Recipe From Rome, and how you came up with the idea for the book?

A: The idea for A Recipe from Rome hit me when I took a trip to Rome in 2019 with a friend whom I hadn’t seen in fifteen years. His work sent him and a guest to Rome, but the guest had to be immediate family or a spouse. I’m neither, so we pretended to be married! It felt like living a real-life rom-com, so when I came back home, I knew I had to turn my experience into a novel.

Q: How long did it take you to write A Recipe From Rome? 

A: It took me over three-and-a-half years to write A Recipe from Rome. I re-wrote the manuscript several times until I was happy enough with it to then have it professionally edited.

Q: When did you know that being an author was what you were called to do in life?

A: My true passion is actually radio broadcasting and voice acting, but I’ve always been an avid reader. Writing a book was on my bucket list, and after I visited Italy, I finally had the inspiration to write a story inspired by that experience.

Q: If A Recipe From Rome were to be made into a movie someday, who would you fan cast to play the characters?

A: Kate McKinnon as April Appleby and David Schwimmer as Simon Becker would be absolutely hilarious and entertaining to watch on screen.

Q: Is the character of April loosely based off of you? What lessons do you hope readers take away after reading A Recipe From Rome?

A: April Appleby is absolutely loosely modeled after myself; I began writing this book originally as a travel memoir of my own experience in Italy. But eventually, it took the form of a novel, and the characters had to evolve to fit the new narrative.

I hope readers will remember how special and rare some friendships are. Some of our relationships and friendships are fleeting, but they are still precious no matter how short-lived. We have to say many goodbyes in this life, but as long as we keep those who are important to us in our hearts, they never really leave us.

Q: If you are currently writing a new book right now, will it be a sequel to A Recipe From Rome or will it be a standalone novel?

A: I have a few ideas for another novel, but none are related to A Recipe from Rome. All are fresh ideas. One is completely different, maybe even a little dark. After working on such a happy, colorful story for nearly four years, my creative muscles want to explore something different now. But I wouldn’t be opposed to April Appleby flying to Spain or Ireland one day… I’d love to write a sequel of some sort to A Recipe from Rome after I’ve had a chance to take a break from it!