Welcome to this Tuesday Teaser episode of Best Book Forward! Today, I am giving you an exclusive sneak peek into my conversation with Matson Taylor ahead of the main episode dropping this Thursday.

Roman Mornings is out now (grab your copy here: Roman Mornings by Matson Taylor) It is such a brilliant read, you do not want to miss this book (or episode). Make sure you hang around to the end of the episode to hear Matson read a little extract for you.

The main episode drops this Thursday so think of this as a little added bonus. If you are already subscribed to Best Book Forward, your podcast app will send you a little notification the moment the main episode lands. In the meantime, come and say hello to us both over on Instagram by hitting the links below!

🎧 Listen & Subscribe https://best-book-forward.captivate.fm/listen

📲 Connect with Us

• Follow Helen on Instagram: @bestbookforward
• Follow Matson Taylor on Instagram: @matson_taylor_

Welcome back to another Tuesday teaser episode of Best Book Forward.

I'm your host, Helen, and this is the podcast where I talk to authors about the books that have shaped their lives.

You can think of it as a little like a bookish version of Desert Island Discs.

So this is just a little teaser episode to get you excited about what's coming on Thursday.

And I have got such a lovely chat to share with you.

I had so much, so much fun recording this episode.

So this episode you're listening to now is just a very short one with a few highlights from our chat to get you excited.

But do make sure you hang around to the end to hear an exclusive author reading.

So joining me on Thursday is Matson Taylor.

Now, you may know Matson from his previous two novels, the Miseducation of Evie Epworth and All About Evie, both brilliant reads.

Mattsson and I got together to chat about his brilliant new novel, Roman Mornings, which is out now and is one that really should be on your summer reading list.

I am so in love with this book.

I'm actually hoping to read it again over the summer.

You'll find the book description in the show notes and as your friendly book pusher, I've also included a link to buy now.

In Thursday's episode, Matson and I chat about the inspiration behind the book and how losing his father and being cared for by his Italian friends in Rome helped him to heal, but.

But also to start bringing this story to life.

We talked about Mattsson's writing life and I loved hearing him talk about his characters.

It's so obvious to see how much they mean to him.

We both shared a love of Floss, one of the characters, and this is a little snippet of Matson describing bringing Floss to life and trying to keep her under control.

I love those people with those, like, amazing people who just embrace life and, you know, they're just.

They sort of like, just shine with joy all the way through and yet at the same time, very well, very sensitive and caring and wanting to help and nurture and all of those things.

Yeah, Floss was actually, to be honest, in the very first draft that I did, because Floss is such a fun character to write.

Floss took over the whole.

That's a very her, though.

Exactly.

Yeah.

So.

And I thought, well, I've just got to, you know, grind it out, get to the end of the first draft and then I'll sort her out.

Then I'll have a word with her then.

But she absolutely just took over because she's such a fun character to write.

She is such a great character.

There's some really brilliant characters in this book, but she is one that I absolutely loved.

Now, I never quite know when I press record with an author where the conversation might head off to.

You may have noticed by now I'm quite good at going off on a little tangent.

And it might seem strange to say, but in this episode, I was really hoping that we would get to talk about talking cats.

Once you've read the book, you'll understand.

But take a listen to this.

My first two books had dogs because I'm very much a dog person.

And I thought, well, I want to, you know, try my hand with a cat.

And I've got lots of friends with cats.

And I just.

And I've got a friend with a cat who thinks it's a dog.

And I thought, that's okay.

That's who I want.

I want you.

And I just grew to love this cat.

And I had so much fun with this idea of a talking cat.

And my.

My editor at Simon Schuster at Scribner, Chris, he very much is a cat person.

He's got two or three cats.

And he said, I'm not sure about a talking cat.

I'm really not sure.

And I said, well, let's just don't worry.

Wait until you read it and then, you know, then.

Then you can decide if you really don't like the talking cat.

I'll take the talking cat out.

We can do it.

And because.

And Chris was like, well, I don't do sort of talking animals and things, you know.

And I gave him the book.

And when the first draft, when he read it, it's like, oh, my God, I love the talking cat.

Give me more talking cat.

There's this beautiful element of magical realism that runs through Roman Mornings, and the talking cat is part of that, so don't miss it.

Roman Mornings is a beautiful read and one that is such a great escape.

I felt completely transported by it.

As readers, I think we are so lucky that we can open the pages of a book and escape our worries, even if only for a short time.

In this clip, Mattson talks about his hopes for Roman Mornings and what it means to him to be able to make his readers smile.

I think everybody's feeling very unsettled at the moment and anxious, and there's a lot of problems out there, and I hope the book is somewhere to disappear into this other place.

You're in Rome, you're in a different time.

You're in the 70s.

I hope and smile.

I want, in fact, if to go back to Evie.

I love it when people smile.

I always say I want people to laugh and cry at my books.

If I made you laugh and cry, I'm really happy.

But with Evie, when that came out, it was the first time I've been on social media and one of the very first dms.

I wasn't used to getting dms.

I can remember, oh, my God, these are DM things.

And somebody sent me a dm and I was sat here in my flat and I opened it and read it and somebody said, you know, dear Matson, I hope you don't mind me DMing you.

I just wanted to reach out to you because, you know, I've read Eevee.

And then it went on to say my.

My sister had died with COVID 3, three months ago.

And reading Evie gave me a reason to smile again.

I can, I'm filling up now and I was just sat on my sofa.

Then I burst into tears and I thought, nobody can ever say anything nicer to me.

That's just the nicest thing.

I want that on my team tombstone.

You know, it's just the best thing ever.

And just to think, oh, if somebody's.

If I can help make someone smile during the day at some point, I'll take that.

That's just the.

That's the best thing that I can do.

I hope that's got you all excited for the full episode, which drops on Thursday.

If you've already subscribed, you'll get a notification as soon as it's available.

And if you haven't, I'd be so grateful if you hit the follow button.

It makes a huge difference to the show.

I'll see you on Thursday, but for now I'm going to leave you to enjoy a reading from Mattson Taylor.

Enjoy.

So this is Roman Mornings.

A present.

Clementine stared at the mint green Vesper.

Yes, a present, replied a splendidly wild shock of grey hair.

But it's not my birthday.

Floss sighed.

I know it's not your birthday.

The grey hair received a quick preen.

I just thought you needed a pick me up something jolly.

Jolly?

Yes, jolly.

We all need something jolly in our lives, Clemmie dear.

And anyway, you mentioned wanting a motorbike.

Did I?

You did.

Years ago.

Clemmie paused for thought.

A motorbike?

Yes, I distinctly remember a green one.

You said the they looked at the Vespa set against the ancient terracotta wall like mint green painted nails on deep tanned summer skin.

They were in Piazza della Scala, home to both women for many years.

The piazza was in a somewhat recherche part of town called Trastevere, an idyllic maze crammed full of narrow streets and broad characters.

History lived there too, the years packed tight.

But Floss, I'm too old for a Vespa.

Rubbish.

Nobody's ever too old for a Vesper.

What about that fishmonger chap from the market?

He still flies around on one and he's nearly 90.

You're what?

40?

45, Said Clemmie, heavy on the F's.

A spring chicken.

The grey hair quivered.

It knew it wouldn't be seeing 70 again.

You're just stuck in a bit of a rut, that's all.

Clemmie glanced skyward.

She felt more rugged than Ruth, one that had faded, its once rich hues now hidden.

And so Flos continued lavishing a hand.

I thought a Vesper might just be the perfect thing to unrut you.

I'm not entirely sure I'm ready to be unrutted.

Unstuck you then.

Oh, come on.

It'll be fun whizzing round roaming the sun.

Well, it's lovely of you, Floss, but it really is.

But I'm not so sure I need a Vesper.

Oh, reason not the need, said Floss, slipping into fluent thespian, are not infrequent occurrence anyway.

Just think of all the exciting things that could happen on a Vesper, Clemmie thought.

Exciting things came then on.

Come on, Clemmie dear, don't be such an old stick in the mud.

Whatever happened to the dreamer in you?

Rome was a habit of squashing dreams.

Nonsense.

This city is a magnificent furnace of dreams.

Look.

The sun blazed, the sky gloried the a flock of nuns fluttered by.