Despite Jenna's fears of the room overflowing, it was just a normal book group, with most of the usual people. (Carolyn was missing, stuck in Paris, which was a shame, as I think that she would have enjoyed it. Although being stuck in Paris probably isn't too much of a hardship.) We did a first round around the table, as we usually do, then the author got her turn. She hadn't intended on writing a novel. She'd taken Latin in high-school and hadn't been allowed to read any poetry, instead spending a year reading Cicero. Only in recent years did she find the time to pick up her Latin again, and took to Vergil. And fell in love. And partway through the Aeneid, she found the nearly transparent character of Lavinia, and found that character dragging a novel out of her. The second half of the Aeneid is based on Homer's Iliad, and is filled to the brim with the violence of battle. But she sees it as an anti-war statement.

We talked until closing time, about writing, poetry, authors reading their own works and how some can do it, and some can't (Apparently e.e.cummings is one of these). She recommended Saramago's The Stone Raft as one of her all-time favorites. And she's started a blog.