DRIVING TWO-AND-A-HALF hours to get to a Book Club meeting might not seem like everyone’s cup of tea, and it’s true that my car tires seemed to touch every highway in the Bay Area in order to get there.

But greeted by enthusiastic readers and incredibly yummy food, I was grateful to have the opportunity to talk about—and listen to opinions on—my novel, The Underground River.

First, the food: a beautiful salad, sauteed mushrooms on toast (gluten-free crackers provided, too), succulent chicken niblets (almost like finger food, but so tasty!), and a Canadian-inspired dessert of Nanaimo bars (3 layers of cracker-crumb, custard, and chocolate—with coconut thrown in).

I’m always interested in the questions readers have. Was Hugo very upset over his sister’s death (a lively discussion on how this was handled in the story)? Who was the most despicable character? And—the first time I’ve been asked this—who wrote the jacket copy for the book?

We veered off to talk about Germany during World War II, what’s really great about Amsterdam, and rumors about secret office buildings maintained by Apple. As usual when I talk to Book Clubs, by the end of the evening I felt I’d been friends with these women for a long time!

So thank you, avid readers and book club members! To paraphrase Tennessee Williams, I’ve always relied on the kindness of readers.

To book a book club meeting with me in person or via skype, please email me! marthamconway [at] hotmail [dot] com.