Last modified: Tuesday, May 5, 2009 2:19 AM EDT From left, Carol Levis, Ruth Gower, Debby Leach, Linda LeStage, author Ann Hood, Lynne O'Brien, Betsy Whitfield and Ellen Guillette pose for a photo in LeStage's Attleboro home. (Photo by Kathy Hickman) HICKMAN: Author Ann Hood visits local book group When an award-winning writer joins your book group to discuss her best-selling novel, an expectant aura of excitement mingles with anxiety. What if we're tongue-tied in the presence of such talent? What if she sighs, disappointed, as we pose a question she's heard countless times before? What if she's not Miss Congeniality, but a literary diva? Ann Hood has the credentials to BE a literary diva. Since 1987 and the publication of her first novel, "Somewhere Off the Coast of Maine," she has been a prolific and celebrated writer, winner of two Pushcart Prizes, a Best American Spiritual Writing Award and the Paul Bowles prize for Short Fiction. Her essays and short stories are found in venues as varied as The New York Times, Good Housekeeping, Ploughshares and The Paris Review. She also teaches writing at NYU and at prestigious writers' workshops throughout the country. But at a literary luncheon on the Cape last summer, Hood's unexpectedly hilarious presentation charmed and disarmed us so completely that Carol Levis immediately invited her to join our book club in Attleboro when we discussed her most recent novel, "The Knitting Circle." The truth is, we were convinced that Ann Hood would enter our lives for this one brief shining moment not as a diva, but as a fun-loving and familiar friend. And she did not disappoint. Arriving from her home in Providence, she breezed in to Linda LeStage's kitchen and greeted this group of strangers with the frisky enthusiasm of a new puppy. Perky and vibrant in a short, spicy dress and sheer black stockings, she seemed to channel the boisterous, sunshiny personality of her late daughter Grace, the subject of her wrenching memoir, "Comfort: A Journey Through Grief." "Comfort" is a deeply personal and searing account of Ann's inconsolable sorrow over 5-year-old Grace's sudden death from an organ-devouring strep infection in 2002. Begun as an essay written for a literary journal in 2004, it jolted Hood from a reading and writing paralysis that had immobilized her for more than a year after Grace's death. Though her words chafed and bled, she was relieved to know she could now use them to rail against the many "lies" told about grief. "The Knitting Circle," on the other hand, is an absorbing fictional tale about a mother whose only child, Stella, dies suddenly of meningitis at age 5, and who eventually knits her way back to sanity and a semblance of healing in the companionship of a circle of knitters who share their own stories of grief, loss and love. Both books were reminders that despite the lightness of tone, the author standing before us "confident and smiling" is often still "perched at the edge, living in fear" of those haunting, horrific memories that rise up so unpredictably after losing a child. But as we gathered around the dining table for lunch, it was Ann's resilient spirit, lighthearted laughter, and open heart that struck us. Soon, like the soft, incessant click of knitting needles, quick comments punctuated our conversation: how deeply "The Knitting Circle" moved us on a second read, how easily the dialogue flowed, and how unique was each character's voice and story. Ann commented that each character in the book was made up to personify an emotional element of grief. "I really don't want to sit and revisit painful things, but that's what I do," she said. Much of our discussion centered on the craft of writing. She regaled us with a story on the first writing class she taught at NYU, in which all her preparatory material was exhausted after five minutes. She talked about the art and importance of naming a character - how the name needs to fit the personality, the ethnic background, and the tricky territory of inadvertently offending someone. For would-be writers, she offers this advice: "Be a keen observer, take notes and look for things that are out of place. Your character has to WANT something. Kurt Vonnegut says you can even write about a guy who wants a drink of water and can't get it." What we wanted was more time with Ann. But as Carol Levis put it, "I think we were very, very fortunate to have the opportunity to meet with a wonderful author who gave us a short course on writing!" The group was humbled to realize the work that goes into producing a novel, and thrilled to have her join our circle of readers. We invite you to check out Ann Hood's Web site, www.annhood.us, and highly recommend "The Knitting Circle" for book groups and individuals alike. Kathy Hickman's column, The Reading Room, appears in Your Day the first Tuesday of each month. You can contact her at news@thesunchronicle.com.