Jo Graham is an American author who debuted in 2008 with her novel
Black Ships, a re-imagination of
The Aeneid. She lives in Maryland. Her influences as a writer are Mary Renault and James Michener, both of whom wrote novels about places and situations unusual for most readers.
Graham's interest in ancient Greece began in high school, when she read
The Aeneid in Latin.
I've been interested in the period of the Trojan War since I was in high school, when I read The Aeneid in Latin and fell in love with Virgil and his storytelling. The thing about initially reading a book in a foreign language is that you have to go very slowly. The story really sinks in when you're doing thirty lines a day.
Black Ships received a star rating when reviewed by Publishers Weekly and was nominated for the 2009 Locus Award for Best First Novel. Her second novel,
Hand of Isis (March 2009), which features the reincarnated main character of
Black Ships, was given a starred review by Kirkus Reviews.
Her forthcoming works include a novel about the death of Alexander the Great, titled
Stealing Fire, to be published by Orbit in May 2010, and a Stargate Atlantis tie-in novel to be published by Fandemonium Press in July 2010.