About the Authors
CLAIRE AVERY is a pseudonym for a writing team of two sisters. Mari Hilburn, an attorney, and Michelle Poché, a screenwriter.
Being raised in a Mel-Gibson-Catholic-fundamentalist type of home was anything but ordinary. Add in a little socialism, a healthy dose of old fashioned guilt and a father who was so charismatic that you lost yourself in his dream, and you have all the necessary ingredients for a fiction writer’s ideal childhood. His charisma laid the foundation for a group that has since grown to thousands nationwide. Growing up in this fundamentalist community provided us with a real-life cast of characters worthy of a John Irving novel. This included Barefoot Guy, an ex-monk who went barefoot even in harsh Chicago winters as a reminder of Christ’s sacrifice. It wasn’t until Barefoot Guy accompanied us on a ski trip, then stood outside in the snow proselytizing to other skiers sans the footwear, did we realize what an extremely weird childhood we had.
