Claire Avery

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. Visit our photos at their booksigning on June 11, 2010