In 2023, I watched the screen of my laptop mesmerized as Ruby Franke was indicted on child abuse charges. Ruby was a Christian mom-influencer, and one I had been loosely aware of. She had a giant van full of children but had slowly been posting less and less parenting content with more and more life-coach-esque stuff. Our parenting styles were radically different, but still, I hadn’t dreamed she’d kept one of her children locked in a safe room and starved her.
When we turn ourselves into products, we will inevitably come across a supply-and-demand issue. Because what people purchase, they demand perfection out of. Nobody wants to buy a sweater and receive it with a ketchup stain on the sleeve. Nobody buys a box of pens and simply shrugs if they’re all out of ink.
But parenting is not the perfection business. There is no foolproof model; or as Hilary says in The Supper Club Saints, it isn’t something you can life-hack your way through. It’s just hard.
Hard does not sell. So Ruby Franke, demanding perfection out of her children by locking them in safe rooms, went to prison.
But it would have been easy to turn all of this into some kind of satire: haha! Look how dumb these women are! What losers! What idiots! What monsters! Here’s the truth: Ruby Franke had millions of followers. Why? That’s a far more interesting question to me.
This was the impetus of The Supper Club Saints more than anything else: the idea of an influencer gone wrong, of someone who casts spells with whispers of ease and safety. It’s tapping into our most human urges, and turning our desire into something sinister.
Today, that book is out. Cass, who ran away to join influencer Lacey Garrick’s Mommune, has returned home to her small town. She believes she’s going to be able to slide right back into her old life, working at the supper club that’s been in her family for generations. But the Baumhaus Supper Club has been sold. Cass must carve a new future for herself, whether she likes it or not—without Lacey’s guidance.
Alongside her sister, Hilary, and her sister-in-law, Erin, Cass finds herself writing a parenting advice column. And while she (correctly) insists she should not be giving anyone advice, Mama Llama goes viral, leading to a chaotic reveal of Cass’ part in the Mommune’s demise.
The Supper Club Saints is available right now wherever books are sold, and it would mean the world to me if you bought a copy. I’d love to see you at one of my Wisconsin launch events, too.
Ten quick facts about the book:
(Inspired by , who always does this for her book launches!)
It’s full of nods to my mom-friends who helped me through those early, exhausting days and continue to help me with these later, emotional ones. I also stink at coming up with names, so I throw my friends in my books all the time!
The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County had a scene that was a massive nod to Brideshead Revisited, and this has a scene that’s a massive nod to Les Miserables. It’s my way of appreciating the beauty of the classics while attempting to create modern literature.
Lacey Garrick is not based off of one influencer or ideology, but is a mashup of various people I’ve followed through the years online. You really can’t compare her to a tradwife or Ballerina Farm because her whole schtick is that women really shouldn’t need men at all—kind of the opposite of the tradwife vibe, although aesthetically similar.
Originally, Thomas (the brother) was one of the narrators, but I quickly decided I wanted solely the women to be the ones telling the story.
The town of Port Holcomb is named after one of my all-time favorite singers, Drew Holcomb.
My sisters like to joke about which character they are in every book, and the truth is that that isn’t how I create characters! They aren’t replicas of exact people. That being said, the Trampoline Argument is infamous between me and one of my sisters…so that one might be her, just a tiny bit. ;)
The very first scene I wrote in the book was Cass’ first scene, where she hits a deer with her car. I wrote it the weekend after I…um, hit a deer with my car.
Father Sam, the priest from Funeral Ladies, makes a brief cameo.
The book is very vibes-similar to Tiny Beautiful Things on Hulu, and Kathryn Hahn (although aged up a bit!) is my Remy-inspiration.
In the book, there’s an argument over a fiberglass fish named Norbert the Northern. I have, in fact, caught a giant northern pike and it made me a master angler in Manitoba at the age of 14. 💪🏻
Tickets for the 6/2 event with Reads by the River can be purchased here and include a copy of the book.
Mark your calendars: I’m also going to be in conversation with Emily Giffin on July 9th in the Milwaukee area to celebrate her new release—tickets are required, and can soon be purchased here.
“Swinarski thoughtfully creates a family who finds its way to grace and forgiveness, both for one another and for themselves.” - Booklist
Thanks for being here. It means more than you know—truly. 🖤
Love, love, love,
Claire
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