So, like, what's your author brand?

+ some sales! 📚

In Wisconsin, we wait all year for July. When it’s warm enough to read late into the evening on the back porch under our brand-new twinkle lights with a summer shandy, and the lake with its curling and crashing waves is perfect for tubing. There’s a reason so many of my books (What Happens Next, The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County, Take It From the Top) are set in the summertime. Its magic is a thing to behold.

I’ve been more than a little exhausted this summer; my childcare situation is held together with duct tape and a prayer, but I have a book due in October. I used to have an extremely well-organized Trello board scheduling system that I’ll probably return to in the autumn, but for now what’s working is the classic to-do list: every morning I write out a list of 3-4 things I really, really want to get done that day, and hope that I check them off at some point. This list might include things like “write 1000 words” or “wash my hair” or “take kids to splash pad” or “clean guest bathroom”. We’re living large over here, guys.

I’ve also been reading, reading, reading like a little maniac, and it’s been working wonders for my shabby little creative soul. Back in the early spring I had a phone call with my adult editor who asked me a question long the lines of, “What kind of author do you see yourself being long term?” I froze, panicked, and sputtered out something like, um, I don’t…really know which she kindly said she could tell. L-O-L. My sweet agent, upon hearing this story, immediately said “your elevated book club fiction with an edge!!!” which has a lovely brand ring and reminded me why I’m not in charge of the marketing side of things in book-land.

But as I’ve mulled it over in my head, I started to realize with a sinking feeling that I didn't really know what my “author brand” was. I like to write good, true, and beautiful stories. I like them to feel extremely realistic. I like to write for both kids and adults. I like to write things that make people think. I have midwest vibes a la J Ryan Stradel and big family vibes a la J Courtney Sullivan and over thinker introspective vibes a la Deb Caletti. I also pull inspiration from everyone from Beatrix Potter to Anthony Doerr to Carolyn Keene to Maggie Smith to CS Lewis so who, exactly, does that make me? It led to one of those self-involved-panics I’ve become so fond of, the one where people are dying all over the world from bombs but I’m mulling over My Purpose and My Goals and Boo-Hoo, the Big Hard Problems of Having Your Dream Career. (Get out your teeniest, tiniest violin, please.)

But I spotted a book at the library and snagged it off the shelves a few weeks ago. It was The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman, a book I’d recently heard about on the Middle Grade Matters podcast. I took it to my back porch with my giant Stanley of water and started reading while my littles kicked a soccer ball around.

This book.

THIS. BOOK.

I read it in a day and a half. I couldn’t stop reading. I stayed up until 10:00, which—guys! I have three children and a deadline! I do not stay up until 10:00!

I realized, turning the last page, that this is the kind of book I want to write. Not necessarily realistic contemporary fiction, although yes, that’s been my jam and probably will continue to be. But the kind of books that keep you up at night. There are different kinds of books—ones that bring you comfort and ones that tear your heart open and ones that make you laugh. I want to write books that make people think about the world and how they fit into it.

There’s nowhere I’d rather be than right here. There’s nothing I’d rather be doing than this.

If you’ve been thinking “huh, I really want to buy a Claire Swinarski book,” do I have great news for you! We’ve got some S-A-L-E-S with your name on ‘em.

The Funeral Ladies of Ellerie County e-book is on sale for $1.99 until 7/17 (across ALL book retailers, not just Bezos-land!) Two dollars—it isn’t getting cheaper than that, my friends.

Barnes and Noble is also having its preorder sale, meaning Take It From the Top and the paperback version of What Happened to Rachel Riley are both available for 25% off. These are both releasing 11/19—so fun—and B&N members can get a cheaper preorder if you order today with code PREORDER25. Becoming a rewards member is free, BTW!

If you have a theater kid in your life, it would mean the absolute world to me if you would consider a preorder of Take It From the Top. It involves former besties on the outs, a healing father/daughter relationship, a first crush, and about a million and one theater puns. (If your theater kid is excited about seeing Wicked in theaters, I think they’ll love Take It From the Top—that’s the summer mainstage show that ex-besties Eowyn and Jules are starring in!)

Take It From the Top might release in November, but it's set smack-dab in the middle of a dreamy Northwoods summer. Fireflies, campfires, sunscreen, choco tacos eaten on a dock while your feet dangle into the lake…there are lots of amazing reasons why kids should go to summer camp, and I’ve literally ALWAYS wanted to write a summer camp book. Ever since reading There’s a Bat in Bunk Five by Paula Danziger, and ever since meticulously decorating my cabin with my middle school bestie while we plotted which camp crushes we were going to try and hang out with that summer and which flip-flops went best with our cut-off shorts. The ridiculous magic of girlhood at camp is something that simply can’t be found elsewhere, and I hope I captured even a smidgen of that in Take It From the Top.

And lastly, a book I’ve loved lately for…

Kids: We’ve been loving Beyond the Pond by Joseph Kuefler—perfect for summertime, and really sweet illustrations.

Middle graders: As mentioned above: stop everything and read The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman by Gennifer Choldenko. This was truly the best middle grade I’ve read in YEARS. It follows a boy and his sister after their mother disappears and they’re thrown into foster care. The voices was stunning, the plot was fast-paced, and I read it in a day and a half. One bajillion stars.

Adults: I’ve been on a really great reading roll lately. I’m currently nose-deep in The Editor by Sara B. Franklin, a biography of famed editor Judith Jones. I am more-than-slightly obsessed with all things Julia Child, and Jones is best known for editing Mastering the Art of French Cooking, so I was primed and ready to love this one and I do. I also love a biography that dives right into the person—I get so annoyed when I pick up a biography and the first two chapters are all about their grandparents + parents. Just get to the good stuff! This focuses very narrowly into her years as an editor and the ones just before, which are clearly the most interesting.

Thanks for reading along!

-Claire-