Wayward Saints [Advance Uncorrected Proofs]

From a folk-rock legend comes a tender, comic story of family, music, and second chances.

Mary Saint, the rule-breaking, troubled former lead singer of the almost-famous band Sliced Ham, has pretty much given up on music after the trauma of her band member and lover Garbagio's death seven years earlier. Instead, with the help of her best friend, Thaddeus, she is trying to piece her life together while making mochaccinos in San Francisco. Meanwhile, back in her hometown of Swallow, New York, her mother, Jean Saint, struggles with her own ghosts.

When Mary is invited to give a concert at her old high school, Jean is thrilled, though she's worried about what Father Benedict and her neighbors will think of songs such as "Sewer Flower" and "You're a Pig." But she soon realizes that there are going to be bigger problems when the whole town -- including a discouraged teacher and a baker who's anything but sweet -- gets in on the act.

Filled with characters that are wild and original, yet still familiar and warm -- plus plenty of great insider winks at the music industry -- Wayward Saints is a touching and hilarious look at confronting your past and going home again.

Along with her sisters, Maggie and Terre, Suzzy Roche is a founding member of the beloved singing group The Roches, whose debut recording was named Album of the Year by the New York Times in 1979. She has been touring for over 30 years, appeared on SNL, The Letterman Show, and the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The Roches have collaborated with Paul Simon, The Indigo Girls, Philip Glass, and Laurie Anderson. She recently teamed up with Meg Wolitzer to co-host "A Love Affair Between Words and Music" for WNYC at Symphony Space in New York, and is the creator of "Zero Church," a performance piece that has been performed all over the United States. In 2013, her first children's book will be published by Random House.