Author Interview with Monique Bucheger

Welcome Monique Bucheger, author of the Ginnie West Adventure series for middle-grade readers. Her first book in the series is The Secret Sisters Club, and book two, Trouble Blows West, comes out later this month. 

Tell me about your family.

I am a happily married, single mom of 12. (My hubby works long hours—so I generally have the kids).  I have a son-in-law and a new grandbaby.

What is your favorite dessert?

Anything chocolate or cheesecake, though homemade bread and real butter works too. 🙂

If you were stuck in an airport with nothing else to read, would you rather have a copy of Twilight or Hunger Games?

Hunger Games—I haven’t read it yet, but several of my children have and love it.

List five movies you LOVE:

Yours, Mine and Ours—both versions. It’s a Wonderful Life and all three Tim Allen ‘The Santa Clause’ movies. I love Christmas movies—especially ones like The Christmas Shoes and The Christmas Box. Inspirational stories about ordinary people doing extra-ordinary things.

When did you start writing?

As a teen.

Pick a character from one of your books and tell us about him or her:

Virginia Maie Stratton West the 2^nd—AKA Ginnie West.

Ginnie is fun, courageous, loyal, funny,  adventurous, a great friend and who I wanted to be as a kid. She’s not afraid to try new things and when things go awry, she rolls with the punches and has a way of making things turn out alright… and although she seldom breaks rules on purpose, there always seem to be a lot of bent and twisted ones in her wake.

What are you working on now?

I am finishing up Trouble Blows West (book 2). I hope to have it published in e-book by Monday.  Then I’ll be finishing book 3—which got set aside when I was offered a contract for The Secret Sisters Club: A Ginnie West Adventure.

How do you come up with ideas for your books?

I started with a fun, spirited girl and populated her world with things I love: a good family, good friends, horses, and farm life. As a teen, I babysat on the farm I write about (though Ginnie’s mom, Queenie, is the only character ‘based’ on anyone—and her character is generously sprinkled with embellishment).

My husband and I have been foster parents to over 120 kids and my books deal with all sides of the child abuse issue: living with it, helping those suffering from it, empowering kids and adults.

Ginnie’s best friend Tillie was a 3^rd-generation victim of child abuse before being abandoned by her birth father. Now Ginnie and Tillie plot to unite Ginnie’s widowed dad with Tillie’s divorced mom to forge a new family and make their dream of having a sister come true.

You can read more about Monique and her Ginnie West Adventure books on her blog, or read a sample on Amazon or Barnes & Noble. She also offers printed, signed copies if you email her at monique.bucheger@gmail.com.