Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Guest Blogger, Monique Bucheger, with thoughts on writing and life!


Please help me welcome, Monique Bucheger, author of The Secret Sisters Club with a heart-felt, personal guest post about why she writes. Don't forget to enter her fantastic giveaway! (Rafflecopter below).

        

The give-away includes: A $25.00 Amazon gift certificate, a set of all three of her new books as well as a set of her novels as e-books. Enter the Rafflecopter down below! Check out the blog tour links, too. Enjoy!

And heeeeere's Monique . . . 

Thank you, Kimberley, for allowing me to be a guest blogger on your blog today. I’m still new at this, but I am going to plunge ahead and hope my ramblings make sense.

Because I’m in the middle of promoting my middle grade Ginnie West Adventures series, I have been asked a lot of questions lately about my characters, my family, what I want people to get out of my books, why do I write, and numerous others.
Some are easy to answer: I love quiet and Dr. Pepper when I write, thank you, and some questions make me really stop and ponder: Yes, I do believe writers can influence people with the stories they choose to share, for good and for bad. 

Why do I write “slice of life family dramas” when fantasy worlds are so much fun to escape to?

Bad things happen in real life: illnesses, deaths, school shootings, hurricanes, child abuse and we wonder if there is a purpose to life and if so, what that is. That answer varies for each person. Especially when those events happen to someone we know personally. Sometimes we are devastated and discouraged and have a hard time coping. 

And then I start paying attention to the stories of strength, hope, and common decency that always spring up in response: ordinary people doing extraordinary things, neighbors going the extra mile with their kindness to offer comfort and service in times of need, strangers helping one another in crisis, treating each other the way you would hope someone would treat your parent or child if they were in such a dire circumstance and my faith in humanity is strengthened once again. I am grateful when people write those stories.

And that is why I write “slice of life” stories at the moment. My husband and I were foster parents for 12 years and fostered over 120 kids. Some of their stories are heartbreaking. When writing a book, new authors are often counseled to “write what you know into a book you would want to read.”

I deal with the dark subjects of child abuse and abandonment in my Ginnie West series in a way I hope empowers victims, abusers, and people who want to help both by providing a strong family who isn’t afraid to help others and share their strength with those that need it. The West family has known many trials and faced much sorrow, but at the end of the day, they stick together. 

I think we need more of that in our crazy world of little accountability for individual actions.

One day I may branch out to fantasy, but for now, the stories that call to me are the ones that mimic real-life heroes on the home front. I have 5 teenagers as well three older and four younger children. Life is tough, but I want my kids to know that they are tougher, and the way to get through life isn’t by hardening their hearts, but by treating others with the kindness we all desire.

Thanks for having me. Laugh lots … love much … write on.

Wise words - thank you so much, Monique! The reasons you write echo many of the same reasons I've written the stories I have.

Would you like an autographed, personalized copy? Visit Monique's page here to order:

Social networking links: 
 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Blog Tour Schedule for Ginnie West Adventure Series by Monique Bucheger
   
1/8/2013    cindymhogan.blogspot.com
1/24/2013   
1/25/2013   
1/28/2013   
1/31/2013    www.jlloydmorgan.com
   
 

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks for interviewing Monique. I'm always interested in hearing why authors choose to write the stories they do!

Kimberley Griffiths Little said...

I'm so glad you enjoyed Monique's guest blog, Kimberly! And glad you stopped by and commented, too. Hope you're well - and Happy New Year to you. I've been reading your blog, too, the travel and holiday posts, and just haven't had time to comment much lately. ;-)

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