Tuesday, November 25, 2014

Ginnie West Adventure Blog Tour



Welcome to the  Lovingthebook Launch Party


 We are partying here in celebration of some wonderful stories from a great author: Monique Bucheger.....
 

Here 's the rest of the party.......      
November 27: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Triple-T-TotsTweens-and-Teens

 I started reading The Secret Sisters Club a few years ago and really loved it!!  The story was a great example of parents helping their children with the trials of life and how two best friends forever (BBF) can become as close as sisters.

Now I've read Simply West of Heaven which is the sequel to The Secret Sisters Club and the story continues of the adventures of Ginnie and Tillie and their life together on the West farm.

With Ginnie still dealing with the death of her mother and her Dad keeping her mother's journals hidden away, Ginnie has to overcome the urge to wait patiently for her Dad to return those journals she so desperately wants to read.  There is something hiding in those pages and the secret of what happened so long ago before Ginnie could remember is driving her crazy. What is it that makes her Dad angry in those journals?

These stories are age appropriate for pre-teens and teens and deal with the reality of death and divorce in a family. The compassion for those children who have to deal with these issues helps the reader come to love the characters and understand a life many teens must live.


The Secret Sisters Club and Simply West of Heaven are          $.99 until NOV 30.

 http://www.amazon.com/Simply-West-Heaven-Adventure-Adventures-ebook/dp/B00AVOYI5S/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1416365841&sr=8-3&keywords=monique+bucheger





 Simply West of Heaven:


Twelve-year-old BFFs schemed to get Ginnie’s widowed dad to fall in love with Tillie’s divorced mom. When their parents go along with the matchmaking, the girls are stoked. Sweet! Not long after though, Ginnie stumbles upon her late mom's journals, making life even more awesome sauce … until her dad confiscates the journals, determined to protect Ginnie from a danger he won’t name.

Ginnie is counting on her future sister's help to make Dad change his mind, but Tillie's not so sure the ghost of Ginnie's mom will make a good addition to their new family tree. Besides, Tillie is too busy trying to keep the memory of her abusive, no-good , rotten-excuse-for-a-birth-father from bubbling to the surface to worry about what's bugging Ginnie. He left six years ago and Tillie’s knows a better dad when she sees one … Ginnie’s dad.

The girls' world gets flipped upside-down when a blast from the past shows up and makes Tillie go nutburgers. Ginnie is torn between helping her best friend and what could be the answer to her prayers. Life gets complicated lickety-split in what is sure to be the most pivotal summer of Ginnie’s life.



SIMPLY WEST OF HEAVEN:


A blurb from the story:
“Mysti, stay with Tillie.”
“What’s wrong, Uncle Jake?” Tillie asked.
He glanced at Tillie. She knew he didn’t see her. “She can’t be here. Todd’s gonna flip his lid.”
Anxiety quickly replaced all the fun and carefree feelings Tillie had been enjoying. “Why? Who’s here?”
“Nobody.” Uncle Jake pointed to the bar stool she just vacated. “Stay here. Keep Mysti with you. Please.” He turned and hurried through the doorway.
Mysti shook her head at Tillie. “I’m not staying.”
“Me neither.” Tillie followed Mysti through the dining room to the entryway.
Uncle Jake stopped so suddenly that Mysti and Tillie piled into him. He wagged his finger at each of them. “I told you to stay in the kitchen.”
“I came to get Mysti.” Tillie peeked through the screen door, gasping when she saw Ginnie’s mom. “She’s not dead.” Tillie grabbed Uncle Jake’s arm, fear and disbelief coursing through her. “Why isn’t Ginnie’s mom dead?”
“What?” Uncle Jake looked straight through Tillie like an x-ray machine. “Of course Queenie’s dead.”
“Then who’s that?” Tillie demanded, pointing to the woman that looked like an older version of her best friend.
Uncle Jake lifted an impatient Mysti into his arms. After shushing Mysti, he locked his eyes on Tillie’s. “That is my brother’s second-worst nightmare, up close and personal.”


Monique Bucheger


When Monique Bucheger isn’t writing, you can find her playing taxi driver to one or more of her children, plotting her next novel, scrapbooking, or being the “Mamarazzi” at any number of child-oriented events. Even though she realizes there will never be enough hours in any given day, Monique tries very hard to enjoy
the journey that is her life.

She shares it with a terrific husband, her dozen children, an adorable granddaughter,  a son-in-law, three cats, and many real and imaginary friends. She is the author of several books and plans to write many more. You can find more about Monique and her works at:





Monique Bucheger (author of The Ginnie West Adventure Books)

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

Adventures in Spanish.....

As a substitute teacher, I find myself in different classes and different grades in different schools.  From special needs to Geometry, going to work is an adventure.  One of the most interesting is the Spanish class I've been subbing.  I know so little about Spanish (I took French in school) that I'm not much help.  I am still the teacher and I still lead the class in their work each time I'm there but I don't know if the students are saying their words correctly. They have to depend upon each other.

Some of the students are from immigrant families and don't know any English at all.  Then there are those students who grew up in a Spanish speaking home but also know English. They really  help me when I have to figure out a way to tell those non-English speaking students what the assignments are for the day. As strange as it sounded to me, I had to ask one student to tell the other students what page we were on in their textbook.

What a strange world we live in but it is a most interesting one. As I make my way around the county teaching different classes, I  hope I can make a different in these students' lives.  I often ask them to tell me one good thing they did over the weekend or one good thing about themselves so they will remember what is important. Thanksgiving is just around the corner.....
"When we are grateful to God in our circumstances, we can experience gentle peace in the midst of tribulation. In grief, we can still lift up our hearts in praise. In pain, we can glory in Christ’s Atonement. In the cold of bitter sorrow, we can experience the closeness and warmth of heaven’s embrace."
—Dieter F. Uchtdorf, "Grateful in Any Circumstances"

Remember to say thank you often and think of good things to do in your life and think of good things about yourself and your family.  Happy Thanksgiving.

Thursday, November 6, 2014

Author Marguerite Madden's World of Books

I have a confession to make:  I never liked reading as a child. I just wasn't interested in reading. My mother tried to get me interested by finding books I might like and I did find a few that kept my interest but it wasn't until I was way past adulthood that I could not stop reading books.  Marguerite Madden's book Once Upon a Western Way would have been perfect for me to read as a teen.... She also writes non-fiction of her battle for surviving cancer. The other is a teaching experience from a horses point of view and the other is an adventure story of two children's experience.

   Once Upon a Western Way

 In a world where computers rule over everyday life, two lonely children find an old diary. It is an ancient relic left behind in the ruins of the Western Empire, a civilization long extinct. 
Young Susan finds herself moved far away from her childhood home, and betrothed to the prince of a neighboring kingdom. She vows to hate her new husband, but when a destructive force destroys her home and family when they are young adults, he is the only one she can turn to.  
Joseph fell madly in love with her the moment their eyes first met. But her prickly attitude told him that he would have to work hard to win her over. And when circumstances threw them together, he would give up the blood of his loins  to keep her safe. 
Together, are they strong enough to defeat the most unlikely of foes, and free their people from slavery  
forever? Or will they simply vanish in the hourglass of time, two small grains of sand lost forever in history?

                           Keeping a Backyard Horse

 Hay is for horses! Everyone knows that, but do you know how much hay they need? Or how much water? Did you know your horse can talk to you with his ears? Or that he can sleep standing up?

Follow along with Athena the horse as she explains the basics of keeping a horse in your backyard. She’ll teach you the basic necessities of caring for your equine friend, from what kind of fencing you can use, to tips and tricks for keeping water thawed in winter weather, and even fun stuff you can do with your horse. Keeping a backyard horse can be fairly simple, and even if you have a tight budget, it can be done!


















 

This is Markie's latest book:

                           My Butterfly Cancer

 Cancer. It's one of the things we most dread to hear about ourselves or a family member. Many people will think it's the end of the line for them.
Mrs. Madden tells the story of her recent battle with leukemia (AML specifically), and the struggles that she and her family experienced during this tragic time.
Mrs. Madden will donate 20% of her proceeds from the sale of this book to cancer charities, her way of giving back to patients in desperate need.
Find out how her battle with cancer led her to become an independently-published author, bringing her a sense of fulfillment she thought had been lost forever.




 Marguerite Madden "Markie"

 Marguerite was born August 19, 1975 in Midland, TX. She has written most of her life. She is the author of Once Upon a Western Way, a young adult science fiction/fantasy novel, Keeping a Backyard Horse, a self-help guide to caring for horses even on a budget, and My Butterfly Cancer, an autobiography that details her fight against leukemia and how cancer made her a published author. She currently lives with her family in a small southeastern Missouri town, has three dogs and a horse. She is working on a crime romance called Triple Heist, due out summer of 2015, and Fang and Claw, book One in the Undead Unit Series, due out December 2015.


 I had the chance to interview Markie on her work:

1. Tell me a little about yourself!
 I'm a 39 year old, married, mother of two teenage daughters. I live in the small farm town of Fisk, Missouri (population 326!), and I have three rescue dogs and my horse, Athena, who's featured on the cover of my book Keeping a Backyard Horse.
 
2. Wow--that is great you rescue dogs. Tell me about your latest book. What inspired you to write it? Where did you get the ideas for your plot and characters?
 My latest book is My Butterfly Cancer, my memoir detailing my battle with cancer, and how the "butterfly effect" theory started an avalanche in my life that led to me becoming a published author.
3. That sounds fascinating and scary. When did your book come out, and where can readers find it?
 My Butterfly Cancer came out in September, 2014, and is available in print at CreateSpace, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and digitally at Kindle. Soon, it will be available at Smashwords, and as an audiobook through Audible and iTunes as well.
4. Great!! What distinguishes your book from others?
 This is the brutally honest memoir of a cancer patient; I held nothing back even when it came to the most embarrassing situations I faced and the raw emotion I felt when I thought I was about to die.
5. What would you like your readers to take away from your book? What emotions and thoughts do you hope to invoke?
 I hope to inspire others who have cancer, or other life-threatening illness, and encourage them to continue to fight, that cancer doesn't have to be the end of the line and they can still live full, rich lives if they strive to do so.
6. Are you planning a sequel, or another book?
 I have two books in the works, slated for release next summer and winter. Triple Heist is a crime novel, and Fang and Claw is Book One in the Undead Unit Series, a crime/paranormal series. I'm also working to get both Keeping a Backyard Horse (currently in production) and Once Upon a Western Way (accepting auditions) converted to audiobook format at ACX.
7. What genre do you place your book in? 
 I have two non-fiction, and Once Upon a Western Way is a romantic fantasy.

8. How did you publish? Are you independent or do you have a publisher?
 At the urging of a high school friend, I am independently published through Smashwords, CreateSpace, and Kindle Direct Publishing.
9 .What's your marketing plan? Do you use social media to help you? Do you have any ideas for marketing that you'd like to share?
I spend hours a day, whenever I can, utilizing social media to help promote my books. I've also used a few paid ads through Twitter and Facebook when I have special promotions, and I'm on several promotional websites like www.askdavid.com, the Wise Grey Owl based in the UK, Words at Spangaloo, Awesome Gang, and several others. I've also organized an author blog interview that's showing great promise!
10. Are you a member of any writing/reading groups?
 I'm a member at GoodReads, Shelfari, and Scribophile, and I have author profiles at Kindlemojo and Smashwords.
11. What other links would you like me to post?
Universal Book Links
Once Upon a Western Way http://geni.us/26Fb  YouTube: http://youtu.be/0VJIEFC1MdE
Keeping a Backyard Horse http://geni.us47ot    YouTube: http://youtu.be/NbNwM8SOIq0
My Butterfly Cancer http://geni.us/3Xdr    YouTube: http://youtu.be/xLHqEAuxYXs

 
Thank you very much, Markie for answering all my questions.  I'm sure all three books are a great interest to many different readers out there.  Good  Luck.