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Wednesday, August 26, 2020

Author Interview & Giveaway: The Secret Sisters Club by Monique Bucheger

The Secret Sisters Club JustRead Blog Tour 
Welcome to the Blog Tour and Giveaway for The Secret Sisters Club by Monique Bucheger, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK


The Secret Sisters Club Title: The Secret Sisters Club
Series: Ginnie West Adventure #1
Author: Monique Bucheger
Publisher: True West Publishing 
Release Date: March 18, 2020
Genre: Middle-Grade Contemporary Fiction

Twelve-year-old BFF's Ginnie and Tillie, want to be sisters. Tillie's divorced mom plus Ginnie's widowed dad could equal a lifetime of round-the-clock girl talk and slumber parties. Too bad Dad vowed to never marry again. Ginnie and Tillie form a secret club. They come up with the perfect mission to change his mind: 'Operation Secret Sisters'.

Before long, Tillie seems happier about gaining a dad than a sister. Ginnie suspects that Tillie has turned 'Operation Secret Sisters' into a scam called 'Operation Steal My Dad.' Things get more complicated when Ginnie stumbles across her real mom's hidden journals. Ginnie can finally get to know the mother she doesn't remember and Dad doesn't talk about.

When Dad discovers she has the journals, he takes them away. Ginnie needs to figure out what the big mystery is before her relationship with her father and her best friend are ruined forever.

PURCHASE LINKS*: Goodreads | Amazon Book Depository


ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Monique Bucheger

When Monique Bucheger isn’t writing, you can find her playing taxi driver to one or more of her 12 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 on her website.

CONNECT WITH MONIQUE: Website Facebook | Instagram | Twitter


AUTHOR INTERVIEW WITH MONIQUE BUCHEGER


What was the inspiration behind The Secret Sisters Club? 
Monique: I wanted to tell the story of two BFF’s and the power of making deliberate decisions of asking for what you want. They want to be sisters--and realize that since Tillie’s mom is divorced and Ginnie’s mom passed away--that their dream  to become sisters could actually happen--IF Ginnie’s dad could be open to loving again. 

On a deeper level, Tillie wants a whole family--as a child who was abandoned by her birth dad, she wants to belong. Ginnie wants to get to know her birth mom. When she finds her mom’s journals--she gets to know the mom she doesn’t remember and realizes that her mom really understood her. She doesn’t doubt her dad’s love for her--but she knows he doesn’t understand her the way her mom did.

Ginnie loves Miss Amanda—Tillie’s mom. She struggles to love both her mom and future stepmom—a real struggle for kids in similar situations. It may or may not work out--but if they don’t try to get their folks together--then it definitely won’t. 

I think it is a powerful lesson to know what you want and try to achieve it. But if you let fear get in your way--you definitely won’t get what you want--and if you get out of your own way--quite often, you can make your dreams come true. Even if the end result doesn’t look like you thought it would--when you try, you may be pleasantly surprised by something better than what you dreamed of. 

How long did it take you to write this book? 
Monique: This book took 2 months start to finish--the fastest time I have ever spent writing one book. 

Do you have a favorite quote from The Secret Sisters Club? 
Monique:I don’t. I do have a favorite quote from my second book “Trouble Blows West”: Wests’ don’t do friendship halfway.

What do you hope readers take away from this book? 
Monique: That if you ask for what you want and make deliberate decisions to make it happen, you can achieve most anything. 

If the book was made into a movie, who would like you to see play the main characters?
Monique:

Ginnie--if I could cast a girl as Ginnie in a movie today--it would be Gracie on the cover. Gracie has a fun personality and an impish grin.

Tillie--if I could cast a girl as Tillie--it would be Jessie on the cover. The 2 of them just did a beautiful picture shoot that embraced the essence of Ginnie and Tillie.

Uncle Ben--I always picture Bruce Boxleitner I enjoyed him a s a kid on a show called "Scarecrow and Mrs. King" and "Babylon 5"--recently he has been featured on Supergirl and he was the actor who played the main character on the original movie, Tron.

I would love to see Bruce's ex-wife, Melissa Gilbert as Aunt Sadie --I loved her as a kid as Laura Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie

Ginnie's dad Todd--my first inspiration for Todd was John Schneider--Bo Duke from Dukes of Hazzard. John would be too old to play Ginnie's dad if it was filmed today--but he was the original dad image, when I dreamed Ginnie up years ago. 

Uncle Jake--I could see Michael Weatherly (Tony DiNozzo) from NCIS playing a contemporary Uncle Jake--minus the 3 piece suits.

Miss Amanda-- I could see her portrayed by Emma Watson (real life Belle and Little Women)

Would you share something about yourself that most readers wouldn’t know? 
Monique: I was a foster mom to over 100 kids. The Secret Sisters Club was actually written as the second book in the Ginnie West Adventure series.

What are you reading now? 
Monique: I have listened to my friend, James Owen’s “Drawing Out The Dragon” book on audiobook 4 times in the last 2 weeks--it has some powerful messages that he shares with middle grade students to adults. I hear something amazing and different each time I listen to it. 

How many bookcases are in your home
Monique: 5--one of which is filled with books signed by the authors. 

Is there anything else you would like to share about The Secret Sisters Club? 
Monique: I hope my readers will go on the full journey with Ginnie and Tillie—that they will laugh and cry and root for them. And I would love to hear from readers of all ages.
Please feel free to email me at: monique.bucheger@gmail.com and tell me what you loved, what you didn’t, if the story resonated with them personally and how.
I love it when my characters touch my readers. And most especially, when my readers share their stories with me. 


TOUR GIVEAWAY


(1) winner will receive a $50 Amazon gift card OR winner's choice of Google Play, Apple, or Kobo!

The Secret Sisters Club JustRead Giveaway

Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway will begin at midnight August 25, 2020 and last through 11:59 PM EST on September 1, 2020. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

 

 
Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

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9 comments:

  1. This seems like a wonderful book. Thanks for the introduction as this is how I find books now.

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  2. this sounds like a wonderful book on dealing with emotions and dreams

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  3. Thank you so much! - JustRead Tours

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  4. Sounds like a great read. Looking forward to reading the book.

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