Monique Bucheger lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
What are some names of the books or other media you have created?
My middle-grade fiction is called the Ginnie West Adventure series: 1) The Secret Sisters Club, 2) Trouble Bows West, 3) Simply West of Heaven, 4) Being West is Best, plus the story Popcorn; also see the boxed set of The Ginnie West Collection (books 1-3).
I will be launching Change Rushes West this year with my co-author, Scoot Merritt, who is an author, artist, and horse whisperer—a needed resource for our series going forward. 🙂 I am also in two anthologies: Little Boy Blue: Hope After Miscarriage and Angels from the Realms of Story. Proceeds from each anthology are donated to help people.
What inspired you to become a creator of media?
As a former foster mom to over 100 kids, I write books that empower and amuse kids. Adults resonate with my books as well. I deal with hard subjects such as alcoholism, child abuse, child abandonment, death of a parent, divorce, and blended families, all in an age-appropriate way.
My books also deal with friendship, horses, country living, overcoming hard things, and finding joy in the journey of your life. Kids aged 8 to 108 realize they can change their own stars and that they can step into their own power to become the superheroes in their own lives.
What has been the highlight of your career so far?
The highlight has been meeting people who have shared with me that my series has helped them have courage and brought them peace and healing, and knowing my series has impacted people in a positive and meaningful way.
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given in your creative journey?
Write books you want to read and be authentic. I want to impact lives in a positive, uplifting way, and my series does that. Also, write SOMEthing—you can always edit to perfection—you just can’t edit a blank page. Give yourself permission to write garbage if you need to—then FIX it. 🙂
What advice do you have for someone just starting out in your field?
Write something you are passionate about. You don’t have to know everything to start, but starting will help you learn what you need to know.
What keeps you inspired in your daily creative work?
My series is a safe place to overcome hard things—and hopefully helps others to step out of their comfort zones like my characters do to help their lives become more meaningful.
What would you like others to know about you or your creative process?
I love being a catalyst for empowering people. I am passionate about my published series as well as my two unpublished ones. I want to help people step into their courage—to be the person they know they can be. Usually the key person who holds us back is our self. Giving ourselves permission to be who we know we need to be is the first step to stepping into our own power. Allow yourself to BE that person.
In what ways do you feel you have been able to be a voice for good in your creative pursuits?
I write books that empower kids and adults. I champion kids in tough situations. I share my story of seven miscarriages and stillbirths in Little Boy Blue: Hope After Miscarriage. I lost a twenty-year-old son to a car accident and find parents in similar situations crossing my path. I always try to uplift them. I advocate for people to be heroes in their own lives—because sometimes you have to save yourself. I want to empower people to save themselves and other people they care about.
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