Simply West of Heaven by Monique Bucheger

When Monique 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, twelve grand-darlings, too many cats, and many real and imaginary friends. She is the author of several books in three series and hopes to write many more.

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When her dad confiscates her deceased mom’s journals, 12-year-old Ginnie West counts on her BFF, Tillie, to help her get them back. But Tillie’s not so sure the ghost of Ginnie’s mom will make a good addition to their new family tree.

Then the girls’ world gets flipped upside-down when a blast from the past shows up and makes Tillie go nutburgers. Life gets complicated when Ginnie is forced to choose between helping her best friend and getting the answers she’s always dreamed of.

What reviewers are saying about this book:

*Like Anne of “Anne of Green Gables,” Ginnie is a character you can’t help but love.

*I couldn’t put these books down. I was not only entertained, but inspired.

*Bucheger does an amazing job of writing this story but without giving a cookie cutter answer to the problems Ginnie faces.

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Character Casting

1) 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.

2) 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.

3) Uncle Ben–i always picture Bruce Boxleitner I enjoyed him as 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.

4) 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

5) 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.

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

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