BLOGWORDS – Wednesday 26 October 2022 –BOOK LAUNCH EVENT – EXCERPT with MONIQUE BUCHEGER
Today I’m super excited to have my friend and fellow author, Monique Bucheger, on the blog. I have read her delightful Ginnie West stories and loved them. I even bought them for my granddaughter for Christmas.
I am intrigued by the idea of story mash-ups—with characters from one story or series making an appearance in another series. I’ve seen authors do this with their own books, between different series. But I’ve not seen it between two different authors.
Ms. Bucheger and I give you that today. I can’t recall if I already knew the critical role horses would play in my story, or if reading Ginnie’s stories sparked the idea. But when I realized that Ms. Bucheger used South Carolina for a setting in her series, I latched onto the idea of using it in my story. Stratton Stables is just a bit south of Covington, the fictional city where my story takes place.
NOTE: While this excerpt demonstrates Mere’s terror of horses, it does not completely give away what happened, or why it was so devastating to her.
EXCERPT – STRATTON STABLES* first person in Meredith’s voice
Leave it to my sister to find another horse farm. And of course my husband jumped on the information she gave him.
We now stood in front of the most amazing plantation house I’d ever seen. And I’d seen plenty. Worked on a couple even, namely The Ivy Rose Inn.
This place had to go back for generations. The house was snugged between two chimneys of brick that had seen at least 200 years; like the arms of a football goal, they held the house tight and secure. Double-paned windows framed in what looked like wood, but to my trained eye were clearly vinyl. Black shutters contrasted against the white siding.
White columns soared from the first floor—not the ground floor, by the way—to the eaves above the wide porch of the second floor. Dormer windows that held generations of secrets reached out from the third floor.
As we followed the gray sandy dirt under ancient oaks the double front doors swung open and the most elegant cowgirl walked out and down the eight wide wooden steps.
“Hi, I’m Veronica Stratton Brooks.” She extended her hand and I returned the shake. “You must be Meredith and Jeremy Jernigan.”
“Nice to meet you.” It wasn’t entirely untrue; she seemed extremely friendly.
She positioned herself to my left, with Jere on my right, and indicated we follow her inside, giving us a brief history of Stratton Stables.
I was half listening, half taking in the décor of the house; Jere nudged me to keep up.
She led us down a corridor toward her office. The walls were lined with glossy photos of horse-riding champions and beauty queen shots.
“You’ve been in pageants, too.” It was an observation more than a question.
“Oh yes, my sister and I used to compete all the time.”
“These are all pics of you. Do you have any of her?”
She laughed. “Most of these are her.” Then cut me a look.
“But…”
“We’re twins.”
Jeremy laughed so hard I thought he’d fall down.
“But you’re…”
“Identical, yes.”
Still laughing, Jere fished out his wallet and showed her a pic of me and Bethy. It was the day we wore our blue sheath dresses on our first double date. We had the guys totally confused until we realized neither of them knew whose hand to reach for; I put my hat on so they could tell us apart. It was Jere’s favorite pic of us.
“Oh my gosh!” Eyes wide as saucers, Mrs. Brooks stared at the picture. Without a word, she stepped to a shelf and reached for a silver framed photo. Different hair, different pose, but the same as the one of me and Bethy—the two of them wearing identical aqua sundresses, standing back-to-back, and smirking at the camera.
“What’s your sister’s name?” I suddenly warmed right up to this Mrs. Brooks, and her sister.
“She was born Ginnie but Daddy and I called her Widget and her husband renamed her Queenie because of all her beauty pageant wins. That, and he said she was ‘the queen of his heart’. Corny, yes, but sweet.”
“Where’s your sister now?”
Mrs. Brooks paused. “She passed away.”
“Oh, Mrs. Brooks, I’m so sorry.” Way to go Meredith. Stick your foot right in your fat mouth.
“Thank you. It’s been a long time but it’s something you never get used to.” She took a deep breath. “And please call me Roni.”
Thankfully voices in the corridor broke the awkwardness.
“Daddy, come in her a minute.”
Two men stepped into the room.
“Meredith, this is my father, Cabot Stratton.” Roni stepped closer to a tall, dark-haired gentleman. “And this handsome guy is my husband, Sterling Brooks.” She gave him an adoring smile.
“This is Meredith and Jeremy Jernigan. They’re here so Meredith can learn to ride.” I appreciated how she didn’t mention the reason I needed to learn.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“You’re British.” Duh. Geez, sometimes I said the dumbest things. At least I didn’t ask if he was from England.
“What part of England are you from?” It was like Jere could read my mind.
“Mostly from Sussex, but have family scattered about.”
Mr. Stratton was clearly a powerful man, I could see the affection for his daughter in his eyes, but he stood tall and commanded respect.
“We have a meeting to attend.” He shook Jere’s hand and tipped his hat to me. “Nice to meet y’all.”
“And that’s my dad.”
Roni offered us some sweet tea before taking us out to tour the property.
“Your sister explained a little of what happened to you, Meredith.” Roni talked as we walked. “Why don’t you tell me in your words.”
How did I tell her that? That these beasts that she loved so much had crippled me in the worst possible way? I considered showing her the scar but figured that would be over the top.
“Your sister said you visited Shiloh last week?”
“Yeah.”
“And did that help? Seeing where it happened?”
She seemed to understand more than I thought. “It did. I wasn’t sure what to expect but once Jere convinced me to go it felt right. I was terrified even though I wasn’t on a horse—they only have senior horses now. No one rides them anymore.”
Roni smiled and nodded.
Once I started the words just fell out of my brain and I couldn’t stop. I told her how much fun me and B had had that summer, riding and swimming and riding our bikes all over Kerry Hills.
I told her about the fake snake and how Petal had reared and how I fell. How—
“Mere?” Jere rushed to me, eased me down to a hay bale to sit. “You’re white as a sheet.”
“Rand, bring some water please.” I sensed more than saw Roni kneel in front of me. “Breathe. In. Out. Head between your knees. Breathe. In. Out. In. Out.” She looked up. “Thanks, Rand.” She turned back to me. “Drink this.”
I sipped at the water. It wasn’t cold but I could feel it in my veins, kick-starting my brain, my emotions.
“Babe.” Jere knelt next to me now. “What happened?”
“Petal…” Tears welled, then trickled. “She was trying to protect me.”
“Oh my gosh…” Roni sank onto the hay next to me, her eyes glassy and her hand over her mouth.
I stumbled from my stupor. “Roni, what’s the matter?”
“That’s what happened to my sister.”
“What do you mean? What happened to her? A snake scared her horse, too?”
“What?” She looked up, wiped her tears on her sleeve, and stood back up fully composed. “Wild dogs. She was riding her horse, Eternal Love, and encountered a pack of wild dogs. Love reared, throwing her and my niece. Widget didn’t make it.” She paused, drew a breath. “We couldn’t prevent her death but we decided to make something good come of it—we started a foundation for riders and horses that had been hurt in accidents. Helping other people makes her loss more bearable. And it is healing for me.” She drew a deep breath. “If we can prevent even one other person from getting injured or… Well, then we’ve honored her death.”
We exited the barn and I wondered what life would be like without Bethy; I couldn’t imagine.
Roni’s boots crunched on the gravel path. “Oh, and by the way, when Widget and her husband—his name is Todd. When they had their first baby, well babies—she had twins.”
“You’re kidding!”
“Let me guess, more identicals?”
“I should hope not.” Roni chuckled. “A boy and a girl.”
We entered a second barn and I looked around. Twelve stalls with horses in four of them.
“I thought there would be more horses.”
“Oh, honey.” Roni put on a deep Southern drawl. “They’s a whole lot more’n just these ‘uns.”
My mouth formed an “O” and I nodded.
“The others are out for exercise in the paddock, and Lilly, Fancy, Sugar, and Tucker are out with new riders.” She stopped outside one of the stalls and unlatched it. “This is Bella. She’s a gentle horse, wonderful for new—or traumatized—riders. She’s young and really sweet. Kind of like Petal.”
Roni led Bella to the tack room, brushed and saddled her, then placed a stool for mounting. “Ready?” she asked.
I froze.
Jere massaged my shoulders, releasing a fraction of the tension.
“I know it can be scary because my sister died,” Roni continued. “But I also know how damaging it can be to live with that kind of fear.” She held out the stirrup. “Up you go.”
Jere nudged me and my foot moved, my boot touching the metal. You can do this, Meredith. I squeezed my eyes shut, and half-swung my leg and half-crawled onto her back. But I was sitting in the saddle. Sitting on a horse. I WAS ON A FREAKING HORSE!
“That’s it, Meredith.” Roni’s voice was calm and soothing. “You’re doing great.”
“You good?” Jere winked at me from his saddle on Aslan, the golden Arabian he was riding.
“I think so.” I was fighting not to hyperventilate.
“Deep breaths.” He took my hand in his and patted the young Andalusian’s withers—he had given me lessons in horse breeds and basic anatomy.
“Okay.” Following Roni, I nudged Bella’s sides with my boots—Jere had bought me cowboy boots just for today’s ride—and the gentle black beast moved at a slow walk, easing into an easy trot. “Ohhh…” My face relaxed a little and I actually smiled. “This is nice.”
“I knew you’d love it.”
“Just no snakes.”
“Bella knows what to do.”
“No. Snakes.”
“Ready to go a little faster?” Roni prompted after several minutes.
“Maybe?”
As Jeremy nudged his horse, Aslan, to a canter, Bella met his pace, and soon we were galloping along the trail.
And now, please welcome, Roni Stratton herself.
Why hello, y’all. It’s been busier than a stick of butter in a kitchen full of frying pans here at Stratton Stables. I was so happy that Meredith and Jeremy Jernigan stopped by today. So grateful Meredith was able to overcome her fear of horses and take a little ride on our sweet Bella. The fact that Meredith is also an identical twin made my heart beat in a way only another identical twin would know.
I also thought it was fun that Meredith and her husband’s names rhymed: Mere and Jere. My twin sister, Ginnie, and I were called Widget and Gidget growing up. She hated it more than I did, but even she admitted that the matching names were cool at times.
Finding out that Mere’s fear of horses came about because she was thrown as a girl was heart-wrenching in a multitude of ways. Ginnie passed when her horse reared, trying to save her and my three-year-old niece from feral dogs. I’m glad Mere’s story had a happier ending.
I love that she has become a foster-adoptive mom. She and Jere are certainly the answer to some very lucky children’s prayers. Motherhood is a blessing, no matter how it comes about.
What’s not to love about kids? Most are sweeter than a little red wagon full of speckled pups. Mere and Jere seem to be big-hearted types at the ready when a hug is needed or a tear needs to be wiped. Though fitting their large family on a Harley might be a bit more ambitious than hiring a one-armed wallpaper hanger.
A WORD FROM MONIQUEHello Folks! It’s been fun to read about Mere and Jere’s visit to Stratton Stables. I’m so glad Roni was able to help Mere overcome her reluctance to riding a horse and was able to help her replace her terrifying experience with a more positive memory. I’ve enjoyed reading Meredith and Jeremy’s story and glad Robin reached out to share their little corner of the south. Roni’s niece (half-orphaned when her mom was thrown from her horse) is the main character in my Ginnie West series. Roni has recently reunited with her sister’s children and helps Ginnie in particular heal from the loss of her mother.
THE (GUEST) AUTHOR
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 and 3 in-law kids, eleven granddarlings, 5 cats, and many real and imaginary friends.
She is the author of five published books (and several unpublished ones) and is in two anthologies. You can find more about Monique and her works at: www.moniquebucheger.blogspot.com
GIVEAWAY
Ms. Bucheger is giving away one (1) copy of Simply West of Heaven, winner’s choice of an ebook or a signed print copy. Enter by clicking on the link below.
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