This post is all about Monica’s novel, Chateau Green!
Disclosure
Published September 19, 2025
This page might contain affiliate links. In the event of a sale, I will be awarded a small commission (at no extra cost for you).
Last spring, an idea hit.
Inspiration.
An idea to write a novel about a girl, living my dream life.
For the last decade, I have been openly obsessed with all things French.
Bread. Pastries. Chateaux. Wine.
All of it!
I watch many YouTube channels that follow families or individuals who move to France, buy a chateau, and renovate it. So, when I figured out I wanted to write a novel, the saying, “write what you know,” came to mind.
And I did! I sat at my computer, and the idea went from concept to reality. The words poured out of me, quite literally, and I obsessively wrote this novel in about three months.
Then, I went back to school to finish my bachelor’s degree, and worked on that for fifteen months. This December, 2026, I will graduate with my bachelor’s degree in education with a minor in special education. This accomplishment, paired with working on edits for my novel, coincided with going back to work as a paraprofessional at our local Middle School.
I was a stay-at-home mom for fifteen years.
All the changes.
All at once.
My friend worked on my cover art, and I found an editor who helped me proof the novel.
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What is Chateau Green about?
My novel is about a woman named Zoe who lives in Wisconsin. She is a pastry chef who owns a business during the pandemic. The novel deals with her struggle to keep the doors open, and then her journey to what life brings next. It is filled with friendship, love, laughter, travel, pastries, and a magnificent chateau nestled in an idyllic village in France.
Here is a little teaser:
Scratch Kitchen Cafe was a thriving business owned by Zoe in Ephraim, Wisconsin, a quaint town in the idyllic wine-growing region of Door County. Heather was the vivacious counter girl, and with the talents of Abby in the kitchen, the cafe thrived and served the village their coffee drinks and pastries. That was, until the pandemic threatened her livelihood, forcing her to only serve at a distance. Zoe was left with no choice but to close her cafe after eleven years, as business fell to nothing.
In a changing world, filled with masks, mandates, social distancing, and coin shortages, Zoe decided to leave everything behind and put all she had into a new adventure – one that took her away from all she was comfortable with, away from her family, to a castle halfway around the world.
Château Vert in Montresor, France, was a family estate dating back to the French Revolution. Zoe fell in love with it when she first vacationed with her family in 2008, revisiting the real estate office window to gaze at the listing often. Now, amidst a worldwide pandemic, peeling wallpaper and thick cobwebs, she found herself falling in love all over again.
Where can you purchase Chateau Green?
Château Green is for sale on Amazon. It was published on August 28, 2025, and is available in both Kindle and paperback formats.
Click the link below or HERE to find it on Amazon.
Author’s Copies
When I went to publish my novel, there was a frustrating time of not having any publishers interested. Each time I tried to reach out, there was a note on their website saying they “do not accept manuscripts.”
Upon further research, I found that it is nearly I’m possible to get a book deal unless you fit one of these three categories:
- You are famous
- You are a social media influencer
- You already have a publisher or agent
As I was none of these things, it was up to me to be a self-publisher. Now, that is a crazy route as well. Indy authors beg stores to stock their books. Paying for the copies themselves. Often buying their book in vast quantities to do this.
I don’t have the finances to do that. So what am I left to do?
I chose to publish my novel, Chateau Green, using Kindle Direct Publishing. I was able to work on the cover pages, typeset my own novel, and publish it myself.
The downside is that I do not have an agent to represent me or pay for help with promoting my book. So that leaves me to do it myself.
Did you know, as an author who self-publishes using KDP, you get an “author’s copy” so you can check the book for errors prior to printing? I choose to get one for each of our four kids.
I’ve been writing blogs, on and off, since 2015. That is a decade of writing, publishing online, and allowing my words to be out in the universe. Now, as a published author, the feeling of seeing my book on a bookshelf fills me with joy. Feeling the velvety cover, seeing my name on the front and reading the words that were once bouncing in my brain now on paper, is the most surreal feeling.
To me, Chateau Green is like my 5th child. For real. This child has been worked on for nineteen months and is now out in the world.
I hope you love it as much as I do. As much as I did while writing it. And editing. And typesetting. And rewrites. And more edits. Chateau Green was a joy to create.
You may also like…
If you love casseroles, or bake dishes, and you are craving something Asian-inspired, look no further than this Teriyaki Chicken Casserole with rice recipe! Homemade Teriyaki Sauce is so easy to make and incredibly delicious!
Still looking for a dinner idea? Living in the Midwest, casseroles are big. Like, an every week deal. This was one recipe that my mom made for me and my sister and brother. However, this Tater-Tot Casserole recipe has a twist… Homemade cream of mushroom soup instead of the canned gelatinous glop that comes out of the can. Check out the recipe by clicking the link below for Tater-Tot Casserole with Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup.
This post was all about Chateau Green, a new novel by Monica L Riske.
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