Earlier today I posted up my review for Kelley Kaye Bowes’ latest YA title, Down in the Belly of the Whale, which happens to be available for FREE on Amazon today (It’s never going to be going cheaper than that, so go grab your copy right now – it’s ok, I’ll wait).

The first thing you need to know about this author is that she has the power to light up your inbox with a single email – this makes her the perfect partner in crime when it comes to writing a warm fuzzy post for Thanksgiving (we don’t celebrate on this side of the pond, so I’m calling it a gratitude post).

On the subject of giving thanks, I came up with 3 questions that we’ve both answered for your reading pleasure…. enjoy! I’d also love to hear what answers you might have to these questions, so please feel free to answer in the comments to keep the warm fuzzies going!

Kelley Kay Bowles

1) Big or small, what’s a memory that makes you smile?

One day when my youngest son was small, I’m driving him and his friend home from transitional kindergarten, and they are laughing so hard. His friend kept chortling and informing the rest of us that everything we said was “ridickulus”. We laughed and laughed, all the way home.

2) In the past year, what are you most thankful for?
I am thankful every day, every year that I and my family are together and safe. Right now the California fires are still burning. I am thankful that we haven’t needed to evacuate and no one has been harmed. I wish that were true for everyone involved, but all I can do is teach my family to understand the power of fire (and water—the ocean can be a monster too) and be cautious and aware and prepared. One of my favorite book characters—Jack Reacher—lives by the motto of “expect the best, but prepare for the worst”. I love that, because I feel like that is right in line with my desire to be optimistic and pragmatic simultaneously. It’s tough to do both. Repetition is key to habit forming.

3) Do you have an incident where something that seemed like a bad thing at the time turned out to be a blessing in disguise?
The fact that I have Multiple Sclerosis has been an incredible blessing. In disguise, though—totally. When I have symptoms, which I do—a lot—that’s the disguise part. But over all, learning to function with that illness has provided me with compassion, perspective, appreciation, more gratitude, and even my first publication! I can’t be anything but (sometimes begrudgingly) grateful for the diagnosis. Even right now, as I write this—it’s a little begrudgingly 😊

Nia

1) Big or small, what’s a memory that makes you smile?

Several years ago, a group of my friends and I were road-tripping to a football game and made up a song for approaching traffic lights to make sure they turned green at the right time – it’s was such a fun and silly day but I still sing at traffic lights…

2) In the past year, what are you most thankful for?
This month marks my first full year of marriage and I can honestly say that legally binding myself to a man who laughs at my jokes and doesn’t care that I’m a sarcastic hermit was the best thing I’ve ever done. I’m thankful for having a best friend daft enough to agree to spend the rest of his life with me!

3) Do you have an incident where something that seemed like a bad thing at the time turned out to be a blessing in disguise?
7 years ago, I moved back to my University town when I had to leave my family home under a cloud – I learnt how amazing my friends are, how some people will surprise you with their kindness when life is delivering you with a swift kicking to the squishy bits and that keeping a sense of humour is critical when it comes to staying sane. Knowing how amazing those people are was sometimes that only thing getting me through the day  so now I try to be one of those people for others which can only be a good thing.