Thanksgiving is here, and the kindle version Down in the Belly of the Whale will be for FREE for those who have Amazon Unlimited only today. To celebrate, its wonderful author Kelley Kay Bowles has answered some of my questions!
Summary: Harper Southwood is a teenage girl who can sense when
people will get sick—but so what? She can’t predict her best friend’s
depression or her mother’s impending health crisis. Being helpful is all
Harper ever wanted, but she feels helpless in the face of real
adversity. Now, she’s got a chance to summon her courage and use her
wits to fight for justice. Laugh and cry along with this irrepressible,
high-spirited teen in her journey of self-discovery, as she learns that
compassion and internal strength are her real gifts, her true
superpower.
You can check here our review for Down in the Belly of the Whale!
What made you want to write YA? Is it related to being a teacher?
That’s definitely one reason! Twenty years of listening to them talk and learning all their stories 
definitely made me interested in capturing that world. But I also love reading YA—Lois Duncan, Judy Blume, Madeline L’Engle, Suzanne Collins, I love them all! That’s also why I write mystery. I’m aspiring to capture them all.
Was there any event you didn't get to include or had to edit out of the book?
definitely made me interested in capturing that world. But I also love reading YA—Lois Duncan, Judy Blume, Madeline L’Engle, Suzanne Collins, I love them all! That’s also why I write mystery. I’m aspiring to capture them all.Was there any event you didn't get to include or had to edit out of the book?
No, but I had to make sure to complete some real research to include the pretext call. I met with the District Attorney in the town I was living in then. I thought It helped that it was a small town and I just happened to have directed him in a play at a neighborhood church. 😊 But since I moved to San Diego, all my research interactions have been equally wonderful. People are happy to share their expertise!
One of your characters deals with health issues similar to yours, what made you decide to write about it?
One of your characters deals with health issues similar to yours, what made you decide to write about it?
That’s one of the best ways to deal with it—don’t you think? I’ve been progressing in importance of characters each time I write about it: One much earlier book she was a minor character—only in one scene, then Harper’s mother, and in a book I’m writing right now the MAIN CHARACTER is going to be diagnosed. She just doesn’t know it yet.
What made me feel the most for Harper was that she thinks she doesn't belong with her family. Though for different reasons, I believe that to be common among teenagers. Where did the idea come from? And, if you could, what would you say to Harper?
What made me feel the most for Harper was that she thinks she doesn't belong with her family. Though for different reasons, I believe that to be common among teenagers. Where did the idea come from? And, if you could, what would you say to Harper?
You know something? I don’t even know where the idea came from! I never felt like that in my own family. I guess it was just an interesting take on two teenage norms: that they all feel like they don’t belong somewhere, at some point, and they all have conflict with their parents. I’ve had many students who’ve heard ‘You don’t get to choose your family. All you get to choose is how you react to them’ from me, so I guess I was just approaching all of those ideas from a different angle: what if she doesn’t belong because in her mind she doesn’t measure up?
What are you planning next?
What are you planning next?
I am working on the first book of a YA Paranormal Series called The Meld. I’m halfway through the first draft of the first book. I’m working on the 3rd book of the Chalkboard Outlines cozy mystery series—this one’s called Strangled by Simile. I’m about halfway through that first draft too. I’m still looking for an agent for my self-help memoir titled The A or B Principle. Do you know any agents? LOL
Free question! Answer us a question you haven't been asked yet.
Free question! Answer us a question you haven't been asked yet.
Haha if I haven’t been asked it yet, how am I supposed to know what it is? 😉
As you mentioned in our mail exchange, it's Thanksgiving! Tell us about things for which you are grateful.
As you mentioned in our mail exchange, it's Thanksgiving! Tell us about things for which you are grateful.
I am grateful for breathing. I’m grateful the destructive winds around here have calmed down and we haven’t had to evacuate for one of the California fires. I’m grateful for my two sons—they are so interesting and entertaining it’s unbelievable! Last night I watched my husband give certificates he’d made himself to each of his soccer players, and talk about each kid, finding something about all of them worth celebrating in the season. I’m grateful to be able to see how cool and unusual it is for someone to take that volunteer position so seriously, and how much the kids benefited from it. And that’s MY guy…😊
Down in the Belly of the Whale
Check our review for the book, Down in the Belly of the Whale!Purchase Links
https://www.instagram.com/kelkay1202/
About the Author
Kelley
Kay Bowles is the pen name for the YA fiction of Kelley Bowles Gusich.
Kelley taught high school English and Drama for twenty years in
Colorado and California, but a 1994 MS diagnosis has (circuitously)
brought her, finally, to the life of writer and mother, both
occupations she adores, and both of which were dreamed of clear back at
stories surrounding her Barbie and Ken. Her debut novel, cozy mystery Death by Diploma (pen name Kelley Kaye),was released by Red Adept Publishing February 2016, and is first in the Chalkboard Outlines® series. Book 2, Poison by Punctuation, was just released. Down in the Belly of the Whale is
her first traditionally published YA novel, and she’s currently
working on a paranormal series with a working name THE MELD. She has
two wonderful and funny sons, and an amazing husband who cooks for her.
She lives in Southern California.
Kelley is active on Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin and GoodReads. Her website is www.kelleykaybowles.com where she aspires to blog once per week.
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