08/3/11
WACKY WEDNESDAY: Kids say the darndest things
by Rebecca J. Clark
closeAuthor: Rebecca J. Clark
Name: Rebecca J. Clark
Email: rebeccajclark.author@gmail.com
Site: http://www.rebeccajclark.com
About: Rebecca J. Clark, a 2008 Golden Heart finalist, has wanted to write romance novels since she read her first Harlequin Romance at age 11. When she’s not writing, she works as a personal fitness trainer and group exercise instructor, where she teaches Pilates, Turbokick®, Zumba®, and yoga. She makes her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of 22 years, two kids, a German Shepherd beast who thinks he’s a lap dog, two cats, and a gecko. In her abundant free time, Rebecca enjoys reading, watching Criminal Minds reruns on TV, and doing absolutely nothing.See Authors Posts (26)
After Sharon’s emotional post yesterday and Grace’s eloquent one the day before, I was tempted just to post a blank page today, knowing I couldn’t compete. But here I am. Maybe I can’t be as emotional or eloquent but I might be able to make you smile.
I think it was the late, great Art Linkletter who coined that phrase, “Kids say the darndest things.” Ain’t that the truth. My kids are teenagers now, and would kill me if they were to read this post, but they wouldn’t be caught dead near here, so I think I’m safe.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Wacky Wednesday| 26 Comments »
07/26/11
Tuesday at the theater
by Rebecca J. ClarkcloseAuthor: Rebecca J. Clark
Name: Rebecca J. Clark
Email: rebeccajclark.author@gmail.com
Site: http://www.rebeccajclark.com
About: Rebecca J. Clark, a 2008 Golden Heart finalist, has wanted to write romance novels since she read her first Harlequin Romance at age 11. When she’s not writing, she works as a personal fitness trainer and group exercise instructor, where she teaches Pilates, Turbokick®, Zumba®, and yoga. She makes her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of 22 years, two kids, a German Shepherd beast who thinks he’s a lap dog, two cats, and a gecko. In her abundant free time, Rebecca enjoys reading, watching Criminal Minds reruns on TV, and doing absolutely nothing.See Authors Posts (26)
When I’m tired in the evening and don’t have the creative energy to write, I love to zone out to reruns of a favorite TV show or watch a favorite movie for the umpteenth time. Watching something I’ve seen before allows me to relax more than needing to pay attention—if I doze, I really won’t miss anything because I already know what comes next.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Tuesday at the Theater (or Bookstore)| 11 Comments »
05/30/11
Monday Musings
by Rebecca J. ClarkcloseAuthor: Rebecca J. Clark
Name: Rebecca J. Clark
Email: rebeccajclark.author@gmail.com
Site: http://www.rebeccajclark.com
About: Rebecca J. Clark, a 2008 Golden Heart finalist, has wanted to write romance novels since she read her first Harlequin Romance at age 11. When she’s not writing, she works as a personal fitness trainer and group exercise instructor, where she teaches Pilates, Turbokick®, Zumba®, and yoga. She makes her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of 22 years, two kids, a German Shepherd beast who thinks he’s a lap dog, two cats, and a gecko. In her abundant free time, Rebecca enjoys reading, watching Criminal Minds reruns on TV, and doing absolutely nothing.See Authors Posts (26)
QUESTION for READERS & WRITERS: When reading a book, do you ever get halfway through it, then cheat and read the last page to see how it ends? Have you ever been so disappointed from the revelation that you stopped reading the book?
I’ve done this a few times, with books and with movies. Recently, I read the last page of Shutter Island, because “it better not end how I think it might end.” I won’t tell you how it ended, but I did finish the book. And loved it. Before seeing Titanic, I needed to know if Rose and/or Jack went down with the ship–I think I enjoyed the movie more that way, knowing poor Jack didn’t make it. I think, had I not known that, I might have walked out. I hate movies/stories with unhappy endings. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know Rose learned to live life her own way, fully and with no regrets, thanks to her brief relationship with Jack. But the writers turned the poor guy into an icycle. Dead hero = unhappy ending in my book.
What about you? Do you ever need to know the ending before you finish?
Posted in News| 6 Comments »
04/22/11
Singing the Seasonal Blues
by Rebecca J. ClarkcloseAuthor: Rebecca J. Clark
Name: Rebecca J. Clark
Email: rebeccajclark.author@gmail.com
Site: http://www.rebeccajclark.com
About: Rebecca J. Clark, a 2008 Golden Heart finalist, has wanted to write romance novels since she read her first Harlequin Romance at age 11. When she’s not writing, she works as a personal fitness trainer and group exercise instructor, where she teaches Pilates, Turbokick®, Zumba®, and yoga. She makes her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of 22 years, two kids, a German Shepherd beast who thinks he’s a lap dog, two cats, and a gecko. In her abundant free time, Rebecca enjoys reading, watching Criminal Minds reruns on TV, and doing absolutely nothing.See Authors Posts (26)
This time of year is always hard for me. I live in the Pacific Northwest, where most of the days from October to April are gray, drizzly and dark. Although I grew up around here, I never realized how much the weather affected my moods until I moved to sunny Boise for 9 years. The winters there might be cold, but the skies were usually blue and sunny.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in News| 14 Comments »
02/25/11
TGIF–Balancing writing with the rest of my life
by Rebecca J. ClarkcloseAuthor: Rebecca J. Clark
Name: Rebecca J. Clark
Email: rebeccajclark.author@gmail.com
Site: http://www.rebeccajclark.com
About: Rebecca J. Clark, a 2008 Golden Heart finalist, has wanted to write romance novels since she read her first Harlequin Romance at age 11. When she’s not writing, she works as a personal fitness trainer and group exercise instructor, where she teaches Pilates, Turbokick®, Zumba®, and yoga. She makes her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of 22 years, two kids, a German Shepherd beast who thinks he’s a lap dog, two cats, and a gecko. In her abundant free time, Rebecca enjoys reading, watching Criminal Minds reruns on TV, and doing absolutely nothing.See Authors Posts (26)
My name is Becky Clark and I am a very unorganized person.
I am also a very busy person. Those two qualities don’t bode well for someone who’s trying to balance a day job with a writing career. And also my roles as wife and mother.
So, why am I writing a post about balance? Because I know what doesn’t work. Sometimes, if you know what doesn’t work, it makes it easier to figure out what does.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in News| 14 Comments »
02/7/11
Monday Musings
by Rebecca J. ClarkcloseAuthor: Rebecca J. Clark
Name: Rebecca J. Clark
Email: rebeccajclark.author@gmail.com
Site: http://www.rebeccajclark.com
About: Rebecca J. Clark, a 2008 Golden Heart finalist, has wanted to write romance novels since she read her first Harlequin Romance at age 11. When she’s not writing, she works as a personal fitness trainer and group exercise instructor, where she teaches Pilates, Turbokick®, Zumba®, and yoga. She makes her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of 22 years, two kids, a German Shepherd beast who thinks he’s a lap dog, two cats, and a gecko. In her abundant free time, Rebecca enjoys reading, watching Criminal Minds reruns on TV, and doing absolutely nothing.See Authors Posts (26)
If you’re a writer, you’re going to get rejected. Probably more than once. Probably more than 10 times. Maybe even 20. Or 30. Or 50. And no matter how many times you get rejected, the next one always stings. No matter how thick your skin, it’s never fun to be turned down.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in News| 18 Comments »
01/3/11
Monday Musings: 2011 Health Resolutions
by Rebecca J. ClarkcloseAuthor: Rebecca J. Clark
Name: Rebecca J. Clark
Email: rebeccajclark.author@gmail.com
Site: http://www.rebeccajclark.com
About: Rebecca J. Clark, a 2008 Golden Heart finalist, has wanted to write romance novels since she read her first Harlequin Romance at age 11. When she’s not writing, she works as a personal fitness trainer and group exercise instructor, where she teaches Pilates, Turbokick®, Zumba®, and yoga. She makes her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of 22 years, two kids, a German Shepherd beast who thinks he’s a lap dog, two cats, and a gecko. In her abundant free time, Rebecca enjoys reading, watching Criminal Minds reruns on TV, and doing absolutely nothing.See Authors Posts (26)
It’s that time of year again. Time to make your New Year’s resolutions. If you’re like many people, your resolutions will revolve around health, fitness and losing weight. How many times have you said, “This will be the year I finally lose those pesky extra pounds”? And how many times have you actually lost the weight?
I have a suggestion. Don’t set a weight goal this year. Instead, write down some specific steps you’ll need to do to lose that weight. Then pick two or three of them to be your resolutions.
For example, some steps you might take are:
- Eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day
- Take a walk at least 3 days a week for at least 20 minutes each time
- Drink 6-8 glasses of water a day
There are many, many small steps you can start with. The key is to make them reasonable and attainable. Once that step becomes a habit, set a new goal. And so on and so on until you’ve reached your ultimate goal of losing weight or getting fit.
So tell me: what’s your 2011 health resolution? Mine is to add another day of yoga practice to my week (I already practice 1-2x/week), and to eat at least one leafy green veggie most days of the week.
Rebecca J. Clark works in the fitness industry when she’s not writing contemporary romances. She is a personal trainer and group exercise instructor, teaching Turbokick, Zumba, Pilates and yoga classes each week. You can learn more about her writing career on her website.
Posted in News| 9 Comments »
12/3/10
Avoiding holiday weight gain
by Rebecca J. ClarkcloseAuthor: Rebecca J. Clark
Name: Rebecca J. Clark
Email: rebeccajclark.author@gmail.com
Site: http://www.rebeccajclark.com
About: Rebecca J. Clark, a 2008 Golden Heart finalist, has wanted to write romance novels since she read her first Harlequin Romance at age 11. When she’s not writing, she works as a personal fitness trainer and group exercise instructor, where she teaches Pilates, Turbokick®, Zumba®, and yoga. She makes her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of 22 years, two kids, a German Shepherd beast who thinks he’s a lap dog, two cats, and a gecko. In her abundant free time, Rebecca enjoys reading, watching Criminal Minds reruns on TV, and doing absolutely nothing.See Authors Posts (26)
Did you know the average person gains 2-5 lbs between Thanksgiving and New Year’s? I don’t know about you, but I really don’t want to be five pounds heavier come 2011.
Now, you might think as a personal fitness trainer that I’ll be perfect in my diet this month. Oh, how wrong you are. I don’t believe in depriving myself this time of year. There are too many yummy treats. And the minute I tell myself I can’t have something, then that’s all I want and I’ll do pretty much anything to get it. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in News| 15 Comments »
11/22/10
Thankful
by Rebecca J. ClarkcloseAuthor: Rebecca J. Clark
Name: Rebecca J. Clark
Email: rebeccajclark.author@gmail.com
Site: http://www.rebeccajclark.com
About: Rebecca J. Clark, a 2008 Golden Heart finalist, has wanted to write romance novels since she read her first Harlequin Romance at age 11. When she’s not writing, she works as a personal fitness trainer and group exercise instructor, where she teaches Pilates, Turbokick®, Zumba®, and yoga. She makes her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of 22 years, two kids, a German Shepherd beast who thinks he’s a lap dog, two cats, and a gecko. In her abundant free time, Rebecca enjoys reading, watching Criminal Minds reruns on TV, and doing absolutely nothing.See Authors Posts (26)
Every night before I fall asleep, I think of five things I’m thankful for that day. On this week of Thanksgiving, I’d like to know what you’re thankful for in your writing career. Be specific, if you can.
Here’s my list:
1. I’m thankful I didn’t sell earlier in my career, even though the rejections stung at the time. If I’d sold when my kids were young, I’d probably have gone insane.
2. I’m thankful for my publisher, The Wild Rose Press. They’ve been great to work with and I’m glad I decided to go with a small press rather than let my manuscript sit on my hard-drive.
3. I’m thankful to go through the process with my sister, Laurie London. Her debut book comes out with HQN in February, and it’s fun to see and learn the process of working with a traditional publisher through her eyes.
4. I’m thankful for my fabulous plotting group, the Cherry Plotters, and to Cherry Adair for graciously opening up her home for us each month. It’s a creative, inspiring, supportive group of women.
5. I’m thankful that my fellow Musers invited me to be a part of this blog. 
I could go on and on and on for what I’m thankful for, but that’ll suffice for now.
How ’bout you?
Posted in News| 15 Comments »
09/23/10
5 Tips on Eating for More Energy
by Rebecca J. ClarkcloseAuthor: Rebecca J. Clark
Name: Rebecca J. Clark
Email: rebeccajclark.author@gmail.com
Site: http://www.rebeccajclark.com
About: Rebecca J. Clark, a 2008 Golden Heart finalist, has wanted to write romance novels since she read her first Harlequin Romance at age 11. When she’s not writing, she works as a personal fitness trainer and group exercise instructor, where she teaches Pilates, Turbokick®, Zumba®, and yoga. She makes her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of 22 years, two kids, a German Shepherd beast who thinks he’s a lap dog, two cats, and a gecko. In her abundant free time, Rebecca enjoys reading, watching Criminal Minds reruns on TV, and doing absolutely nothing.See Authors Posts (26)
How many times have you heard the line, “You are what you eat?” Well, it’s really true. If you eat like crap, you’ll feel like crap, and eventually you’ll look like crap. Crap is not attractive, no matter how hard you squint.
The food you eat directly correlates with how you feel and your energy level. If you’re tired of being tired (and you’re getting enough sleep), my guess is your diet could use some tweaking.
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in News| 12 Comments »
