The One-Link Lowdown on...Rebecca J. Clark!

My guest today is contemporary romance author Rebecca J. Clark. Writer, mom and fitness trainer, she's published by Siren-Bookstrand and The Wild Rose Press. Read on to find put more about this smart, funny and very talented woman.

What’s the naughtiest thing you've ever done? I grew up in Olympia, home of the Olympia Brewery (that’s now closed down). One weekend when I was in college, I brought home two of my guy friends. My brother, who was in high school at the time, told us he and his friends knew how to sneak into the brewery and get beer. My friends were all over that. So we drove to the brewery in the middle of the night, climbed the fire escape to the third or fourth floor, entered through an unlocked door, reached into the huge vats and filled our thermoses with beer. For a “good girl,” that was really bad, wasn’t it?

What’s the worst job you've ever had? I was a ho-er one summer in college. It’s more fun to say than write. Go ahead, say it. J Yeah, I get some weird looks when I tell people how I paid my way through school… My college roomie’s family owned one of the big tulip farms in the Skagit Valley in Washington. I lived with them one summer and worked the rows, using my handy-dandy ho to make sure the pickers had picked up all the bulbs.

Sounds like the name was the best thing about that job! So let's turn the question round - what’s the best job you've ever had? My current job. I work as a personal fitness trainer and group exercise instructor at a small gym in the Pacific Northwest. I teach Pilates, yoga and Zumba®. It’s so awesome to work with people who originally hate to exercise, and show them how to make it part of their lifestyle. You might think it’s most rewarding helping people lose weight. And yes, that is rewarding, but it’s the little accomplishments that mean the most to me. Like when my 80-year-old client was able to walk down her driveway to get her mail without needing to stop to rest. Or when my client with a bad shoulder was able to lift her arm over her head for the first time in nine years. Or when one of my overweight clients was able to bend over to tie her shoes for the first time in her adult life. Or when a little 78-year-old woman in my Zumba® class hugged me and said, “Thanks for bringing dance back into my life.” Can you see why I love my job?

Sure can. That's amazing, and so rewarding. Aside from your super job, then - what would be your perfect day? Sleeping in, having the fireplace on and watching Bones reruns much of the day, and reading a great book on my Nook. Then a bacon cheeseburger and fries for dinner (just cuz I’m a personal trainer doesn’t mean I don’t like to indulge now and then).

What’s on your bedside table/nightstand? Bag balm (I rub it into my feet every night), my Nook, hand lotion, my alarm clock and KY jelly. Seriously on that last one. My teenage son saw it one morning when I’d accidently left it out and goes, “Really, Mom? That’s totally gross.” So now I keep it out on purpose just to freak him out. Because a mom’s job is to embarrass our kids, right?

Right - it's a major part of parenting! Which household chore would you happily give up forever? If you could see my house right now, you’d think I’d given up ALL household chores forever. I’m serious.

What drives you seriously nuts? People who think they’re better than others just because of the way they dress, the money they make, their jobs…whatever. And mosquitoes in my bedroom at night when I’m trying to sleep. Those little buggers also drive me crazy. Just sayin’.

You're given a time travel machine - where would you go, and why? I’d go back to my sophomore year in high school, back to the tech ed class, when a popular football player (who happened to be dating a friend of mine) said loudly in front of all of his friends, “Oh. My. God. You have the biggest thighs I’ve ever seen on a girl.” Yeah. I wanted to die. I would love to go back in time and respond, just as loudly, “Better big thighs than a little penis. Yeah. I’ve heard the stories.” Sigh. If only.

I bet we could all think of someone we'd like to go back in time to and hit with the perfect comeback, that's for sure. On to the good stuff, though - what’s the best review you've ever had? Long and Short Reviews said this of my first book, BORROWED STILETTOS, "It is one of the best contemporary stories I’ve read this year,” and they gave it a 5-book rating, their highest.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be? My fat thighs. Seriously. That guy in high school wasn’t lying, just a jerk for saying what he was thinking out loud. But I’m working on a program right now for big thighs – if it works, I’ll put it together in a fitness e-book and self-publish it next year.


Thanks so much for being my guest today, Rebecca - your answers are a load of fun, and make sure you let us all know about that thigh book! Friends, you can find out loads more about this fun and talented (and super-fit) woman here at her website - where you can also read about her latest release, Her One-Night Prince.

Good luck with all your future projects, Rebecca - it's been a blast getting to know you!