Welcome Guest Rebecca J. Clark

Fellow Wild Rose Press author, Rebecca J. Clark, has stopped by for an interview today. Her newest contemporary romance, Deliver The Moon, just released on June 22 from The Wild Rose Press. Hi, Rebecca, and thanks for being my guest!

I love your cover. Let’s start off with the blurb for Deliver The Moon.

Once upon a time, he promised her the moon. It’s time to deliver.

Louisa D’Angelo used to believe in happily ever after—until the tragic death of her son and the demise of her marriage. Now, five years later, with her life back in order, she has a great career and a wonderful man in her life. So what if the passion and excitement isn’t there? In her book, passion and excitement only lead to heartbreak. Then, her ex-husband shows up and upsets her tidy little world.

Gabe D’Angelo never believed in happily ever after—until he met Louisa who taught him how to love and be loved. But their happiness was short-lived. Guilt and grief forced Gabe to walk away. Now, though he’s pulled his life together and should be happy, he realizes something’s missing. After seeing her from afar at a family wedding, he knows what it is. It’s Louisa.

The problem is convincing her she’s still in love with him.

What are your writing goals for this year?
I am a very slow writer, so my main goal is to produce more this year than last. Last year, I completely revised two books and wrote ½ of another. This year, I plan to finish that book I started (almost there), write one novella, revise and self-publish a full novel, and write and self-publish a fitness book (I’m a personal trainer by day).

How do you come up with ideas?
I have so many ideas and not enough time to write them all into books. Sigh. As to how I come up with the ideas…each book is different. For my first story, BORROWED STILETTOS, about twins who switch places with each other, the idea came to me when telling a fellow writer how boys used to make nice with me in high school in order to meet my beautiful and popular sister (author Laurie London). One guys even DATED me a few times until he met Laurie, then he dumped me. (Laurie didn’t go out with him then BTW.) My writer friend said, “You HAVE to put that in a book.” So, while BORROWED STILETTOS isn’t in any way biographical, the seed of the story was true. For my newest book, DELIVER THE MOON, I first got the idea when I read the statistic that 80% of marriages in which a child has died end in divorce. I thought this was so sad, that one tragedy would lead to another. The wheels in my author brain started churning, and a story was born.

Can you share with us “the call” story?
I was actually talking to my sister Laurie on the phone, and as women often do, I was multi-tasking and checking email at the same time. I opened one from The Wild Rose Press, skimmed it. Read it again, and said to Laurie, “Um, I think I just sold my first book.” We both screamed, then I hung up from her and went to tell my hubby, who happened to be talking to her hubby on the phone. I told him he needed to hang up right now. He thought something was wrong. I don’t remember much after that, but I’m sure chocolate was involved. 🙂

What do you enjoy most about writing?
I love the pre-writing stage the most. When you have this fabulous idea for this awesome story that’s just itching to come out. I love putting together the files and notebooks, and trying to figure out the characters and their GMCs (Goal, Motivation, Conflict). I love trying to plot the book (note the word “try). I love writing the first few scenes. Then it’s all downhill from there, LOL.

How do you balance writing and everyday life?
Very carefully. 🙂 I try very, very hard to have balance between the two. Writing is a job. It’s not my life, even though sometimes it tries to take over (like during a deadline, like right now). I remember when I first started writing, I met some very successful authors whose personal lives were complete shambles. But they were almost proud of the fact that they’d sacrificed everything for their writing. I vowed never to be like that. Writing is my passion, don’t get me wrong. Without it, I wouldn’t feel complete. However, my family comes first. Period. I always eat dinner with the family (well, with those who are home). I always keep much of my weekends free. And I almost always go to bed at the same time as my husband. I also make sure I stick to my workout schedule (pretty easy to do as I work at a gym). Sometimes I’m tempted to skip the workout and write instead, but I know this will backfire in the long run. If I don’t work out, I don’t have the energy to write.

Who influenced your decision to become a writer?
Maybe a better question would be “what”? The moment I read my first Harlequin Romance at age 11 (Wild Goose by Mary Wibberley), I knew right then that’s what I wanted to do. I wanted to write stories like that, stories that made me laugh, cry and fall in love (even though at age 11, I had no idea what falling in love was all about). I remember telling my high school English teacher that I wanted to write, um, romance novels. And instead of laughing at me, he gave me a reference book called, “Maybe You Should Write A Book.” So, Mr. Whipple, thanks for encouraging my dream.

These are few of my favorite things:
Frangos chocolates
The ocean
Bedtime

Excerpt:

The song changed again, and the Senator passed Louisa to her brother. After a few moments, Gabe made his move, tapping Arty’s shoulder. “May I?”

Louisa’s face faded to white, and she clutched Arty’s arm as if to tell Gabe that dancing with him was the last thing she wanted to do, which was probably the case. But Arty placed Louisa’s hand into Gabe’s.

Her fingers trembled as they entwined with his, and Gabe slid his other hand around her narrow waist. He closed his eyes a moment. God, it felt good to hold her, even though she was stiff as a board and just as tense. How long had he yearned to have her in his arms again? For more than the five years he’d been gone, certainly. He opened his eyes to find her parents glaring at him from beyond across the dance floor. He swung her out of their view.

“What are you doing?” she hissed at him.

“I’m dancing with the most beautiful woman in the room,” he said into her thick hair, which was the same fragrance as her perfume. He remembered she’d called it “layering” or something, when her perfume, lotion, and powder were all of the same scent.

Her body remained rigid. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”

“What did you mean, then?” He pulled her resistant form closer. Her shoulders heaved, but she ignored his question. “I’ve missed you, Lou.”

She stiffened even more. “You’ve got a strange way of showing it, five years later.”

He bent his head to whisper in her ear. “Did you miss me?” He held his breath for her answer.

“I stopped missing you years ago.” Her fingers dug into his shoulders, and she peered up at him with fire in her eyes. “You can’t just waltz back into my life like this. It’s been too long. I’m with Evan now.”

Ah, yes. Mr. Payne. Such an appropriate name. “What is it with you two? You’re not serious about him, are you?”
Louisa’s eyes widened as if he’d just insulted her, which he probably had. “Yes, I am, not that it’s any of your business.”

“Come on, Lou. He’s not your type.”

“And you are? Is that what you’re saying?”

She tried to put a little distance between their swaying bodies, but Gabe pressed his hand against the small of her back, preventing her from moving away.

She gasped against his shoulder as their hips touched. “Gabriel!” she hissed. “My family’s watching.”

Gabe ignored his sliver of annoyance that she was still so concerned with her family’s opinion. He pictured her mother’s reaction and almost smiled. “Just relax and dance with me.”

When he heard her sigh, when he felt the way her heart pounded against his chest, his own heart almost skipped a beat. She still felt something for him.

“How long are you going to be in town?” she asked, sounding carefully nonchalant.

Long enough to win you back.

Bio: Rebecca J. Clark 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, Zumba® and yoga. She makes her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband of 25 years, two kids, a German Shepherd beast who loves to chase her two cats who plot to kill the dog, two rats that come when they’re called, and a dead gecko (don’t ask). In her free time, Rebecca enjoys reading, watching Criminal Minds reruns on TV, and doing absolutely nothing.

You can find Rebecca at:
Website: rebeccajclark.com
Facebook: rebeccajclark.author

Deliver The Moon is available at:
The Wild Rose Press
Amazon