Here's a blog tour that delves into the wacky (that may just be me) ... creative minds of authors, by asking 4 questions about their writing process.
Noelle Clark shared her process last week. Noelle is an Aussie author who weaves romance, suspense and adventure into colorful and exotic locations. 

I take my writing seriously but I feel blessed every day because my passion involves making stuff up. So here's where I share my writing process.

What am I working on?
I treat my writing like a second job and usually have a couple of projects on the go. At the moment  I have a first book in a Romantic Suspense series finished and I have just dived head first into submitting this to publishers. Hopefully Treasured Love will be accepted quicker than Lost in Kakadu took (3 years of subbing to land that one). I've also finished a crime mystery novel called Double Take - It's Quentin Tarantino meets Nora Roberts and my editor and I are putting the final touches to that one now.  Here's the link to the first chapter. So my next big project and the one I'm really looking forward to is the sequel to Treasured Love. Treasured Secrets is already mapped out so I'm ready to hit the ground running.

Why do I write what I do?
I love adventure, I love mystery, and I love a good adrenalin rush. I'm also a hopeless romantic. And these are the ingredients I like to explore in my writing. I've travelled extensively, some 36 countries so far and I always have a holiday on the horizon. You never know what country or thrill will show up in my books. When I write my stories I want to take my readers on an adventure they won't forget. 

My notes are completely random. But this is the framework to the story. I pretend the scrapbook is the actual book by pasting a picture on the front, blurb on the back and I even make up glowing reviews. I told you I was nuts. Once I start the story I usually plot out the first couple of chapters, but then I completely let go and ask the characters to take over. The ending usually comes to me well before I get there so I can direct the characters that way. One other thing I do is try to experience whatever it is my character is going through. Short of dying or experiencing a plane crash that is. You can read some of my insane research here.
So there it is. The crazy writing mind of Kendall Talbot exposed.  Feel free to ask me any questions or make a comment. Cheers

To honour my exciting three nominations in the ARRA Awards (Australian Romance Readers Association Awards) the characters of my book Lost In Kakadu are taking me to dinner. But I’m a little nervous. No that’s an understatement, I’m extremely nervous. I can be a little tough on my characters. Some would call me a sadist. 

But it’s for a good cause. A couple of good causes actually. Not only do my characters truly discover who they are, my readers also have a jolly good time following their journey.

So where would my character Abigail take me? It would be a highly pretentious, swanky joint with a
million dollar view, where they serve the best ingredients and most expensive wine. Just because I threw her into the jungle with nothing but a few cans of beans and sack or two of flour, doesn’t mean she’d forget the life of luxury she had before the plane crash. Right?

Surely they’ll remember that sensual waterfall scene? How about the breathtaking scenery? 
 
But when Mackenzie wraps a black tie around my eyes, the knot in my stomach turns into a giant slab of cement. I guess it’s his way of showing me how dark it can be in the jungle. I remember I wrote, “The blackness around him was like swimming in a tar pit.” I’m experiencing that now. But wait, where are they taking me? And why do I need to take my shoes off? The rocks under my feet are sharp and the branches snapping against my arms are rough, against my cheeks they are brutal. Was that a spider web? 

Abigail instructs me to sit, the snigger in her voice is not good. I reach out expecting to feel a chair, but no, a craggy log will do. And given that I made my characters rough it out without any luxuries, I shouldn’t be surprised.
A plate is positioned on my lap. “Eat.” Abigail seems a little cranky. Doesn’t she remember her path of self-discovery? What about their unexpected romance?

“Do I get cutlery?” But I already know the answer.
Help me people. These characters are mean. Mean I tell you. If you're an ARRA member, I'd love you to vote for me, so my characters understand that sometimes crashing down to earth is exactly what people need.

Here's a little snippet of the crazy research I did for Lost In Kakadu.  Maybe I am a bit crazy?
Or you may want to watch my book trailer. But I have to warn you, I write books better than I make movies.