Ellie Alexander and the Tech Guy explore the role of setting in storytelling and why the places where stories unfold are just as important as the characters themselves. Ellie shares how she approaches choosing locations for her books, including the decision between using real places and creating fictional towns.

They also discuss the advantages of small-town versus big-city settings in mystery novels, the research writers do to bring locations to life, and how sensory details like smells, sounds, and atmosphere can make readers feel like they’re inside the story.

The episode provides practical advice for writers, including how to track important details about your fictional world so your setting stays consistent throughout an entire series.

Online scams are getting smarter—and both writers and readers are being targeted.In this episode of Reality Writes, the Tech Guy and I break down the most common scams we’re seeing right now in the publishing and book world.From AI-generated emails inviting authors to fake book clubs, to scammers pretending to be literary agents, to bots impersonating authors on social media—we share real examples of what these scams look like and how to avoid them.We also talk about why we stopped running giveaways on social media after one of my accounts was spoofed, how scammers trick readers into sharing personal information, and why you should never pay for an advance reader copy of a book.Have you experienced any of the scams we discuss in this episode? Any others that we should know about? Help spread the word by letting us know in the comments!

If you’ve ever wondered what actually happens at mystery conferences, conventions, and festivals, this episode is for you.Today on Reality Writes, I’m breaking down the differences between festivals, genre-specific mystery conventions like Malice and BoucherCon, general writing conferences like Willamette Writers, and even bookseller and library conferences. They may sound similar but they serve very different purposes depending on whether you’re a writer, a reader, or an industry professional.Whether you’re a Darling who loves attending events, or a writer thinking about your first conference, I hope this episode gives you a behind-the-scenes look at how it all works.