Reality Writes

Send us a message! It's never too early to start your holiday reads, darlings, so The Tech Guy and I are each sharing six books on our respective holiday TBR stacks. A few are favorite rereads, several are brand-new to both of us, and the genre range this year is a bit wild.  My picks lean warm and cozy, from a festive Christmas bookshop to a classic, but Christmas-y, Poirot mystery. The Tech...

Send us a message! The Ashland Mystery Fest just wrapped its fourth year, and The Tech Guy and I are still riding high while we recap all of it for you. We talk through our favorite moments like the hilarious and cathartic Mean Reviews panel, the live build-a-mystery with two bitchy geese and a pet psychic, book bedazzling, escape rooms that humbled even the pro mystery authors, and a town-wide wh...

Send us a message! This episode opens with an excerpt from A Murder at Midnight, book four in the Novel Detectives, releasing October 13th. Then The Tech Guy and I discuss the book, spoiler-free, of course. When a popular ghost-hunting TV crew takes over the Secret Bookcase for an overnight shoot, Annie agrees because the publicity could be a wonderful for an indie bookshop. But when a crew member...

Send us a message! Have you ever wondered what actually goes into making an audiobook? If so, you're in luck because this week I'm joined by my friend Victoria Lynn Arbor, a professional audiobook narrator. We talk about all the steps of audiobook narration, how authors and narrators find each other, and the incredible amount of work behind a single finished hour of audio. Victoria walks...

Send us a message! "What's the best way to get published?" This is a question I get most from new writers and my answer is always the same: there are several options and it depends. In this episode, The Tech Guy and I map out the three routes open to writers today: traditional publishing with the big houses, hybrid presses, and going the indie route. We walk through the honest pros...

Send us a message! We open this episode with an actual excerpt from The Pumpkin Vice Café, book 23 in my Bakeshop Mystery Series, releasing September 29th. Then The Tech Guy and I give a spoiler-free (of course) overview of this latest installment. We're back in Ashland during the fall in this one, from Lithia Park to the bustling plaza, the setting is picturesque and the perfect place to set...

Send us a message! A Fall to Remember is out this week. YAY! So, it's the perfect time to talk marketing. Are you writing a book? Congrats! However, did you know that the real work begins once you've finished? The Tech Guy and I dive into what marketing an author's book really looks like, busting some pretty common myths as we go. We're also sharing actual lessons from over 15...

Send us a message! To AI or not to AI? For me, it's not really a question and, in this episode of Reality Writes, I tell you why. The Tech Guy and I get behind the mics for an honest look at AI as seen from both writer's and reader's lenses and how it is impacting both worlds. I tell you why I feel that using an LLM to "improve" your writing isn't going to help you in...

Send us a message! Summer is flying by, darlings, so I'm calling this one the Last Chance Summer Dance. The Tech Guy and I share what we've been reading plus the towering TBR stacks sitting on our nightstands. We've got some thrillers, a mystery favorite, indie bookstore recommendations, and some surprises. Plus, I talk a little bit more about my two upcoming fall releases: A Fall t...

Send us a message! Fall is my favorite season, darlings, so of course I set a whole book there. With A Fall to Remember arriving September 1st, The Tech Guy and I sat down for a spoiler-free deep dive into my new rom-com. I share why this one feels so different from my holiday rom-coms, how I found Miranda Brown, an accidental influencer who goes viral for all the right reasons, and the real (and...

Send us a message! We're back from our travels, darlings, and my inbox was overflowing, so we did the only sensible thing and turned your questions into an episode. This one is a true grab bag, pulled from the messages and DMs that landed while we were away. I share my honest take on querying agents now that AI has flooded the marketplace, why I fully humanize my own creative process, and how...

Send us a message! Picture yourself stepping into a real-life cozy mystery — stunning fall foliage, charming streets, and 14 authors who can't wait to meet you. That's the Ashland Mystery Festival. In this episode, we're giving you the full 4th Annual Ashland Mystery Fest preview—everything you need to plan your trip to Ashland, Oregon this October 8–12. We cover the full author lin...

Send us a message! Book three in the Novel Detectives is almost here! I sit down with the Tech Guy to preview A Murder at the Mansion , out July 21st, and this one comes with a first: an actual pet in the plot. Annie and Fletcher get called out to investigate a missing heiress at an estate that makes the Secret Bookcase look modest, and I share how a real Bay Area landmark keeps sneaking into my f...

Send us a message! There is an unspoken agreement between every cozy mystery author and her readers. Nobody signs it, but every cozy lover knows exactly what it says and can feel it the moment something goes wrong. In this episode, the Tech Guy and I break down all six clauses of the cozy contract, from justice served at every ending to beloved characters kept safe, from the setting that must alwa...

Send us a message! Five more bookish hills. One major disagreement. And The Tech Guy is confident he's going to win this one. In this reader-focused follow-up to our fan-favorite Bookish Hills episode, I'm sharing five more hot takes that readers feel very strongly about, and this time, The Tech Guy actually knew what was coming. We cover whether you should ever read a review before fini...

Send us a message! Every book I've ever written started the same way: one word at a time. In this episode of Reality Writes, I walk you through my complete writing process. From the very beginning, when I was working another job with a kindergartner at home and 250 words a day felt like a genuine stretch, all the way to where I am now, writing 3,000 words a day across multiple series and genr...

Send us a message! It's June, darlings, but we are diving headfirst into fall because that's just how publishing works, and also because fall is my favorite season and I refuse to apologize for it. In this episode, The Tech Guy and I talk about why fall has become such a dominant season in books (genre mashups! cozy everything! readers simply demanding it!), and then I get to do my favor...

Send us a message! Got writing questions? We've got answers. In this episode, The Tech Guy and I dig into the questions that land most in our inbox, starting with a great one from a writer, Matt, in Cleveland, about how to structure and set scenes in a cozy mystery. From there, we cover coaching availability, what makes the Mystery Series Masterclass work, plotting vs pantsing, traditional vs...

Send us a message! We're coming to you live from Leavenworth, Washington—the real-life Bavarian village from the Sloan Krause Mystery series! While I was busy signing books at A Book for All Seasons, The Tech Guy was hard at work "researching" the local breweries. In this special on-location episode, we talk about what it's like to write about a real place, why I return in diff...

Send us a message! In this episode of Reality Writes, I'm sitting down with The Tech Guy to talk about the book trends shaping what readers are buying, collecting, and obsessing over right now. We cover cover art cycles, the love-hate relationship with movie tie-in covers and glossy finishes, the return of box sets, the stunning (and sometimes messy) world of sprayed edges, hidden Easter eggs...

Send us a message! You asked, and I'm answering! This week on Reality Writes, The Tech Guy and I are pulling straight from my overflowing inbox to tackle the baking questions I get most often from you. Am I a professional baker? Do I test every recipe? Can you swap almond milk for whole milk? We're also talking about foodie fiction beyond cozy mysteries, the dream of a Bakeshop Mystery c...

Send us a message! Have you ever wondered what really happens between the book an author planned to write and the one that ends up in your hands? In this episode of Reality Writes, I'm pulling back the curtain on one of the most surprising — and honestly, sometimes terrifying — parts of the writing process. The truth is, even the most thorough outline is really just a starting point. Once you...

Send us a message! Independent Bookstore Day is April 25th —and we're kicking off the celebration early! 📚 In this episode of Reality Writes, we're sharing everything you need to know about why indie bookstores are so much more than just a place to buy books. From the ongoing comeback story of independent booksellers across the U.S. to the very personal ways these shops help create comm...

Send us a message! A man staggers into a detective agency covered in blood with no memory of the night before and... The Tech Guy and I go spoiler free on a brand-new cozy mystery, A Death In The Dark, the latest entry in my Novel Detectives series (a spin off connected to the Secret Bookcase Mysteries), then pull back the curtain on how the story came together in a very specific place: a six-hour...

Send us a message! You've done it — you've written a first draft! But before you send it out into the world, there are five common pitfalls that trip up nearly every new writer, and I've seen them time and time again while coaching my writing students.  In this episode, The Tech Guy and I walk through each one: scenes that take place in a vacuum, too many characters, info dumping, a...