Turning Real Places into Fictional Worlds

This short guide is for readers who love immersive settings and are curious how real places become fictional world ... a behind-the-scenes look at my process.

Some stories begin at a desk. Mine often begin somewhere else.

In Turning Real Places into Fictional Worlds, I share how the places I travel to shape the emotional worlds of my novels. From small towns in the Finger Lakes to seaside Sicily to castles in England and Scotland, this guide explores how real settings become fictional spaces readers can step into and stay awhile.

This isn't writing manual but a behind-the-scenes look at how I carry the emotionality of a location onto the page.

Inside, you’ll find:

• What I notice first when I arrive somewhere new
• What makes a place feel romantic rather than just beautiful
• Why certain locations appear again and again in my books
• How I combine real places to create fictional towns
• What I keep why emotional truth matters more than accuracy

This guide is written for readers who love immersive settings and for writers who are curious about how those worlds are built. It’s reflective and designed to be read in one sitting.

If you’ve ever wanted to know how place becomes story in Mecca Romance books, this is where I begin.

Instant digital download