The Real Searcy: A Guide to the Small Town That Stole the Show in The Carrington Affairs

There's a saying in Searcy, Arkansas: "Where thousands live but millions wish they could." After writing The Carrington Affairs, I can tell you exactly why.

When I set out to write a story about politics, scandal, and second chances, I knew the setting had to be more than a backdrop. Searcy needed to be a character, the kind of place where everyone knows your name, your business, and probably what you had for breakfast. That's what makes it perfect for a story about secrets that refuse to stay buried.

If you've read the book (or even if you haven't yet), here's your guide to the real places that brought the Carrington family to life.

The Chit, Chat, and Chew Cafe

Bennett and Poppy's family kicks off Thanksgiving morning at the C4, and there's a reason. In a town like Searcy, the best breakfast spots aren't just restaurants; they're community living rooms. Everybody stops by your table. Everybody has something to say. For Bennett, that's a reminder of the life he walked away from. For readers, it's the kind of place where you'd linger over biscuits and coffee and accidentally hear something you shouldn't.( I have a video showcasing this on my YouTubechannel.)

Art Alley

Just one block off the court square, Art Alley is home to a rotating collection of murals painted by local artists. In the book, Poppy has two murals there: one of Lizzy and Lola running through ocean waves, and one of Bennett at a podium, his face tight with a stress that doesn't match the easygoing man his family knows. I loved the idea that a town's public art could hold private stories in plain sight. That's Searcy in a nutshell. This is one of my favorite things to do in town and check out my video on it.

The Black House

Poppy is an artist, and her work hangs in The Black House, one of the stops on the family's tour with Ella. There's something wonderful about a small town that makes space for art, that says this matters here. It mattered to Poppy's character, and it mattered to the story. I love the art and have taken my Gifted Students there many times.

The Downtown Court Square & Christmas Lights

If you've never seen Searcy at Christmas, you're missing something special. Millions of lights stretch across the parks, the court square, and the university campus. In one of my favorite scenes, Taylor uses the lights to calm Greer down after a tense Thanksgiving dinner. She knows exactly what she's doing: there's something about driving through those lights that makes everything feel a little more possible. Berryhill Park, Spring Park, the campus, the carriage rides around the square; it's all real, and it's all magic.

The Rialto

The historic Rialto Theatre is where Greer takes the girls to the movies while the adults handle grown-up business back at the house. It's the kind of small-town movie theater that still feels like an event, not just a screen. One of my favorite ways to celebrate a birthday is by renting out the theater and watching my favorite old movies with about 100 of my closest friends.

Wild Sweet William's Bakery

When reporter Harvey Cox shows up at the Carrington house with scones from Wild Sweet William's, you know the man did his homework. You don't arrive empty-handed in the South, and you definitely don't arrive with store-bought. This bakery is the kind of place worth getting to town early for. The scones are the best and if you have to be gluten free like I do, this is the best!!

Stu's Brew & The Joyful Food Truck

Hot chocolate from Stu's Brew and macarons from The Joyful? That's not just a pitstop; that's a love language. Taylor and Greer grab both on their Christmas lights drive, and honestly, it might be the most romantic scene in the book, no dramatic declarations required.I love macaroons and theirs are the best gluten free dessert in town!

The Shops on the Square and Around Town

Poppy takes Ella on a whirlwind shopping tour to sell her on Searcy (and, let's be honest, to make sure her future grandchild grows up nearby). No trip to Searcy would be complete without a run through Dales, Sassy Stitch, Stotts, and The Bees Knees; these aren't chain stores. They're the kind of places where the owner knows what you bought last time and asks about your mama.

The Soda Jerk

Ice cream after a movie with three little girls who are more like cousins than anything biology could explain. Sometimes the sweetest moments in a complicated family happen at the simplest places. I go way too much but they keep me in mint chocolate chip ice cream!

Why Searcy?

People ask me why I didn't set the book in Little Rock or somewhere bigger, somewhere with more political weight. But that misses the point. The Carrington Affairs is about what happens when your whole world can see your life falling apart. That only works in a place small enough to care. Searcy is big enough to have secrets and small enough that they never stay secret for long. You would not believe how many times I get asked who the books are about? Whose divorce prompted it? The truth is I made it all up. Yes, Searcy has its share of cheating driven divorces, but I did not use that as source material. If anyone tells you the book is about their divorce, they lied.

If you visit Searcy, you'll feel the warmth, the nostalgia, the sense that everybody's story overlaps with everybody else's. That's the thing about small towns: they hold you tight, for better and for worse.

And if you happen to stop by Art Alley, look closely at the murals. You never know whose story is hiding in plain sight.

The Carrington Affairs is available  on Amazon. Buy Here