I don't worry about anyone knowing what I'm Googling. I Google loads of things, often to settle arguments, or 'how to' problems . If it's something medical or personal I can always claim I'm researching for a book

"They" can collect data from multiple sources to guesstimate (sometimes very accurately) a profile of an individual.

Earlier this year, I received a fake receipt with my full legal name and my home address purportedly from PayPal but it was sent to an eMail address not associated with my PayPal account.  The eMail account also uses my "normal" name and not full legal name and I don't use it for anything with my home address.

So, "they" have to have collected data from multiple sources, probably assumed that eMail address was also my PayPal address and sent that fake receipt.  (Presumably the scam is that you're supposed to call the fake customer service number listed on the receipt.)

Anyway, the point is that "they" can compile data from multiple sources, which include public sources as well as prior data breaches to guess at who you are.

While it's possible one of the sites you used had a data breach, it's also possible the data was collected through other means.

I got an email from Elite Authors tonight, and I wouldn't have thought anything of it, just another (scammy?) business trying to sell publishing services, except for the fact that it had my legal name attached to an email address I use for a few of my author accounts that is private.

As in I don't use the address regularly and the few places I do use it shouldn't have anything to do with Elite Authors. Unless I'm mistaken about the kind of place Elite Authors is. It claims I subscribed, which of course, is bullsh*t.

I use the address at ----, used to use it at All Romance Ebooks before it went bankrupt, and at Createspace (which we know is no longer in existence). Those had my legal name tied to my account (and the email address in question). And that's it.

Disappointing and concerning.

Edited out one distributor's name since they're an active company and I've come up with one other possibility. I don't want to be throwing shade if it's not deserved (it might be! but I can't say for sure at this point).

A VPN in conjunction with incognito mode or similar is a much more secure approach from a privacy standpoint. However, it may slow down your internet somewhat.

I use Nord and it is fast enough.  I'm lucky. I've got 1Gb up and down with 400-600Mb when the VPN is on.

When you write fantasy, killing someone off isn't necessarily the end. Depending on circumstances, you have options like undeath, lingering as a ghost, resurrection, growing a new body to put the soul in, and, with a long enough time frame, reincarnation. Not that you want to keep all your characters alive. But death isn't quite as final an end as it would be in more real-world-oriented genres.

Rewatching Teen Wolf--being a sucker for teenage-oriented shows is an occupational hazard of being a high school teacher--I noticed the degree to which both heroes and villains seem to come back from apparent death. Here's illustrative dialog:

Peter: Doesn't anyone ever die in this town?
Malia: I think people were hoping you would.

In any case, some stories necessarily involve death. But both authors and audiences aren't going to want to lose a beloved character. Then again, if a development like that weren't moving, we'd know something was wrong with the story.