Writers Who Kill

Easter Eggs, Glimmers, and Surprises in Your Writing 
By Heather Weidner

Part of my day gig responsibilities include managing a software testing team. When I’m knee-deep in a testing project, it always brings a smile to my face when a developer slips an Easter Egg or a surprise message or screen in an application. In the early years, some of the developers would sneak one or two in to see if the testers would notice. 

I try to incorporate these glimmers of whimsey in my writing from time to time. I love pop culture and historical allusions, so many times, I’ll include an amusing reference when I name a restaurant or a minor character. I have a team of paranormal explorers who visit Fern Valley in the Blue Ridge Mountains in the Jules Keene Glamping Mysteries. Several of the ghostly adventurers’ names pay homage to the regulars on “Cheers.” In the same series, my amateur sleuth, Jules Keene is named after Demi Moore’s character in St. Elmo’s Fire and the penname of the Nancy Drew authors. Her boyfriend, Jake Evans, is named after the Michael Schoeffling character Jake in Sixteen Candles. Jules restores vintage trailers, and Jake builds tiny houses that Jules decorates with upscale amenities for her guests. The trailers all have pop culture references that include ones to Elvis, Lucy and Desi, Area 51, Robin Hood, and James Dean. All of the tiny houses have designs based on the works of J. K. Rowling, Beatrix Potter, A. A. Milne, and L. Frank Baum. 

Margaret, the English bulldog in the Delanie Fitzgerald Mysteries, is named for Margaret Thatcher. I also have an Elvis the Chihuahua in the Pearly Girls Mysteries and a Bernedoodle named Fonzie in my current work in progress. 

You’ll find state troopers and police officers in the Delanie Fitzgerald series named for characters in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventures and for members of Van Halen, Wham!, and Duran Duran. In the third book in this series, Glitter, Glam, and Contraband, Delanie goes undercover as a waitress at a club featuring a drag show to find out who is stealing from the talent. I had fun with the punny stage names like Amber Alert, Ana Conda, Ginger Snap, Nova Cain, and Paige Turner. 

Unexpected surprises are a fun addition to stories, and I love it when I encounter one when I’m reading.

Do you incorporate any little surprises in your writing? And do you have any that no one has noticed yet?

Through the years, Heather Weidner has been a cop’s kid, technical writer, editor, college professor, software tester, and IT manager. She writes the Pearly Girls Mysteries, the Delanie Fitzgerald Mysteries, The Jules Keene Glamping Mysteries, and The Mermaid Bay Christmas Shoppe Mysteries.

Originally from Virginia Beach, Heather has been a mystery fan since Scooby-Doo and Nancy Drew. She lives in Central Virginia with her husband and a pair of Jack Russell terriers.