Easter Eggs in Whisper

I love the movies of the Marvel Universe and one of my favorite elements is that for dedicated comic nerds like me, they always drop little Easter eggs for you to find. For those unaware, Easter eggs are hidden items within a media. Sometimes it’s a message to the consumer and other times it’s a character from a different media infiltrated the story. Whatever the form they come in, it’s always exciting when you come across it because it always feels like you’re in the know with the creator.

What you’ll learn about my writing as more books are released is that I will often use Easter eggs myself. Whisper is no exception. Many of my friends have come forward with some that they’ve noticed but there are a couple that have been remained out of sight so today, I wanted to shed some light on the Easter Eggs from Whisper.

Washington Avenue

One of the first locations of a murder in Whisper, Washington Avenue is the street I grew up on.

Black Altima

Alicia Parsons vehicle happens to be the same vehicle that I drive today (though it may be time for a new one!)

Terry and Sandra

Parson’s parents are named after my parents. That’s where the similarities end as they have different personalities. But another Easter Egg connected to this portion of the story is the house they live in, which is the same color as the one I grew up in.

Carnell’s Spot

The go-to spot for a drink, this is named after a friend of mine. We’ve had some of our favorite moments at a bar so I decided to name one after him.

Byerson

Byerson is named after the longest tenured basketball coach I’ve ever had, Coach J.D. Byers (currently at Virginia Commonwealth University). He was my assistant coach for three years at Randolph-Macon and I learned so much from him and he helped me grow as a player and person, similar to how Byerson does for Parsons.

Penultimate closing scene

No spoilers here but there’s a point during the final confrontation between the involved parties that is my homage to one of my favorite scenes from my favorite anime, Cowboy Bebop. Can you tell which one it is?

In addition to the above, Parsons has some personality traits throughout the book that are similar to mine. Maybe one day we’ll talk on those! Until then, should I start planning her next case?!