Find the Easter Egg

If you've read any amount of Haremlit or LitRPG of the isekai variety, then you know it's quite common for a main character from modern-day Earth to drop pop culture references like beads to a busty woman at a Mardi Gras parade. Done well, it's fun and can add a nice bit of zing to the situation. But often it is not done well. It becomes a crutch, an author will overuse it, and it just gets tired. Not every scene or extended conversation needs a Star Wars reference, or some bit of modern slang thrown in.

When I started The Onyx Throne I decided early on that there would be no pop culture references dropped into the middle of a conversation that the natives of the setting would then need explained or force the writer to waste lines of dialogue where the MC has to try and get them to see how brilliant his humor is, even if they can't understand a word of it. None of that in my book. If you were reading carefully, I made an overt reference to this in Chapter 3, when Mitchell was first let out of his cage.

 Mitchell ran his hands through the red-tinged sand, letting it fall through his fingers. 

“I hate sand, you know? It’s coarse, ro–.” Mitchell stopped mid-sentence and gave a feeble grin and looked sidelong at Allora as if she could understand the Star Wars joke. He wasn’t going to do it. He wasn’t going to make the easy reference. 

This is a little wink and a nod to you, the readers, that this is not that kind of book. It doesn't mean Mitchell won't ever say anything pop-culture related, but he won't inject it into conversations he's having with others and expect them to know what he's saying.

However. I am a fan of Easter eggs, which is the point of this post. I've always loved the concept of Easter eggs inside creative works. I studied graphic design, web design, and marketing in college many moons ago and in almost every digital piece I made, I hid Easter eggs. These were all school projects, there was no way for anyone to know they were there but me, but I loved the idea of them.

See that picture? Looks innocent enough. But if you pay attention when you mouse over it, you get a cursor change indicating that it's a clickable item. Maybe it takes you to a mini game I made, or plays a funny sound file. Stuff like that.

I was a D&D DM for years and I dropped Easter eggs in all the time. Usually in the name of a location or an NPC, something scribbled on a wall that the PC might pick up with a good perception check, or wherever the inspiration struck. Sometimes my players got it and sometimes not, but I loved making them.

One of my favorites that got a big eye roll from my players was a game around Christmas time. The players found an item that looked as if it had been left behind by a dragon. It was some sort of locked box that they had to work a riddle to solve. On the inside was a simple message: "Be sure to drink your Ovaltine." If you get that reference, than you're my people.

The Onyx Throne, the most ambitious personal project I've ever undertaken, is no different. There are absolutely Easter eggs in there.

Given that it's a book, not digital, that limits my options significantly on where I can secrete them away. They will be in the form of character names, location names, or maybe items mentioned by a main character or a side character in passing. You never know. But, if you want to go on a little Easter egg hunt and see if you spot them, it's something to keep an eye out as you read future chapters. And if you think you find one--or you know you have--drop it in a comment on this post. Not sure what prize I might offer if you spot one and get the reference. Maybe you'll get an extra chapter in your inbox or something.

So, if you're so inclined, let the hunt begin!