Riverside Speakeasy

In The Locked Room, Diana inserted many references to events in The Woman in Blue. For details, see my post: Hidden Messages in the Locked Room. In the first chapter of Echoes of a Violin, a new Caffrey Conversation story, I returned the favor. And yes, I'm being more than slightly self-indulgent to have my characters throw a party to celebrate a story's completion. I am now searching for the perfect lava lamp for the writer's cave. Penna wrote about interactions between authors and characters in her latest post. Could I have taken it too far?

Warning for minor spoilers for the Caffrey Conversation AU.

Jones and donuts: When Jones saw a ghast in The Locked Room, he refused to believe it, instead claiming he'd eaten LSD-laced donuts.

Music: June plays music by Crosby, Stills, and Nash in honor of the concert at the end of The Locked Room.

Paintings: Neal decorated June's living room with the documentary paintings of the house of horror. In The Locked Room, Neal Carter produced a series of paintings of his visions.

Starfish: The origami starfish on the gift wrap references the soapstone starfish in the Arkham Files.

Starling: In The Locked Room, Sara mangles the lyrics to the Crosby, Stills and Nash song "Woodstock," singing starlings instead of stardust.

Armillary Sphere: Diana's gift is a nod to the armillary sphere in The Locked Room, a mysterious object with links to Azathoth. That, in turn, is a reference to the armillary spheres in the house of horror.

Wet Bar: Sharkey's Spirits refers to Sharkey's Bar in The Locked Room. Innsmouth and Arkham are fictitious towns invented by H.P. Lovecraft.

Clothes: Bell bottoms and large hoop earrings with block heels are the height of fashion during the time of the Arkham Files. Men's ties were much wider than they are now.

Menu: Peter's favorite meal at the Sentinel Tavern is meatloaf and Neal prefers halibut. Dr. Elizabeth Wayland's brownies are famous. June made Bourbon pecan pie for Neal, Peter, and Mozzie at the beginning of The Locked Room.

Animals: Zoogs are small rat-like creatures with tentacle-covered snouts. Nightgaunts resemble dragons. For details, see my post: Arkham Files Bestiary.

Echoes of a Violin on Archive of Our Own
Echoes of a Violin on FanFiction