Trivia and Useless Facts
Laugh, Kookaburra, Laugh
- BRU was originally going to be located in Ozark, VA. The author changed her mind at the last minute.
- The academic buildings of BRU are all named after teachers the author had her first three semesters of college...except the English building, which is named for a teacher she never had.
- The name of the town came from the last names of the author and her two best friends on campus--Miller, Gur, Sciance.
- Jake (Bryn's boyfriend)'s last name is Oberson.
- It's easy to tell what students are in the class immediately above the Kookaburra Clan's--all of them are named after drinks.
- Besides the ones we meet in the text, there are two other employees at Noteworthy Outlet Store--Nicolas, the one Judah wrote his song for, and Honorata. Nicolas's last name is Ludis and Honorata's last name is Innokenity.
- There are a total of fifteen residential buildings on campus. Allegheny and Catskill are exclusively freshman housing; Appalachian and Rocky tend to be sophomores and very unlucky juniors. Greymalkin allows occupants to keep cats; Anubis allows dogs. Three buildings known colloquially as "The Back Three" are fraternity/sorority housing. There are six cabins for seniors or students with families: Rose, Lily, Daisy, Robin, Hawk, and Crow.
- There are three fraternities on campus: Phi Upsilon Beta, Omega Eta, and Xi Gamma Tau. Tom and Mickey are both in Phi Upsilon Beta; Case, Tobias, and Logan are all in Xi Gamma Tau. Jacek is in Omega Eta.
- There are three sororities on campus: Sigma Mu Kappa, Omicron Delta Delta, and Zeta Iota Zeta. Cooper, Ruth, Sofia, Jena, and Kerry are all in Omicron Delta Delta; Alyshia and her cheerleaders are in Zeta Iota Zeta.
- Logan's Caverns and Cravens character is in honor of the author's brother, who refers to himself as a Level 20 Q-Tip Assassin.
- Christie's dog, Platypus Rex, is based on the author's mother's dog from her childhood.
- The inside jokes listed in Kanani and Frenchie's wedding song are all actual inside jokes the author has with her friends. The last one on the list ("And needles are cheaper than knees") is slightly modified, as the original word did not quite rhyme with "trees".
May Day
- Mary Graham was the first character to come to the author's mind.
- The Guo family is based loosely on the author's cousins. Her aunt died of breast cancer shortly before Laugh, Kookaburra, Laugh was published.
- Perhaps somewhat obviously, Alyson Endicott is based on the author.
- Three of the main characters in this book appeared in prior works by the author. Nicolas Ludis and Jake Oberson were both in Laugh, Kookaburra, Laugh--Jake is Bryn's boyfriend and Nicolas worked with Cooper. Minnea Werley is the wife of the primary detective in He Wore a Pair of Silver Wings.
- Jack Tritten is based on a former pastor of the author's. He did not, however, have testicular cancer.
- Dawn Maddox describes herself as a "purple rainbow kid". This is a real organization that raises awareness of transgendered children.
- All of Alyson Endicott's books are potential future projects for the author. In particular, she is interested in possibly writing The Questions of My Life.
- Le fromage seul se tient is French for "The cheese stands alone." The author included this line on a dare.
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