When reading, we often wonder why the author chose to add that certain scene or description into their books.
It’s like this mysterious…”ooOOooo the red cloak MEANS SOMETHING” and we go and analyse it like vivacious little nerds. And quite often it’s true. The red cloak did mean something. We’re just not saying it meant something very deep. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Readers tend to think really well of authors but lolol, my friend, sometimes we are just sleep-deprived dorks.
Now time for me to spill my secrets, isn’t it?!
I want to list 10 things secret meanings behind things I wrote in A Thousand Perfect Notes! Who, by the by, is nearly 8 months old…they grow up so fast, I swear.
I do not promise 100% scintillating meanings, but !!! they still mean something!!!
PS. This will have no PLOT spoilers for ATPN! But I will be talking about details and mention Beck’s full name (which is a secret for a bit at the beginning) so — you’ve been warned!
(Also if you missed the cover reveal for my next book, The Boy Who Steals Houses…it’s up now!)
1. There are stories behind all of their names!
Ok this one is somewhat sensible and I’m very proud of it! The whole story is actually a Beethoven x Cinderella retelling. I always wanted to do a bit of a modernised Beethoven “reimagined”…and this is it!
➸ “Beck” is short for Beethoven, aka after the famous Ludwig van Beethoven
➸ “Keverich” (his last name) is the maiden-last-name of the real Ludwig’s mother!
➸ Joey’s name came from “Johann” (YES they’re pronounced differently, but this was just inspired) who was the real Ludwig van Beethoven’s father.
➸ August Frey is named after August Rush, the movie! So so many people thought I was inspired by This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab….um very much no. I was SO devastated when TSS came out starring AUGUST FLYNN. Like c’mon, universe, that’s rude. But I wrote ATPN in 2015 and TSS didn’t even come out till 2016.
2. Also this is why they’re all German!
Because of Mr. Original Beethoven. Also I am German(ish)???? My great-grandparents were German immigrants to Australia, hence my German last name of DREWS.
Fun and useless fact for you there!!
3. Twice Burgundy is just a fictitious band I made up for August and Beck to be obsessed with.
I have had SO many people ask me “I couldn’t find Twice Burgundy online to listen to???” Which is actually such a compliment lmao. If I can describe a band interestingly enough for people to really want to hear it — then wow, you go, Cait.
Back when I wrote ATPN in 2015, I was listening to Civil Wars, Imagine Dragons, and Of Monsters and Men. So imagine them sounding roughly like that.
And I named them “Twice Burgundy” for absolutely NO reason and I have so many regrets because I never spell Burgundy right the first time for goodness sakes.
4. Beck’s monologue about hating glitter is author-self-insertion at its finest.
At that point I was doing copious amounts of craft with a 3-year-old niece. And UGH I LOVE HER, but sfshgoshr her obsession with glitter destroyed my fragile sanity.
I hate glitter. It doesn’t love you. It wants to see you dead.
5. August’s shoelessness is because a lot of Aussies just…don’t…wear shoes?
This isn’t a blanket Aussie culture thing. But it’s pretty common! If you go to some shopping centres near the beach, they even have signs “WEAR SHOES” because so many people turn up without. We are bogans.
I also had a period when I was about 15 where I basically never wore shoes.
I also nearly broke my foot playing soccer barefoot…which like literally as I’m typing this is probably what inspired August’s damaged foot when Beck had to carry her home from school.
EPIPHANY.
6. I didn’t name a specific town-setting because I’m…lazy.
Because, look. If I said that it was, say, Brisbane — then I would’ve had to write it accurately as Brisbane. Duuuude. Dude. Don’t ask me to research. As is, it’s like what happened if Lismore x Brisbane got flung together and sat down in a mess.
7. August’s beetroot cupcakes…
…look. Beck is right. Vegetables don’t belong in cakes like that, seriously, August. Get help.
I’m meant to tell you the hidden meaning behind it but it’s only that I have been subjected to this. And writing books is nothing if not working through past traumas.
8. The Maestro is inspired by the Evil Step-Mother of fairy tales.
One thing I’ve noticed as I drift about the blogosphere like a well-meaning ghost, is that ATPN is making it onto so many of your lists…ALL FOR EVIL PARENTS. That stuck out the most lmao.
Truly, the Maestro is a deeply terrible person. What’s worse is that she’s justified her abuse to Beck. She’s making him “a great pianist” by force. And to her, that’s all that matters. He refers to her as “mother” like once throughout the whole book because he knows mother/son is not their relationship.
So she also plays into the “abusive/mean music teacher” stereotype (which is a very common trope in the music world) but she also takes her roots from fairy tales.
ALSO I’M SORRY, OK???? I hate her too.
9. Why present tense/3rd person?
It’s not the most common choice and I actually terrified myself into a spiralled hole pre-release that no one would like it. But I like it. And I’m important ok. (Also super humble.) But it’s the tense I love the most and feel so comfortable with. Present tense brings you deeply into the moment, like it’s happening to you — right now.
So you can suffer with Beck. Nice.
10. There is an Avery (from my next book, The Boy Who Steals Houses) cameo in this book!
I am so ridiculously proud of it. I was really lucky to land a 2-book deal upfront so while ATPN was still in edits, I already knew The Boy Who Steals Houses would be my second book. I could sneak a reference!
THIS IS PAGE 18.
➸ Avery is Sam’s (my narrator) brother in The Boy Who Steals Houses
➸ So TBWSH is actually set in the same town/same school as A Thousand Perfect Notes!
➸ It’s also set a year later.
➸ And yes ajfdklsad there are references to TBWSH in A Thousand Perfect Notes too! Keep your eyes peeled.
➸ Why does this make me so dorkily proud of myself? I swear the bar is so low for me to feel clever. But here we are.
➸ find my sons on Goodreads and Book Depository!
IT’S AMAZING TO KNOW ALL. OF THESE! I’m a fan of easter eggs and hidden meanings so I obviously ate this post up. Plus I love ATPN so much and all the talk about Beck and August made me want to read it again and set up ten buckets to drop my tears in. CAIT I’M SO EXCITED FOR YOUR SECOND SON I CAN’T CALM DOWN.
I’M SO PLEASED YOU’RE EXCITED SO I CAN ROB YOU OF MORE HAPPINESS …um wait typos haha. I just mean !! I hope you enjoy the loveliness of Houses 😌
YESS TWICE BURGUNDY SOUNDED AWESOME. u will never know how disappointed i was when i got to know it was fictional 🙁
I had NO idea people would actually look them up. 😂😂
This was so so interesting to read!! 😀
I loved kearning where certain things in ATPN came from.
I’m excited to read TBWSH :D.
I’m glad you enjoyed it!! It was super fun to share some behind-the-scenes things!
THIS IS COOL! It also reminded me how much of ATPN I’ve already forgotten. I am apparently a goldfish or something help.
I am really really looking forward to seeing the cameos. Also, I think Twice Burgundy is a great name 🙂
Dude do not even worry 😂 I forget so much of my OWN books and I have zero excuse for that hahah. Ahem. I’m glad you liked the Twice Burgundy name! I literally thought that up on the spur of the moment. 😂I can start a band now…
Aaaaah I love that you snuck your second book in there! I feel for you with the glitter. Really. You don’t even have to be doing glitter-based craft, one of them can just wear a glittery dressing up outfit and then you’re there a week later still picking glitter out of your bedsheets, hair, lunch…
ugh agreed about the glitter. I mean you can literally just THINK about glitter and it’ll probably attack you smh.
SO many of the little moments in my book are inspired by real life. I’ve thought about the fact that it will be fun to do an annotated copy someday!
YES! Annotated copies are the best and I think readers are amused by we author’s nonsense reasonings. 😂
This post was really cool! Thanks for giving us all of those little stories! It’s always fun to find out why authors did certain things in their books or how certain things were inspired! Thanks so much for sharing with us! And I can’t waitttttt for TBWSH!!!
😁😁😁😁😁😁😁
Aww I’m glad you liked these little backstory nuggets! 😂💛It was fun to remember the reasons behind all the things!! eep
We listen to the same music! I have all of those bands on my computer for when I’m working. I guess I’d like Twice Burgundy. Also, I had a story rejected a few years ago because the beginning of it was written in 3rd person / present tense. You’re lucky, 🙂
yikes that sucks about the rejection. I’m surprised though? That seems something that’s fixable if a publisher/editor/agent liked the story itself.
This is the best. omg I want to reread ATPN ASAP.
Not wearing shoes is my dream??? but I live in the Pacific Northwest, which means that it rains 365 days of the year. sad times.
But then you just gO BAREFOOT SWIMMING!! 😂 Ok but truly I lived somewhere where it rained constantly as a kid too, I just…?? Didn’t have brains.
all of these make me so happy. you’re adorable and hilarious, cait XD
(also WHOA HALLO GUESS WHO FOUND YOUR BLOG AGAIN *most terrible minion ever*)
noooo you’re fine!! 💛💛 you have like a life lmao. 😂💛
Oh my word, that is SO COOL how you got to put some sneaky references in for TBWSH!!!! I didn’t think it was possible for me to be even MORE excited for this book, but I guess I was wrong. XD Also I’m not sure if I’d like beetroot in cupcakes… I feel like it would be an abomination, but I DO like carrot cake, so maybe it wouldn’t be so bad???
ALSO I DID NOT KNOW THIS WAS A CINDERELLA RETELLING. ASDFGHJKL!!! But now that you mention it, I can TOTALLY see it!!! How on earth did I miss this…
A few weird things I’ve included in my WIP are:
– one of my characters can’t stand coffee, simply because I–as a writer anomaly–cannot stand coffee
– I added a pear into one of the drafts because I was talking about pears on my blog while writing said draft. Unfortunately the pear no longer exists. XD
Ahh I’ms o glad you liked it! I mean they’re smol and dorky but I had fun. 😂 The beetroot cupcakes are an INSULT to life and should be noted that I am not with August on this.😂
I love that you put those little references to things about you in your books too.😂
I add hidden meanings into my writing all the time, I’m glad I’m not the only one who does 😅
I always go for meaningful names instead of just picking them at random. My two MCs in my current WIP are Charlotte and Jay: Charlotte because she’s old-fashioned and regal and because of Princess Charlotte, and Jay is short for Jason, like from Greek mythology, because he’s the “hero”.
Aw I’m glad you do too! It’s fun to do Easter eggs and things.😂 And I like that your names mean things!
If anyone were to find hidden meaning in my books, I think I’d be as surprised as they are. I hardly ever have any intentional “deep” meanings, but I do love including fandom references for those who like the same TV shows as me. My characters eat foods that sound good to me in the moment I’m writing it. Sometimes I’ll name side characters after my friends, even if their personalities are nothing alike, just because I want to give them a shout out and/or I’m too lazy to think of a different name.
Solid music choices! I love The Civil Wars. They were all I listened to from 2012-2014. And I also went through a period where I took off my shoes every chance I got, but I had no clue that was a thing in Australia! Who would’ve thought.
Ahh hahah, actually a few people have told me about butterflies being deaf as well so thanked me for that reference in the cover and I’m like: YOU’R WELCOME (I HAD NO IDEA) 😂Not that I made the cover. but anyway. Lmao. But same with me and the food! The Boy Who Steals Houses has SO much brownie in it solely for the reason that’s what I was snacking on while I wrote.😂
Omg I’m glad I’m not alone with the random Civil Wars obsession. I think mine was started by the Hunger Games soundtrack?!
Ahh this is such an interesting post to read, Cait, thank you for sharing these secret facts with us!! I had no idea that the not-wearing shoes thing was an Australian thing ahah and, aerm… beetroot cupcakes, why, I’m sorry someone imposed you to that!
This was such an interesting post to read! <3 <3
Eeep I’m so glad you liked it! 😍 Honestly though the Beetroot Cupcakes AREN’T an Australian thing…just the weirdos. Like my family apparently lmao.
I haven’t read ATPN yet, but this makes me want to even more!!
I love so many of these, haha. The sly Beethoven and fairytale references are awesome. And oh yes I have definitely done the not-picking-a-specific-town-because-ugh-research. Also we can hate glitter together. Back in high school I was part of a robotics team for one year (my mother made me, she didn’t want me to be an UNSOCIALIZED HOMESCHOOLER, even though that is basically exactly who does robotics. whatever.) and some people had the brilliant idea of adorning the robot with glitter. Naturally, it never came off, except when /you/ touched the robot, at which point it transferred to /you/ and never came off. It was traumatizing.
Aww that makes me so happy that it makes you want to read it! And awk I’m glad you’re liking the sound of all my references. 😉 I’m literally the worst about researching little things. Like NORMAL things. Towns? Meh. Spending a million hours researching Beethoven’s life? YES. 😂
(I’m laughing so hard about your homeschooler/robotics/unsocialised comment. Lmaoooo if that isn’t so true.😂)
But … but glitter is awesome *throws handfuls everywhere.*
I love knowing where characters names come from, though. Those are awesome, as are Easter Egg references.
But … I gotta know – is there any meaning behind the pink knife. (*cough* Said pink knife has become something of an inside joke in my house after … an incident with Bring Your Own Book.)
As for hidden meaning in my own writing – when I name a character, nine times out of ten, either the name’s meaning is important their role or personality, or it’s a refrence to someone or something important to me. So, for instance, I had a Snow White retelling where the MC shifted between eight parallel universes and had a different name in each one, and each name meant “white” in some form or fashion. In an older book of mine, the heroine was named “Clara” simply because I have an obsession with the Nutcracker, and her love interest was named “Andrew” ’cause it’s my dad’s middle name, and also it’s a reference to Raggedy Andy.
Easter Eggs? I have had a … book show up in two of my books. “Fairly Funny Short Stories” it was called, and it was also a magical book with some … interesting properties. And now I have readers trying to formulate fanfiction for how someone could get between the two world. (Which … it’s not impossible to do, but not easy.)
And then there was the “Movie Magic” scene that came from a comment I made to my mother once and she insisted that I someday use in a book, and then the “Pie Filling” scene that was inspired by an actual arguement between cousins of mine. Ah, good times.
Also, I need to contact you about an interview + am wondering if you would be interested in doing something of a swap ’cause I have a book releasing just over a week before, and I think it would be interested to do a bit of a two-part dialogue contrasting self-publishing and traditional. So, yeah, I’d like to have you over regardless, but if you’re interested…
*screams and flees the country from the glitter* I have SUCH a salty glitter scene in TBWSH too.😂 And I’m glad you enjoyed my Easter eggs here! And nothing much behind the pink knife haha, just that Joey likes pink and is terrifying. 😂
I think it’s great you have lots of meanings behind your names! Mostly mine are like “oh I like that name”. Which is…not super intelligent lol. But I’m enjoying reading about your easter eggs here too!
GLITTER SUCKS. BIG TIME.
also I freaking loved this post chit ahh askfjijad write one about tbwsh too pleaseeeeeeeeee xx
It DOES. People do not realise how much it is here to ruin our lives smh. (I’m so glad you liked the post!! And I’ll definitely do one for TBWSH. 😂)
I thought my comment posted but I’m not seeing it so I might have two comments on here that are similar unless my first one didn’t go through.
I NOTICED THE TBWSH REFERENCE WHEN I FIRST READ IT!!! What’s my prize? I also was confused by the August going barefoot thing because heat. Like how do you survive barefoot??? What if it’s a really hot day or what if you step on something??? I just never understood people who go around barefoot. I also feel like I might have guessed the reasoning behind August’s name but forgot, I kind of figured her name is August and she’s in a book about music and there’s August Rush which is about music.
The references and meanings I place in my books are very diverse and can be anywhere from “she cut her hair to symbolize her loss of innocence and love” to “he hates when people chew with their mouth open because I do” I also have a WIP based shamelessly off some weird family drama going on with my cousins, a normal person would just talk about it at a family dinner years later or something but I’m like “this would make a great thriller\mystery!”
It did!! It went to spam for some bizarre reason!? Like WordPress doesn’t know you, smh, how dare it.
And ALL THE CAKE. That is the prize. 😂💛 And honestly I’ve had so so many people be confused about August’s shoeless life (and lol I’ve seen people actually take stars off for it so #awkward) but I swear it’s just straight out of my life. Not exactly recommending it. But like, c’mon, August was the most sensible person there still.💛
And YES. Sometimes I put really meaningful things into the reasons behind why I choose things. Other times, it’s like “My family poisoned me with beetroot cupcakes so I shall poison my characters”. I’m very deep.
this = the coolest post i have ever seen in my flipping life. and YES PLEASE GEEK WITH ME ABOUT THE COMBINED UNIVERSE THAT IS GENIUS
THIS MAKES ME HAPPY, THANK YOU, ABBY.😍
Twice Burgundy felt so real so I thought it must not be available in the States when I searched for it ahaha. I love all these fun facts aND LOVE how your books are connected ;D
Aww haha, I still think it’s awesome I managed to make a band sound so real. 😂 And THANK YOU!! Writing them in the same world made me really happy!
This was very fun to read! I absolutely LOVE behind the scenes stuff.
Also… yes. I grew up in the QLD countryside not wearing shoes. Like ever.
I remember we didn’t even have to wear them to school until I stood on a snake I thought was a tree root.
🙂
*hi five for shoeless childhoods* I actually had a ton of people messaging me in SHOCK that August would be shoeless. But I’m like ?? There were several years of my life where I just never wore shoes and neither did my friends. 😂
This was such a neat post. Thanks for writing it! I don’t know if I’ve picked up on the dorky things in my writing quite yet. Haha. That’s so cool that you snuck a cameo into ATPN! Love it! And I can’t wait to read your next book!
The cameo is just such a little silly thing but haha it jut made me so happy. 😍
This list is such fun! I really like how A Thousand Perfect Notes included so many German things, especially since I read it in Germany. 🙂
The novel I’m querying, Origami Swan, is slightly influenced by Les Mis as I wrote in a super annoying hotel manager who’s also a con artist. I even managed to mention a barricade. I also came up with the idea for the novel after watching The Labyrinth, and my story takes place in a labyrinth, so there’s that.
Ahh I’m so glad you liked the German aspects. And yes GO FOR THE BARRICADE! WOO. I think it’s great when we can see what famous real life or fictional things influence us!
Thanks for sharing these secret meanings, Cait! I’m sure it made the read a lot more special now that we know all these things.
When I first read the book’s premise, I instantly remembered of August Rush. And I’m so happy it was one of your inspirations! I really love that movie to pieces; one of my favorite songs of all times it’s part of the movie’s soundtrack: Something Inside. Even though I’ve watched the movie over ten times now, I still cry everytime, hahah. It really is a beautiful description of how music can change someone’s life.
Awk, thank you, Lais! I’m glad you think so *happy flail* And I’m SO glad you got the August Rush reference! That movie was awesome (Although I haven’t seen it in years eeep).
I enjoyed reading all of these but #10 is absolutely my favorite ever!
😍😍Aww!! I’M SO HAPPY!
Ahhh! This post is so cool and adorable! I love it!!! But I DO remember reading ATPN and read the name Avery. I knew that that was a character in your new book … but I wasn’t sure if it was accidental or not 😂
EEEEEE I’m so glad you noticed. 😂
This is the first ever time I have understood the references from YA fiction. No I mean seriously, I understood every single reference. And maybe it shows how much I loved ATPN.
WIN FOR US ALL 😂🎉 I’m so glad you enjoyed ATPN too, that just makes me so so happy!
All of these are really great and interesting to know!
Spoilers for anyone else reading, but was the butterfly on the cover chosen intentionally? As butterflies are deaf, and are a symbol of the deaf community, and considering the ending, I thought it might have been intentional.
Aw thank you! And oh I didn’t know that about butterflies actually! I didn’t pick the design, so maybe it factored into the designer’s thoughts? But otherwise it’s just a reference to the line where Beck’s playing music and says he’s playing like butterflies with broken wings!
dude the band twice…i’m not going to even try and spell SOUNDED SO GOOD I WANT THE BAND TO BE REAL HOW DARE YOU NOT AUTOMATICALLY BECOME A MUSICAL STAR AND START UP A BAND?!?!?!
anyways, the avery easter egg IS SO SNEAKY and i’m hoping to catch any ATPN easter eggs in ur second book!! and one day i want a novella about Beck’s life in Germany tbh or like a day in the life of august – THAT’D BE SO EPIC OK.
I’M SO BAD FOR MAKING UP THE BAND, SO BAD. 😂Actually truth is, I didn’t know if I could use a real band’s name legally hahah. I should’ve put that on the list too.😂
Me: should I research rights
Me: …or just make stuff up.
Ahem. (Also did I tell you I love your new blog header?! GORGEOUS.)
I’m so excited for The Boy Who Steals Houses! (Not such a convenient abbreviation as ATPN, eh xD)
We have such a cold climate that I still absolutely can’t handle the shoes idea xD I’d love to see it though! It’s so cool how different cultures can be, even if they’re like.. pretty similar, you know? Like, still Western, but then there’s stuff like that 😀 I love it.
I also can totally understand the choice of not writing about a particular city. I’ve always thought that’s a smart way to do it.
And Twice Burgundy is a genius name!
And I have a confession to make. I…. I LOVE GLITTER.
I hope you still like me 😀 xD
The abbreviation kind of feels like mouthwashing?!😂It’s not working for me either lol. I call it “Houses” generally instead. Because I’m also super lazy. But eep, I remember how shocked SO many Europeans were with the no-shoes thing. I’m just like, c’mon people, it’s just our bogan culture. 😂
(There is way way more glitter in Houses.😂Just you wait…)
Yes lol, mouthwashing is on point here :DDD yeah, Houses sounds better indeed.
Can’t wait for the glitter 😀
I think the no shoes is pretty much a Queensland thing. I remember being on the Gold Coast a few years ago and at the casino there, they has signs for people to wear shoes and people were in there with shorts on. SHORTS! I love Queensland, it’s so casual but the humidity is not my friend. Beetroot in cake is wrong on so many levels but it’s supposed to make it moist (I hate that word). I’m already in love with this book and the need is killing me. It;s also up on Booktopia for preorder. HOORAY!
Ohhh that would make sense that it was a Queenslander thing. We are such bogans. 😂 There is no help for us lmao. (Also no winter so that’s…fair.) And look, I was clearly dealing with a beetroot trauma here. It doesn’t make it moist. It makes it like mud.
I love this! I also love that Aussies don’t wear shoes, you are my people. Every time I go to a book conference, there comes a point where I no longer care about footwear etiquette and just lose them. So I like this trait of your countrymen. August DOES need help. Beetroot!? No thank you please! I am so sorry that you suffered such unspeakable trauma. The glitter thing cracked me up too, because it is TOO TRUE hahahha.
Well not ALL of us don’t wear shoes 😂just us North bogans because it’s never cold enough around here lmao. (But the beetroot is unacceptable and clearly I was working through a trauma there.)
Oh my gosh I love this post so much!!! I absolutely love (yes, I’m going to overuse this word) seeing HOW things came to be in the book through your eyes/world/imagination. I love Beck and he is just the absolute sweetest…ATPN destroyed me and can there please be a sequel sometime?
/fangirling
Aww I’m so glad you enjoyed it!! It was really fun to write and remember why I chose so many random things, eeep. (Also I’m so glad you think Beck is sweet. 😍 I love him so much! No sequels coming sadly though 🙈)
Ooh yes Of Monsters and Men! They’re such an obscure band so I was very pleasantly surprised that they inspired Twice Burgundy.
I went over this web site and I think you have a lot of fantastic info, bookmarked (:.