Why I Hide Real-Life Easter Eggs in My Romance Novels
One of my favorite things to do when I’m writing is slip little pieces of my own life into the story. They aren’t details most readers would ever notice, but if you know my love story, you’d catch them instantly. I don’t add them to be discovered. I add them as a way of keeping sweet memories alive for myself.
My husband is always the first to read my finished drafts, and when he got to Bash and Vivi’s story in Dare You to See Me, he read it with a big grin. He knew right away I was sharing little pieces of our beginning. And that’s exactly what these Easter eggs are—moments from real life, rewritten into romance.
Here are three Easter eggs you'll find in Bash and Vivi's story
1. “I can’t date her…she’s my best friend.”
“That’s exactly why you should date her.”
This conversation really happened—between my husband and his best friend. After a horrible dating experience, he was venting about why it was so hard to find the right person. His friend asked what he was looking for, and as he rattled off qualities, it became obvious he was describing me. He may have even said, “Someone like Ava.” His friend didn’t miss a beat: “Then date Ava.”
But he couldn’t wrap his head around it. The idea of dating me felt too close, too risky. He was terrified of ruining the friendship. His best friend—blunt as ever—just pointed out what everyone else already knew: being best friends was the very reason it could work. When I gave that line to Bash, I didn’t change a single thing. It belonged exactly as it was first spoken.
2. “Someone here likes you and it’s not me.”
This one always makes me laugh. In college, I was working in a busy retail store when my husband and a mutual friend stopped by. I had no idea why they were there until that mutual friend suddenly shouted this sentence across the store for everyone to hear.
I froze. My first thought was to quip back, Well, that’s a first. But instead, I just stood there, stunned. Until that moment, I hadn’t realized my best friend had started to see me differently. That one sentence cracked the door wide open and made me wonder if maybe, just maybe, there was something more between us. Writing it into Bash and Vivi’s story felt natural because it was the exact spark that lit the beginning of mine.
3. The Betting Pool
This one still makes me laugh the most. Back in our dorm days, friends actually started placing bets on when we’d finally get together. It was harmless fun, but it also showed how obvious we were to everyone else. What the world could see so clearly, we were still blind to.
Turning Real-Life Memories Into Easter Eggs
That is why I love writing Easter eggs into my books. They are not meant to be uncovered like a puzzle. They are there because they make the story personal. They carry a heartbeat of truth beneath the fiction. For the people who know me best, especially my husband, they feel like little time capsules.
When he finished those clips in the story, he grinned and said, “It’s like reading pieces of us all over again.” He was right. That is the magic of it.
So while Dare You to See Me stands on its own as Bash and Vivi’s story, with their friendship, their longing, and their fight to finally see what is in front of them, it also carries pieces of me. You do not need to find the Easter eggs to enjoy the book. But if you do, just know they were put there for a reason.
👉 Dare You to See Me releases October 1, 2025. You can discover more about Bash and Vivi’s story here.
Ava Vail
Ava Vail is a contemporary romance author specializing in short, emotionally intense love stories with strong character arcs and just the right amount of steam. Her books are perfect for readers who love slow-burn tension, forbidden attraction, and binge-worthy romance you can finish in one sitting.