Fun Facts for “When the Universe Speaks”

Factoid One
Sheridan’s name I got from the surname of Margaret Sheridan, who was an actress in the 1950s.
I am a big sci-fi fan, and I love the 1951 movie The Thing From Another World. Margaret Sheridan stars in it and I have always thought she was one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen.

Factoid Two
Keeping with the connections to The Thing From Another World, originally, Sheridan’s last name was Tobey, after Kenneth Tobey, who played Captain Hendry in that movie. Furthermore, Fiona’s last name, Nicholson, is the surname of the character Margaret Sheridan played in the film.

Factoid Three
Fiona’s wisecrack about not being able to even look at a slice of pepperoni pizza without getting heartburn was inspired by my father making the same wisecrack himself, because he also takes prescription omeprazole daily.

Factoid Four
The Füde Experience mentioned in Chapter 18 is real. It is called the Füde Dinner Experience, and is hosted in New York City. Women have to apply to attend, and their applications have to be approved by the hostess. There was a very cool article written about in The New York Times.

Factoid Five
The original title for the book was “What the Universe Demands.”

Factoid Six
This is the book in the series in which the least amount of it takes place in Carlsbad.

Factoid Seven
Specifically, Fiona’s car is a 1978 450SL convertible. I didn’t choose that car arbitrarily. Although I’m not really a “car” girl, the 1978 450SL is a model that I particularly like aesthetically. It seems there are a lot of them here in Southern California.

Factoid Eight
I based Fiona’s stateroom on the Sea Goddess on staterooms my girlfriend and I have stayed in onboard cruise ships. We can’t make do without a balcony…it is, like, crucial to our enjoyment of our stay on the ship. And yes, the bathrooms are tiny, but ours had some useful shelf space that we managed to share without getting into fights. LOL.

Factoid Nine
Fiona’s cat Swiftie is named after the cat of one of my best friends who, of course, named it after Taylor Swift.

Factoid Ten
In Chapter 5, when I mention the 22-year-old Sheridan’s nervous habit of touching the back of her neck while she is talking to new people…that is a habit of mine, actually. I didn’t realize it until someone pointed it out to me. I’ve gotten better at controlling it, but I still slip from time to time.

Bonus Factoid
Mayor Wright’s first name, Rivers, is actually the first name of my paternal great-grandfather! He was named that because the doctor who delivered him was Dr. Rivers. I have always thought that was a cool first name.