Stephen King references
They do get a bit distracting at times, coming, as they do, thick and fast. This is not without it's own kind of fun however.
The most obvious one I couldn't fail to spot was a poster of him on a school library wall. The most subtle was Rachel leaving a message under a piece of volcanic glass.
Of course there's The Wasteland, Stu Redman, John Sanborn, episodes named after King books; The Dark Tower, The Stand. The Stand itself with Randall Flagg/Flynn, the whole post-apocalypse shebang.
Aaron Pittman's appearance could even be modelled after a younger incarnation of the writer with his particular style of spectacles, checked shirt, burliness and heavy beard. I almost forgot his pyrokinetic abilities.
There must be many more. Care to share a few?