the last great american dynasty

random q&a

Hello!

  First of all, I would like to thank you so so so much for taking the time to read my novel/fanfic. It meant the world to me that you read my story and I very much appreciate it.

  Uhhh... I don't have much to say. I'm speechless and no words can describe my gratitude. I let my friends read the story, and the following are questions that they have asked that might help solve some of those questions you have. So I'm calling this section "random q&a" (I was going for rando, but since the whole book is formal, I choose random instead).

Is Betty Rebekah Harkness (and vice versa)?

In real life, no.

Rebekah herself had the nickname Betty which... I don't know whether that's a coincidence or not, so I get why it might be confusing. What Betty went through in this story is not and will never be what Rebekah had experienced. From my research, all I could really find were vague snippets of her childhood and teenage years, such as her relationship with her family, the B*tch Pack as well as what they did during their time in finishing school. They never mentioned if Rebekah had any significant romantic relationships during that time of her life.

The novel was meant to be a creative project, connecting all the songs on folklore into a literal piece of art. What Betty went through might not be real, but it's a way for me to express my feelings, pour my heart out into things mentioned that I have personally experienced, so there's a little bit of me in James, Betty, and Leah.

Why isn't Leah named August or Augustine or any "august" variant?

Well, for one it would be very obvious.

I just felt like that character shouldn't be given her name based on the fact that the song august was in her point of view. I've tried doing names that are related to 8 such as Octavia but it never really stuck.

And then I went online to my trusty name sources and found that Leah meant weary. I wanted a negative-ish meaning for that character's name. Plus the name Leah wasn't extremely popular back then in the 30s, but it wasn't extremely rare as well.

I'm not saying that I dislike the name "Leah". I have no hatred towards that name or anyone named Leah at all. But to me, the names of the characters and/or the meaning that they carry are little details that I like to pay attention to.

Would James and Betty have ended up together if he didn't cheat?

For me, abso-freaking-lutely.

Betty and James are (in my mind) soulmates. They were, are, and have always been meant for each other.

Why are Betty and James in the bonus chapter?

As I said, James and Betty are soulmates. Ever since reading Fallen by Lauren Kate, I had been fascinated with reincarnation (literally reading a book on the history of the afterlife as we speak). Just because your body dies doesn't mean your soul dies. I'd like to think there was some divine power that decided to give James another chance which is why they are in invisible strings by the lakes.

Who is the waitress?

The waitress could be anyone. That's why I never revealed her name and her looks. The same goes for Darius. We only know his job and his eye and hair color because, like the waitress, he could be anyone.