After Dinner Betrayal: Dee Garretson's Revenge and Betrayal Quiz

By - August 23, 2013

What better dessert for after dinner than a nice dish of betrayal.  After all, revenge is supposed to be best served cold...ice cream is cold... Coincidence?  I think not!  

I'm thrilled to welcome author of Victorian mystery debut, The Gargoyle in the Seine: Dee Garretson!  Don't forget to check out the bottom of this post for how to win a signed copy of Dee's novel, plus an additional giveaway from Anthony Award-Winner & Edgar Award Nominee Sophie Littlefield!

Now, I'll turn it over to Dee with:

"Revenge and Betrayal: What's Your Style?"

While betrayal and revenge in real life are gut-wrenching and disturbing, they are themes many of us love in fiction and on screen. In fact, betrayal is central to the plots of so many thrillers and mysteries, it’s almost hard to imagine a story without it, whether it’s a personal betrayal or a betrayal to one’s community or country. When I decided to write about a young 19th century James Bond-type spy, Reese Tretheway, and his reluctant ally, Clary Ashton, an American art student totally out of her element in THE GARGOYLE IN THE SEINE, I knew the theme of betrayal would be central to the plot. But there are all kinds and degrees of betrayal and revenge, and they are dependent on a character’s personality.

For fun, I’ve put together a little quiz to see which type fits you, if you were ever in the situation facing a betrayal. It’s only three questions long, so where do you fit?

1. Which of these four quotes do you most identify with?

A. There is no revenge so complete as forgiveness. (Josh Billings)

B. Revenge is a dish that should be eaten cold.  (Tallyrand)

C. The best revenge is massive success. (Frank Sinatra)

D. To take revenge halfheartedly is to court disaster; either condemn or crown your hatred. (Pierre Corneille)

 

2. Which character might you be?

A. Fanny Price in MANSFIELD PARK Fanny loves Edmund, but Edmund loves the shallow and frivolous Miss Crawford. Edmund is so clueless about Fanny’s feelings that he forces her to listen to him rhapsodize about Miss Crawford, until he eventually discovers Miss Crawford’s true nature and rejects her. Fanny forgives him and they get married, presumably living happily ever after.

B. Edmond Dantes in THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO: Falsely imprisoned for six years, Dantes escapes and spends the next several years bringing about the downfall of the three men responsible for his imprisonment through financial ruin, inciting others to murder and causing one of them to be imprisoned in the same manner.

C. Gatsby in THE GREAT GATSBY: When Daisy Buchanan jilts him, Gatsby dedicates his life to becoming fabulously wealthy, even if it means acquiring wealth through illegal activities like bootlegging. It’s his way of trying to win Daisy back.

D. Lord Walder Frey in A STORM OF SWORDS, The Game of Thrones: Lord Frey is so angry with Robb Stark for breaking a marriage pact he made with one of Frey’s daughters that Frey organizes a massacre of some 3500 people loyal to Stark, all under the pretext of celebrating another betrothal.

 

3.  If a spouse ever cheated on you, which of these would be something you might do or think about doing? (all of these really happened)

A. Throw a giant party for the spouse, making a speech about how wonderful the person is.

B. Hire the best divorce lawyer you can find, get a generous settlement, including the expensive car, and get a vanity license plate that says “Was His.”

C. Put together gift baskets for both the cheater and the one he/she is cheating with, but substitute half the contents of the bottles of shampoo and bubble bath with Nair hair remover. Leave them on the porches of the respective cheaters.

D. Find compromising pictures of the person and email them to all his/her colleagues at work (this happened to a well-known agent recently)

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How did you do?

If you answered mostly “A,” I’d like you to be a member of my family. You’d be the one to smooth over family drama and we could count on you not to stab anyone in the back.

If you answered mostly “B,” you’d make a good friend when cooler heads need to prevail. You’d also be great at giving ideas for elaborate methods of revenge.

If you answered mostly “C.” I can tell you are going to go far. The drive to succeed is a good thing, no matter what the motive. Can I tag along?

If you answered mostly “D,” you have to admit you’re a little scary. I’ll try really hard not to get on your bad side. J

So next time you read something full of revenge and maybe forgiveness, have fun thinking of how you’d react in the same situation. Thanks to Colby for giving me an opportunity to post. And best wishes to Alaina and her family. Happy reading!

 

***Dee is giving away a signed copy of The Gargoyle in the Seine, to a lucky commenter on this post. So, don't forget to comment!***

ABOUT DEE:  Dee grew up in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, where she spent her time outside playing in the woods, helping her father build his offbeat inventions, and writing stories.  She attended Tufts University, where she obtained a degree in International Relations. Degree in hand, she quickly realized she was not meant to work inside in an office, and because she had become obsessed with plants, she decided to get a degree in Landscape Horticulture, as a way to get back outside. She worked as a landscape designer and taught landscape horticulture classes for several years before returning to writing.  Find out more at http://www.deegarretson.com/ .

 

With An Additional Giveaway From

SOPHIE LITTLEFIELD

 

***Another lucky commenter will win an autographed copy of Garden of Stones by Anthony Award-Winner & Edgar Award Nominee Sophie Littlefield!***

ABOUT GARDEN OF STONES:   Lucy Takeda is just fourteen years old, living in Los Angeles, when the bombs rain down on Pearl Harbor. Within weeks, she and her mother, Miyako, are ripped from their home, rounded up—along with thousands of other innocent Japanese-Americans—and taken to the Manzanar prison camp.

GARDEN OF STONES is a harrowing tale of stolen innocence and survival that echoes through generations, reverberating between mothers and daughters. It is a moving chronicle of injustice, triumph and the unspeakable acts we commit in the name of love.

Find out more at sophielittlefield.com. 

 

Comment for your chance to win both Dee's and Sophie's giveaways- leave an e-mail address so we can contact you if you win!

Which brings us back to Dee's quiz and her question:

How did you do on the quiz?  What were your results?