Priscilla Bettis – Leonberger Life

Vampire of the Midnight Sun Two Engrossing Horror Stories

This blog is primarily about Leonbergers, especially our late Leonberger Bronco, or as his full name was, Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle. I also review Leonberger books and sometimes I review books that are not about Leonbergers, books I love and want to promote. This is one of those posts. Today I am reviewing Vampire of The Midnight Sun – January 28, 2023 by Priscilla Bettis. It exists as a Kindle edition with a print length of 55 pages, ASIN B0BS9N5VR1. It is $2.99 on Amazon.

Priscilla Bettis (embedded from Amazon author page)

Even though I am not the traditional vampire aficionado, because of the implausible vampire mythology surrounding vampires, for example, they burn up in sunlight, they turn into bats, all their victims also turn into vampires. It seems silly and evokes questions. I should say I still prefer traditional vampires over zombies. Zombies are boring. However, Priscillas vampire tale is not a traditional vampire story, it is a lot more plausible and modern.

I should say that I have some connection to vampires. That’s because I went to Transylvania with my son and the water polo team, he was part of. Together with another parent, Jim, I was a chaperone. The coach was a native of Transylvania and he decided to make the trip about Dracula, or as his real name was Vlad II Dracul or Vlad II Tepes the Impaler. We visited Dracula’s grave on Snagov island, his birthplace in Sighisoara, the Bran Castle, and the Poienari Castle. I can add that the Bran Castle is the most famous castle and a tourist trap, but there’s no evidence he was ever there. The Poienari Castle on the other hand, was a castle he restored and lived in.

When we visited the Snagov island and the Snagov monastery Dracula’s monk decided to initiate me and my son into Dracula’s covenant. We drank water from Dracula’s well and participated in a ritual and voila, here we are protectors of Dracula. Therefore, I might as well launch into my review of Priscilla’s horror stories.

Below I am posting my updated Amazon review for Vampire Of The Midnight Sun. To see my Amazon review click here.

Two engrossing horror stories that you’ll never forget

Can vampires live under the sun, the midnight sun? Can vampires be blood thirsty but not evil? The first story in Priscilla Bettis “Vampire of the Midnight Sun” story collection certainly implies this and it makes vampires a lot more plausible and interesting than the helpless and evil vampires who are poff-gone under the slightest ray from the sun.

Two friends, Billy and Frasier, are river rafting in Alaska. They end up in the cold river water and have to hike back to safety, wet and without provisions. That’s how a very difficult but interesting hike begins. However, unbeknownst to Frasier, Billy is not a normal mortal. Billy’s special condition turns out to be an advantage to both of them but also the cause of confusion and mounting tension and a gruesome surprise. You don’t need evil for horror, you just need what is otherworldly and bizarre. I found Billy to be quite fascinating and more believable than all the vampires that I’ve come across in other stories. The story was captivating, and the unique narrative was refreshing, and the descriptions of the surrounding beautiful scenery was breathtaking.

“Vampire of the Midnight Sun” also contain a second short story called “the fire witch and the cowboy”. It takes place in an old wild west town called Dusty Bend in Texas during the wildfire season. The town has a secret. There are dark old sins to atone for and as a result there’s wild fire, lots of fire, fire from hell arising from supernatural forces. In the story there are cowards and heroes, witches, ghosts, revenge and death. It is a spellbinding horror story that gave me goosebumps.

I highly recommend this collection of two great horror stories.

To see Priscilla Bettis’ Amazon author page, click here, and to visit her website click here.

Finally, if you would like to learn about more about my book and find out where to buy it, click here or here. You can also click the image below to buy it from Amazon.

This image shows the front cover of the book "The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle". Stories and Tips from Thirteen Years with a Leonberger. Click on the image to go to the Amazon location for the book. — This is the front cover of the book “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”. Click on the image to go to the Amazon location for the book.

Dog Meat a Horror Story set in a Society from Hell

As you know this blog is primarily about Leonbergers and Leonberger books but sometimes I write a review for a book or story that I find to be exceptional and therefore want to promote. Last Friday I read a horror story called “Dog Meat” by Priscilla Bettis. I wrote an Amazon review on Saturday morning. It was a gruesome and morbid story, like a good horror story should be, and it was a real page turner. Therefore, I would like to promote this book. I bought the paperback version since I prefer that over Kindle. The Dog Meat paperback version currently cost $12.99 on Amazon and is 111 pages. The kindle version cost $3.99 and is 120 pages. It was released October 30, 2022. The paper version is 6 x 0.28 x 9 inches, and the ISBN number is 978-1951840617. The ASIN number for the Kindle Edition is B0B8QG79DK.

Photo of the front cover of Dog Meat. Dog Meat is a dystopian fiction / horror story that takes place in an imaginary totalitarian state. Click on picture to go to the paperback version page on Amazon. — Dog Meat is a dystopian fiction / horror story that takes place in an imaginary totalitarian state. Click on picture to go to the paperback version page on Amazon.

Photo of the back cover of Dog Meat. Dog Meat is a dystopian fiction / horror story that takes place in an imaginary totalitarian state. Click on picture to go to the kindle version page on Amazon. — Dog Meat is a dystopian fiction / horror story that takes place in an imaginary totalitarian state. Click on picture to go to the kindle version page on Amazon.

Below is my Amazon review of Dog Meat

The monstrosity of not being free to choose

You are not free to choose. Government officials will decide your profession for you based on a placement exam. They know best, what could go wrong? Everyone is equal, there are no castes. Kalb Ward is forced to slaughter dogs, in a cruel manner, to satisfy the customers of a specialty restaurant. He is a sensitive and feeling man who hates having to be cruel to the dogs so much that he often dissociates from his body while doing his job. He attempts to quit his job with gruesome consequences.

His life story is a dramatic, insane and a very dark tale. His situation reminded me of “Bödeln” in the Swedish movie “Bödeln och skökan”, in which a blacksmith is innocently condemned to death for stealing silver but is able to escape execution by becoming the executioner himself. Ward’s luck in life also reminded me of Arthur’s in the movie Joker, but Kalb Ward is not a sociopath.

The Colony, the imagined country where Ward lives, is an authoritarian plan economy, perhaps a totalitarian society. It reminded me of east Asian countries such as North Korea, China, and the southeast Asian countries in the 80’s. The fact that the Colony won five gold medals in the Seul Olympics in 1988, just like China did, is telling.

It is a dark and dystopian story, but with some quite interesting subplots and surprises. It is a real page turner. Once you start reading you have to find out what is going to happen to Ward next. Above all I think it carries some important messages, including the importance of being free to choose. The freedom to choose your own destiny in a society is essential to happiness. Another message is the importance of compassion. People who lack compassion create Hell.

This book is going to stay with me for a while, like both the movies that I mentioned did. It is a dark fantasy but with so much meaning for our real world. I highly recommend this book. Note, I read the paperback version as I tend to prefer that to eBooks.

I read Dog Meat on Friday, while drinking a beer with a horror theme, “hyper fast Jellyfish”

I can add that I also promoted the book in beer groups that have around 30,000 members.

I highly recommend this book

Finally, I would like to promote my book about Bronco and Leonbergers. It has a lot of color photos, amusing Leonberger stories, and Leonberger information that has been verified and is also based on personal information.

The image shows the front cover of my book "The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle". Stories and Tips from Thirteen Years with a Leonberger. The cover is beige and brown and it has the face of an old Leonberger in the middle. Author is Thomas Wikman. Click on the image to go to the Amazon.com paperback location for the book. — The front cover of my book “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”. Click on the image to go to the Amazon.com location for the book.

Image of the back cover of the book "The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle". Click on the image to go to the Amazon.se location for the book. — This is the back cover of the book “The Life and Times of Le Bronco von der Löwenhöhle”. Click on the image to go to the Amazon.se location for the book.

Image showing the endorsements for the book. Click on the image to got to the Barnes and Noble location for the book. — These are the endorsements for the book. Click on the image to got to the Barnes and Noble location for the book.

Below is a list of where you can find the book. Click on the links to go to the respective store. However, if your favorite bookstore is not listed below you can search for it using the ISBN or ASIN numbers.

ISBN number for printed edition: 978-0998084954

ASIN number for the e-book edition: B0B5NN32SR