Whispers of a Southern Moon by Priscilla Bettis

Along the usual themes of justice, vengeance, and redemption, this collection hits justice and redemption in a couple of instances. This short book (125 pages) is a set of seven short stories and a collection of poems. All of them well-written.

I’m not a poetry buff nor am I capable of commenting on what makes a good poem. However, I understood these poems. For me that is the key. I don’t want to work too hard to get what the poet is trying to say. And with Ms. Bettis’ poems, I didn’t have to work hard. The emotions being conveyed jumped off the page for me. I appreciated her use of language in the poems. One type of poem I found fascinating were poems based on Bible scriptures.

Before commenting on the stories, I urge you to read her testimony after the stories and poems. It’s a poignant, compelling, and important testimony, and well worth the extra ten minutes to read.

As to the seven short stories, I could see her horror story author past sprinkled in. Several haunting stories. One where the house seemed alive. The supernatural is sprinkled in a couple. The first story is an unreliable narrator, which I love. I agree with the quote on the cover about Shirley Jackson. Several of the stories are reminiscent of Ms. Jackson. I don’t think I’ve ever ready Flannery O’Connor so, can’t comment there. The stories are emotive, relatable, and evocative. All of them are memorable. Though many are laced with despair, they all have threads of hope and redemption.

If you want a break from genre fiction and want to read some “literature”, but you’re afraid of the pretentious slop that makes up so much of what is labeled “literary”, try Ms. Bettis’s collection. It’s good, clean, honest, hard-hitting literature. It’s hard to rank this with the other books, being so different, but I’ll put it at number five. And it’s five stars.

1. Thunder and Rain by Charles Martin
2. Love’s True Calling by Lori DeJong
3. Through Thorny Ways by Jennifer Q. Hunt
4. Book of Days by James L. Rubart
5. Whispers of a Southern Moon by Pricilla Bettis
6. The Seven Day Resurrection by Chevron Ross
7. With Mercy’s Eyes by D.T. Powell
8. Justice by Jeff Hill
9. Already in the Kudzu by Hannah Hood Lucero
10. Dreamwalker by Carrie Cotten
11. The Last Wife by Matt McGregor
12. Loving the Rodeo Queen by Rebecca Reed
13. The Misadventures of Itchy Izzy by N.Y. Dunlap
14. Save the Last Dance for Me by Ed Gorman
15. Ranch Showdown by Tina Wheeler
16. The Unhired Hand by R.O. Lane
17. The Shocking Truth by Steve Rush
18. Daughter of Darkness by Ed Gorman
19. Burning Angel by James Lee Burke
20. Death in the Kremlin by E.J. Simon
21. White Gold by Michael E. Jimerson
22. Irresistible Impulse by Robert K. Tanenbaum
23. Line of Fire by Taylor S. Newport
24. The Longest Day by Terry Toler
25. Left to Die by Lisa Jackson

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