Night Skins: Tall Tales of a Black American Princess

In the dark forest of Sweetwater, magic is real and love will eat you alive...

Genna Bellwether is a Black American Princess. She lives in a castle, rides horses, is a world traveler, and can turn into a coywolf, a coyote-wolf hybrid. When Genna loses her temper, things catch on fire.

Her best friend is Miss Bootsie the boo hag, a skin witch, who has lived in the forest next to her castle since Lewis & Clark trekked across Pennsylvania.

Katie McBride is a vampire princess who lives on the other side of the forest. Her grandmother, Pipsy Montgomery, is the queen of the McBride vampires who has ruled Sweetwater from the shadows for the last three hundred years. Katie is the heir to her throne. Miss Bootsie is her mortal enemy. Pipsy wants the Bellwether fortune, which comes from a cursed gold mine. Katie wants Genna to be her bride.

Genna's family doesn't believe that magic and monsters are real. They think that their extreme wealth insulates them from danger and that the McBrides are just evil not vampires. They worry that Genna is obsessed with guns and horseback archery to avoid marriage.

Genna says no to Katie. No one says no to a vampire. Not for long.

Genna's refusal has terrible consequences, both magical and non. She is not prepared.

Tituba, an ancient witch with a grudge against the Bellwethers, pretends to be a matchmaker to exploit her parents naïveté. Genna plays along to keep her parents safe, frustrated by her inability to be honest without exposing her own secrets.

She is forced to host a cadre of monster-hunters and witch-finders at her castle. These dangerous suitors have the elemental magic of Hurricane Katrina running through their veins.

Her suitors are:

Quincy Snodgrass, a handsome Black American Prince. He is everything Genna is supposed to want, even if he is a witch finder. He will do anything to keep his parents happy. He sees in Genna the future of Black Excellence he believes he is owed.

Cleopatra Jones is a magnificent Black American Princess. She is the team's interrogator who knows how to weaponize her beauty to extract information. If that doesn't work, she turns into a great storm dragon. Cleopatra likes Genna but she is also dating Naomi. She covets the magical artifacts in Genna's castle and is willing to steal them, regardless of the consequences.

Naomi York has a complicated relationship with Sweetwater as the long-lost granddaughter of both Miss Bootsie and Pipsy. Her wind magic cannot be denied. Naomi sees Genna as an exploitable pawn in her quest for wealth, fame, and power.

Achilles 'Troy' Billson is an infamous monster hunter. He and his ancestors have killed werewolves since Charlemagne. His lightning magic is feared by his own team. He is also plagued by the same gold curse. Troy sees in Genna the fierce warrior queen he craves to serve. Marrying her will be his way to leave the family business without telling his mother he wants to quit.

Genna doesn't have time to fall in love. She needs to focus on her own survival. She knows that Tituba is pulling heartstrings to foment the Bellwether's destruction. She has no time for Quincy's schemes. She wants to save Cleopatra from her toxic girlfriend, Naomi, who is the definition of 'not all skinfolk are kinfolk, ' and marry her (or be friends with benefits). And that sizzling sexual tension she feels for Troy is downright inconvenient.

Genna has to protect herself, her horses, her family, and her castle. Crazy ex-girlfriend doesn't begin to describe Katie's reaction to the sudden competition for her throne and her bride.

What is a Black American Princess to do?