Before you met her, she was awesome...

Hilda Paisley comes from two long lines of warriors, healers, rulers, Vikings, and singers. She could be a famous soprano or play pro basketball. But she wants to be a soldier, like her Bantu father and grandfather. And she does, so well that her fellow soldiers call her the Black Amazon.

Twenty-one short stories trace the history of her family, from the queens who raised leopard cubs, to the combat medic and then Army nurse saving lives in the Middle East. The collection ends with the first chapter of Emily & Hilda, the lead novel of the trilogy.

Originally published between 2014 and 2023, the stories are arranged chronologically, which makes for an entertaining read even for those who saw the stories come out individually.