Allii has a busy schedule.

Stay alive.

Find the killer of her beloved stepmother.

Stop her father’s people from decimating her mother’s people.

Allii is 17.

She has no family to back her, no army to protect her, no manifest destiny awaiting her.

Just Spooky, a daemon-dog who thinks humankind is beyond redemption.

I Will Paint the Night is a YA fantasy book. The story follows seventeen-year-old princess Allii who is a very privileged young woman who finds herself accused of murdering her stepmother, Bellizza.

Allii and Bellizza always had a good relationship so it comes as a shock when she is accused of murdering her, so Allii sets out to clear her name and find the real killer, she just needs to stay alive long enough to be able to do both.

Allii is a likeable young woman who is thrown into a desperate and tragic situation through no fault of her own and now she has to learn to use all the skills she has acquired over the years to right a wrong. However, she is quite naïve and has skills beyond her years at others.

There are a few people in Allii’s life who believe she is innocent and she needs to rely on their help and trust to get to the truth. It is refreshing that this isn’t just a story of good versus evil but a more rounded story of everything in between.

The fantasy world-building of Sallonia is quite profound and enjoyable to immerse yourself in. The many people are intriguing and come with their own personalities which bring dimensions to the plot.

Overall, I Will Paint the Night is an adventurous and well-thought-out book that takes the reader on a fabulous journey.

Sam Muller is a murder plotter, dog lover, dragon maker, coffee addict.

Dogs and books are her two great loves. Ideal? No, for some of her dogs also love her books. Page edges and spines of old hardbacks for preference – a mystery she hopes to resolve, someday.

The dogs in her stories never chew on books. Spooky, the daemon-dog in her first novel, I will Paint the Night, helps his human partner Allii uncover the killer of her beloved stepmother. Spooky also gives the novel its tagline: How dangerous it is to live among humans, even for humans.

Her short stories have appeared in Deep Magic, Cosmic Roots and Eldritch shores, and Uncharted Magazine among others.