Where We Are, So We Shall Be
The moors of Wuthering Heights. The Emerald City in The Wizard of Oz. The Blackwood mansion in We Have Always Lived In The Castle. The planet Uriel in A Wrinkle in Time.
Many stories that stand the test of time have a central place at the crux of the plot — a main locale. These places are so central, they seem to transfigure themselves into one of the main characters. The locale grows and shifts, becoming the focus, the place in which the plot hinges and the characters thrive. The locale becomes integral to the story, so much so that it is impossible to set the story anywhere else.
In this anthology, sixteen varied locales have been gathered to visit. From outer space to the Grand Canyon, from Florida swamps to the orange groves of California, the setting of these stories takes center stage. The collected stories here range across genre, from speculative to more contemporary works. Each story will bring you into a world, maybe similar to our own, maybe different. Either way, you’ll feel well-traveled after exploring these beautiful locales.
Combined Trigger Warnings: Descriptions of suicide and murder, alcoholism, grief, violence, references to off-page domestic violence and sexual assault, child brides, death, corpses, contagions, gore, mentions of parental death, diaspora, colonization and slavery, themes of classism.
Included Stories
A Dark and Lovely Wood by Casie Bazay
The Argus by Amanda Bender
Must Be Some Witches in the Atmosphere by Shelli Cornelison
Alligator Queen by Emily Gray
Budapest to Berlin by Elizabeth Holden
Soiled Tears in the Mangrove by Sara Kapadia
The Great Indoors by Jennifer Kaul
The Most Distracting Place on Earth by Alexandra Z. Lazar
The City of the Silent by C.M. Leyva
Party at Qoroth Station by Gerardo Mercado
Misread Signs by Christian H. Morales
Down the Blackened River by K. Psych
The Patchwork Man by Angela M. Sanchez
Pulp by J. Ofelia Vazquez
If Walls Could Talk by Nico Vazquez
The Grand Canyon Historical Society by Mary Winsor
About the Stories
The Grand Canyon Historical Society by Mary Winsor
Trigger Warnings: Descriptions of suicide and murder
Story Vibe: Mama Werewolf by Brandi Carlile
Fun Fact: Like Lucy, the narrator of my story in this anthology, I was born in Grand Canyon village in a building that has been repurposed a few times. And the place really is haunted—or so I was told.
About the Story: The Grand Canyon Historical Society is an affectionate nod to my birthplace, but the story is a departure for me. I told a friend, “But I don’t write spooky mystery.” She said, “Apparently, you do.” It was a joy to work on this project and contemplate the meanings of family and home, the violence and inviolability of love, and our spiritual connection to the land that was never ours to begin with. And perhaps readers will want to visit the Grand Canyon or, as Steve Goodman wrote, “run and see what this river has done.”
If Walls Could Talk by Nico Vazquez
Trigger Warnings: none
Story Vibe: Neverland by Travis Von Hoff or Hurricane by Truslow
Fun Fact: This story has become the prequel to a Peter Pan duology I’m writing! It’s been amazing rereading the short story while I work on the duology and seeing how far the little short has come. Tear tear.
About the Story: If Walls Could Talk is a Peter Pan inspired short story, If Walls Could Talk shows Wendy Ansley’s story now that Peter has gone from the eyes of her bedroom walls. Wendy has lived at 1022 Sicamore Lane since she was born. Most of her childhood has been spent sitting in her bedroom staring at glow in the dark stars and wondering, like all children do, if magic is real.
Pulp by J. Ofelia Vazquez
Trigger Warnings: Intoxication, Death, Themes of Classism
Story Vibe: Fertilizer by Frank Ocean immediately followed by José-Luis Orozco’s iteration of Naranja Dulce.
Fun Fact: Pulp was the beginning of Vazquez’s nasty habit of writing about sentient natural environments that enjoy messing with their inhabitants.
About the Story: Two coworkers drink in an orange grove, one comes out: Pulp explores the logistics warehouse boom in the Inland Empire, a region east of Los Angeles once rooted in the citrus industry. Warehouse emissions are said to contribute to the region having the worst air quality in the US as of 2023.
The Patchwork Man by Angela M. Sanchez
Trigger Warnings: none
Story Vibe: “Human” by The Killers
Fun Fact: Outside of writing, Angela is a magician.
About the Story: A deep breath with a trill in the middle, “Ah-mah-ree-oh”—that’s Amarillo Heights. It’s home to sixteen-year-old Marcela, but now it’s also a home she’s struggling to live in. It might take the perspective of her neighborhood’s most ancient denizen to find a way to survive.
Down the Blackened River by K. Psych
Trigger Warnings: mention of parental death, mention of diaspora, mention of colonization and slavery, mention of a monster, mention of blood, grief
Story Vibe: What The Water Gave Me by Florence and The Machine and Ghost by WILDES
Fun Fact: This story is based on an infamous river in the town I grew up in.
About the Story: A haunting revelation entwined with anthropomorphism, history, and sorrow…
A river flowing along the edge of a picturesque town isn’t as quaint as one may believe. Since the beginning of time, locals have poured secrets and tales into The Blackened River, a living confessional where it stores memories and traps tales inside its soul. A timeless chamber. One evening, on the brink of loneliness and pondering about its existence, the haunting vessel is visited by a grieving woman looking to clear her troubled mind on the anniversary of her mother’s death.
Misread Signs by Christian H. Morales
Trigger Warnings: none
Story Vibe: Calm Like You by The Last Shadow Puppets
About the Story: Childhood sweethearts bump into each other on the streets of New York triggering memories and feelings they didn’t know still existed.
Party at Qoroth Station by Gerardo J. Mercado
Trigger Warnings: Violence, Gore, Alcohol-Use
Story Vibe: Time Again by Ritual Veil
About the Story: She had dreamed of an angel in the metal shell, dancing around its old carcass, watching them prod and add to its body, to its soul. She had dreamed of a great snake coming from the planet’s gaping wound and swallowing them whole. She had dreamed a great deal of things. The party had begun, and the electric pulse of the machinery felt like a heartbeat with so many vessels inside the station, so many eyes, mouths, and bodies. She’d been finishing the last sculpture for her celebration and had fallen asleep under it.
City of the Silent by C.M. Leyva
Trigger Warnings: Death, corpses, contagions, grief/loss, murder
Story Vibe: To Build A Home by The Cinematic Orchestra
Fun Fact: Due to the overflowing cemeteries, limited space, and rising prices of land after the Gold Rush of 1850 in San Francisco, families of the dead were sent eviction notices and 150,000 bodies moved to Colma, CA.
About the Story: On the surface of Colma, California, there is beauty in the miles of rolling green slopes hidden behind late summer fog. But beyond the fog lay hundreds of thousands of gravestones reflecting the moonlight like silver scars against its skin. Colma’s legacy is with the dead, and these are the stories of the silent.
Most Distracting Place on Earth by Alexandra Z. Lazar
Trigger Warnings: none
Story Vibe: “A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes” from Disney’s Cinderella or “When You Wish Upon a Star” from Disney’s Pinocchio
Fun Fact: I’ve been going to Walt Disney World at least once a year since I was three years old! Although I didn’t write my college admission essay there like Elle, I DID spend time in my hotel room working on my thesis novel while earning my MFA in creative writing, which is what inspired this story.
About the Story: Most magical place on earth? More like most DISTRACTING place on earth! When Elle, a soon-to-be high school senior, spends her family vacation working on her college admission essay, it seems like the impending responsibilities of adulthood have sucked the fantasy right out of her favorite theme park. But soon Elle realizes that a dose of imagination is just what she needs to help her essay live happily ever after.
The Great Indoors by Jennifer Kaul
Trigger Warnings: none
Story Vibe: “Breathe (In the Air)” by Pink Floyd
Fun Fact: I wrote this story in the spring of 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic. My family was still being pretty COVID-careful at that time, and writing this story was my way of exploring different reactions people had to the recommended safeguards. At that time, the opportunity to go outside for fresh air, a change of scenery, and to be closer to loved ones felt life-giving. It also felt like one of the few things I could depend on.
I finalized this story in the fall of 2023, after a summer of unprecedented air quality alerts. The freedom to enjoy time outside suddenly felt like a luxury instead of a guarantee. My hope is that everyone will be able to breathe easier in the coming years, both inside and out.
About the Story: Percy is shocked when he learns his family is moving to an indoor pure oxygen community to protect their health from the degrading air quality. After entering the plant-filled dome, encountering several of its unnerving tiny tech creatures, and learning of the restrictions he’ll have to endure there, he wants nothing more than to escape it. When an oxygen leak threatens the community, Percy must define his priorities and decide what he’s willing to risk to achieve them.
Soiled Tears in the Mangrove by Sara Kapadia
Trigger Warnings: Child brides
Story Vibe: The story would have the traditional Baul form of music from Bengal. “Baul” means “divinely inspired insanity” and is folk tunes created by mystic minstrels from the Bengal region, who sang primarily in the 17th and 18th centuries. The Baul is still practiced today. Check it out here.
Fun Fact: Sara is half Bangladeshi and half Pakistani. Both her parents were born in India prior to the partition, and they were child refugees who grew up and met while studying in London. After moving to Los Angeles at the age of twenty-five Sara met her now husband who was born in Mumbai two streets from where her father was born!
About the Story: This is a story inspired by the author’s South Asian background and love of mangrove trees while shedding light on child marriage.
Budapest to Berlin by Elizabeth Holden
Trigger Warnings: none
Story Vibe: Budapest” by George Ezra (maybe an easy answer, but I like that song and think the sense of tension and longing for a loved one fits, too)
Fun Fact: I’ve traveled by sleeper train many times in Europe—however small you are picturing those rooms, they are smaller 🙂 But it’s still incredibly fun.
About the Story: On a desperate romantic impulse, Erin books a last-minute train ticket to Berlin. The fourteen-hour ride in a tiny sleeper cabin is all that stands between her and, she hopes, reconciliation with her boyfriend. But in the train’s narrow corridors and crowded cars, Erin’s repeated encounters with an unusual fellow passenger make her rethink her plans, both for Berlin and for her life.
Alligator Queen by Emily Gray
Trigger Warnings: References to off-page domestic violence and sexual assault
Story Vibe: Bottom of the River by Delta Rae
Fun Fact: A good part of this story was inspired by my childhood fascination with reptiles. I grew up telling anyone who would listen that I wanted to be a herpetologist. I never missed an episode of the Crocodile Hunter, and got myself into some serious trouble in elementary school because I wouldn’t stop catching snakes on the playground. (They had to call my mom.)
About the Story: Growing up female means constantly being told to pare yourself down or smooth out your rough edges for the sake of other people’s comfort. Much like the alligator-infested swamp our nameless protagonist finds herself in, the darker, more unpleasant side of girlhood is often paved over and ignored. But those very same parts of ourselves we are taught to ignore are designed to protect us—the loud, ugly voice, the prickly palmetto fronds, the dark and murky water, the sharp teeth we hide. In Alligator Queen an unforgiving Florida swamp becomes the backdrop for a woman struggling to defend herself after doing what needs to be done to protect someone she loves.
Must Be Some Witches in the Atmosphere by Shelli Cornelison
Trigger Warnings: grief, consumption of alcohol, violence
Story Vibe: Savage Daughter performed by Ekaterina Shelehova, I am the Fire by Halestorm, Take Me to Church by Hozier, and Rhiannon, Sara, Bella Donna, Sisters of the Moon, and Crystal by Stevie Nicks
Fun Fact: Shelli grew up very near Galveston, and Blade Island is loosely based on “The Island,” as she knew Galveston growing up.
About the Story: The clandestine coven on Blade Island has lost another high priestess, this one so beloved that the loss feels far greater than the wayward witch who went before her. There’s been a recent hurricane, and the atmosphere doesn’t seem to want to settle. Could the erratic behavior of the elements and the demise of an adored witch—or a despised one—be connected?
The Argus by Amanda Bender
Trigger Warnings: none
Story Vibe: “Learning to Fly” by Hills x Hills. It’s a cover of Tom Petty & The Heartbreaker’s 1991 song. To me, the song is about choosing to stay hopeful, dust yourself off, and keep trying despite setbacks and uncertainty. These are not easy things to do, especially when you’re going through rough patches. But I think in those moments, they’re some of the most important things you can do.
Fun Fact: When I was first coming up with the concept for this, Ozkar and Sol were actually in cahoots. But then, once I realized Sol was the villain, things fell into place. It’s amazing how one change can have such a massive domino effect.
About the Story: After suffering a tragic loss, Ozkar finds solace on the Argus, an ancient airship that is inhabited by a small crew who are stuck in time. So, when the crew discovers a way to return home and Ozkar is faced with losing his new family, he is determined to do whatever it takes not to get left behind.
A Dark and Lovely Wood by Casie Bazay
Trigger Warnings: mention of suicide, death, and alcoholism
Story Vibe: The Yawning Grave by Lord Huron
Fun Fact: This is my first horror story, something I wrote a few Octobers back when I was in a spooky mood.
About the Story: After losing her older brother and mother, 12 y/o Stella moves to the countryside with her father. There, she develops an affinity for the nearby woods, feeling an almost otherworldly connection to its residents, as well as the trees. As the seasons progress and her father grows more distant, Stella spends more and more time in the woods. Little does she know that the woods have developed an affinity for her as well—so much so, that they may never let her go.
About the Editor
Lauren Davila
Lauren T. Davila is a Pushcart-nominated, Latina author, anthologist, and acquisitions editor. She has edited multiple short story anthologies, including: WHEN OTHER PEOPLE SAW US, THEY SAW THE DEAD (Haunt Publishing, May 2022; Outland Entertainment, April 2023 ); WHERE MONSTERS LURK AND MAGIC HIDES (Bee Infinite Press; Nov. 2022); and PLACES WE BUILD IN THE UNIVERSE (Flower Song Press; Nov. 2022).
Beyond these, she is editing or co-editing 10 other anthologies. Her poetry and short fiction have appeared in over 25 different journals/magazines. She is editing her debut novel, AT THE STILL POINTE, an adult gothic mystery featuring ballerinas and the Greek Furies. She is also working on a YA superhero series, picture books, a poetry chapbook, and a short story collection.
Besides her personal and anthology work, she is currently working as an Acquisitions Editor for Inked in Gray Press. In her editing work, she prioritizes diverse and historically marginalized authors. She is also a judge at NYC Midnight and the Editor-in-Chief for Foothill Poetry Journal.
She is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in English at Claremont Graduate University. She holds an MFA in Fiction Writing from George Mason University and dual BAs from Pepperdine University. She lives in the greater Los Angeles area where you can find her swimming, walking her golden retriever, and drinking one too many rose lattes.
For writing specific inquiries, please contact her literary agent, Susan Velazquez Colmant at JABberwocky Literary Agency.
Lauren is also on Twitter.
About the Authors
Mary Winsor
Mary Winsor grew up in the Southwest, the setting for most of her stories and essays. Her writing includes a Notable Essay in Best American Essays 2023, and appears or is forthcoming in Cutleaf Journal, Threepenny Review, Northwest Review, Atticus Review, Blue Mesa Review, Ploughshares, and elsewhere. Mary is a 2020 graduate of the MFA program at George Mason University. She teaches English and Creative Writing at Salt Lake Community College.
X (formerly X): @MaryWinsor)
Website: marywinsor.com.
Nico Vazquez
Nico Vazquez is a poet, multimedia artist, and author. They received training in writing and performance art through mentoring with local group P.O.M.E beginning at age fourteen and have been finding new ways to create and share since. His work often includes educating others on topics centering gender, sexuality, and race, through discussing his own experiences as a biracial trans person. When he’s not creating or educating, Nico can be found wandering graveyards with friends or dancing with a hyper chihuahua and a tsundere cat.
Published works include poetry books ‘I Am Arrogant and Cruel’ and ‘Lovely Thoughts At 3AM’.
As well as a short stories in the anthologies ‘Places We Build In The Universe’ and upcoming ‘As We Convene: An Anthology of Time and Place’ both edited by Lauren T. Davilla. You can find more information on his website ignicovazquez.weebly.com and social media.
Insta: Stilesig_
TikTok: Stilesig
J. Ofelia Vazquez
J. Ofelia Vazquez is a Mexican-American born and raised in and around the Inland Empire, which is where their investment in the social determinants of health — the air we breathe, the food we eat, the environment we grow up in — began. You can find them at @ofeliawrites on most platforms
Angela M. Sanchez
Angela M. Sánchez (they/she) is a Mexican American writer from Los Angeles. They were staffed on Disney Television Animation’s upcoming series PRIMOS and have written on AppleTV+’s acclaimed STILLWATER, Nick Jr.’s RUBBLE & CREW, and over a dozen episodes for Moonbug’s GECKO’S GARAGE. Angela is also a 2018 PEN America Emerging Voices Fellow and Las Musas alum. The Los Angeles Times has featured their picture book, Scruffy and the Egg, which tackles topics of family homelessness and single-parenthood. Angela’s writing has appeared in the Los Angeles Review of Books, SOLRAD, LAist, Dictionary.com, and The Hechinger Report. They are currently co-editing the upcoming comics anthology, From Cocinas to Lucha Libre Ringsides: Latinographix Stories of Sports, Food & Madness, and have been interviewed for the New York Times, NBC News, LA Weekly, and La Opinión, among others. Angela can be found at angelamsanchez.com
Instagram: @AngelaMSanchez.writer
X (formerly Twitter): @_AngelaMSanchez
Bluesky: @angelamsanchez.bsky.social
K. Psych
Kapri Psych (K. Psych) is a Black, queer, and disabled writer of adult horror SFF and erotic literary fiction. With a bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies, a certificate in Web Design, and concentration in Literature, there are no limits to their creativity. Between 2024 and 2025, Kapri will be releasing their first erotic horror novella titled SLICE OF HEAVEN and an untitled religious horror chapbook while editing LAST ONE STANDING, a BIPOC final girl anthology, and opening FINDERS CREEPERS, an indie horror multimedia company.
When they aren’t analyzing biblical lore and spinning it into their own monstrous creations full of blood, trauma, and complex feelings about morality, they can be found rotting in bed rewatching Saw or Constantine for the millionth time or designing a clothing line that’ll never see the light of day.
X (formerly Twitter): @bloodydevotion
Instagram/Threads: @carnivoreincosplay.
Christian H. Morales
Christian H. Morales is a Honduran living in La Vergne, Tennessee, since 2019. He moved to the United States to pursue a career as a published author. When he’s not working in construction he’s in his apartment trying to keep up with his writing goals and reading challenge. His stories have been published in Maudlin House, Latine Lit and Malarkey Books.
Gerardo J. Mercado
Gerardo J. Mercado is a Puerto Rican poet and fiction writer, his work has been published in online magazines, such as Three-Lobed Burning Eye Magazine and in other anthologies Gerardo’s work focuses on spirituality, self-identity, the Caribbean, nature, science, and symbols.
Instagram: @gery_jou
Twitter: @OddToB.
C.M. Leyva
C.M. Leyva is a speculative fiction author and registered nurse who enjoys writing character-driven fiction in all genres. Her passion for science and medicine is often seen in her stories while exploring the what-if’s around them. You can find her short fiction in anthologies with Outland Entertainment and FlowerSong Press, and her debut novel The Legacies of Traitors will be released in 2024. When she’s not working on her next short story or manuscript, you can find her attempting home improvement projects, losing herself in a good book, or playing video games.
Linktree: linktr.ee/cmleyva
Alexandra Z. Lazar
Alexandra Z. Lazar is an author, Disneyphile, animal lover, and fairy tale aficionado. She writes fiction for kids, middle-schoolers, and young adults, including some projects for Disney Publishing. Whether she’s working on freelance projects or her own books, she adds a dash of pixie dust to stories for the young and young at heart! Her published works include Aladdin: Beyond the Palace Walls and the Big Hero 6 Read-Along Storybook and CD for Disney, and multiple stories in anthologies. She also contributed to Ridley Pearson’s best-selling Kingdom Keepers series. Alexandra has an MFA in Creative Writing from Southern New Hampshire University. She lives in Vermont with her family and many pets, including her cats/mascots/overlords Zooey III and Oliver. She is currently working on her first original novel, a fairytale reimagining about the Fairy Godmother’s sister.
Instagram/X (formerly Twitter): @alexandrazlazar
Website: alexandrazlazar.com
Jennifer Kaul
Jennifer Kaul is an author of children’s and young adult literature, a freelance education writer, a former teacher, and a cautious optimist. Her YA short story, “The Price of Words” was published in Lunch Ticket, and she has written nonfiction children’s books for Capstone, DK, and more. In addition, Jennifer’s middle grade science fiction adventure, Uploaded, was chosen for mentorship through Author Mentor Match. Many of Jennifer’s pieces stem from the happenings in our world and the what-ifs that swirl around her head as a result. Her hope is, through her writing, to encourage thought, spark conversation, and make the world a better place.
Website: jenniferkaul.com
X (formerly Twitter): @jenkaulwrites
Sara M. Kapadia
Sara is an artist, educator, yoga teacher, academic, and writer who uses a transdisciplinary approach in her projects. All of Sara’s degrees specialized in education. Sara has a bachelor’s from the University of Cambridge, a master’s from the University of London and a PhD from Claremont Graduate University. As the founder of an academic, peer reviewed, open access publication called The STEAM Journal Sara created a hub that focused on art and science.
Sara’s fiction writing is based on folk stories from South Asia and uses fantasy to transport the reader to other worlds. Her artwork draws from the textures and hues found in nature.
Sara lives in a colorful home with her husband, two foster kids, two rescue cats and rescue dog, and lots of imaginary creatures in Los Angeles.
More can be found about Sara at www.sara.kapadia.com
Elizabeth Holden
Elizabeth Holden owns a travel company specializing in quirky group tours. The extensive time she’s spent in more than a dozen European countries, plus her eclectic interests ranging from physics to roller derby, enrich her written work. She believes the ideal conditions in which to write a novel are in the dining car of a train traveling through the Alps, with a pot of tea beside you—though she writes the most at her home in Wisconsin. Her debut young adult novel, Mighty Millie Novak, comes out in August 2024.
Website: elizabeth-holden.com
Instagram: @ElizabethH_WI
Emily Gray
Emily Gray is a writer based in a small North Carolina town. She grew up in north Florida, where she cultivated a deep love of the wildlife and natural landscape of her home state. Though she primarily reads and writes science fiction, she is also passionate about the voices of women and queer people living in the south. When she isn’t writing about spaceships, she’s probably daydreaming about how many varieties of heirloom tomatoes she can fit in her garden this year. You can find her begrudgingly still on Twitter sometimes @authoremilygray
Shelli Cornelison
Shelli Cornelison writes for young adults and those not so young. You can find her short stories in Hunger Mountain, Castle of Horror Anthology – Femme Fatales, Smokelong Quarterly, Ghost Parachute, and other publications. She occasionally remembers she has a Facebook account and even less often remembers to update her website at shellicornelison.net
Amanda Bender
Amanda Bender is a marketer by day and a writer by night. But through it all, she is a storyteller at heart. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from George Mason University. She was a contributing writer at LitReactor until they closed their digital doors in 2023, and you can read more of her creative works in Rune Bear Magazine and The Book Smuggler’s Den. If you’re looking for a reading rec, a book reviewer, or just curious about the lessons in craft Amanda is learning and applying as she writes her next project, visit her blog Live by the Shelf, or follow her on social.
Website: livebytheshelf33.com
X (formerly Twitter): @A_B_Lee
Instagram: @a.l.b.33
Casie Bazay
Casie Bazay is the author of the YA novel, Not Our Summer (Running Press Teens, 2021). After leaving the teaching profession 13 years ago, she has worked mainly as a freelance writer, specializing in equine health and care, but Casie also offers editing services and tutors kids in reading. She has hundreds of articles published with various companies and publications such as The Horse, Country Extra, Natural Horse Magazine, Oklahoma Horses Magazine and more. Casie’s other full-time job is mothering two wonderful but headstrong children and many (less headstrong) four-legged pets.
Website: casiebazay.com
X (formerly Twitter): @CasieBazay
Instagram: @Casie_Bazay
Book: Not Our Summer