Coming July 25, 2024! A new anthology from Inked in Gray
Edited by Lauren Davila, this anthology hosts 16 talented authors and their stories focusing on time and place, where the setting is the main character. Join us in traveling throughout the world in this intriguing anthology.
A special thanks to Kriti at Armed with a Book for hosting our cover reveal!
Here is a sneak peak at the stories within As We Convene! You can pre-order the anthology now or sign up to be an ARC reader!
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.
The Grand Canyon Historical Society by Mary Winsor
Trigger Warnings: Descriptions of suicide and murder
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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.