In The Together Tales Vol.1: While We Were Lost, ten visionary Black authors invite readers into worlds where survival, identity, and belonging collide with the extraordinary. From ruined cities and sleeping worlds to galaxies scarred by colonization, each tale illuminates the resilience of community and the power of imagination:
- A young girl confronts harsh realities in Dry Cereal by Daniel Duhon, navigating family and fractured identity in a city on the brink.
- In Emerince's Journey by Raven Wilster, a warrior discovers that surviving after battle may be harder than dying in it.
- When the World Fell Asleep by Joshua Cameron follows a lone speaker wandering through a slumbering humanity, searching for voices to awaken.
- All Light by KeYanla Cleckley traces Jessica's search for her estranged mother, uncovering grief, mystery, and the healing found in new bonds.
- In Hushed Magic by Deana Zhollis, Zelma fights to preserve her family's silenced heritage, proving that tradition is anything but ordinary.
- Binding Pacts by Kayla Thomas explores the haunting aftermath of a journey, where endings become beginnings and shadows linger.
- Den of the Discarded by David Moore reveals a college plagued by grief, betrayal, and paranormal forces, where one student must choose rebellion or conformity.
- Child of Ash by Hope Eno follows Zellie, marked by forbidden magic, as she risks everything to save an outsider and confront the truth of her own power.
- In Rebirth by M. Von Estili, a ravenous being evolves from destruction into connection, discovering the spark of creation within hunger.
- The Lost Boomerangs and Butterflies by Gabriel Gaiusbayode journeys across galaxies with Tenoch, a blind wanderer seeking a cure for colonization's plague, and perhaps, a glimmer of hope.
Together, these stories form a tapestry of resilience, imagination, discovery, and most importantly, community?where fantasy becomes a mirror for solidarity, and where being lost is just the beginning of finding where we belong.
