S.L. Hulen (the "S" is for Sylvia) is an author shaped by borders—geographical, cultural, and imaginative. Born to a Mexican homemaker and an American aerospace engineer who met in the flower shop of Hotel Sylvia’s in Ciudad Juárez, she grew up in El Paso, just blocks from the U.S.-Mexico line. Her stories are infused with the duality of that upbringing—caught between languages, traditions, and worlds both real and imagined. From a young age, Hulen found escape in the stacks of her local library and in late-night talks with her father about space, science fiction, and the possibility of life beyond Earth. Her mother—a gifted seamstress and master gardener—modeled a different kind of creative force, grounded in ancestral strength and quiet magic. “The women in my family never asked for permission.” Today, Hulen writes full-time in Phoenix, where she lives with her husband. Her fiction centers strong, complex Latina characters—women shaped by heritage, resilience, and imagination. “If you can’t see her, you can’t be her,” she says. Hulen’s work speaks to that visibility, inviting readers to find themselves on the page.