History That Never Was

Home of Dawn Vogel: Writer, Historian, Geek

Fun for Friday: Why is English so weird?

| September 29, 2017

As someone who ALMOST double-majored in English, with a focus on linguistics, the English language is a fascinating subject for me. But as most people who know even a little bit of English can tell you, it’s also a WEIRD language. This article does a good job of summarizing some of the reasons why English […]

GeekGirlCon!

| September 28, 2017

This weekend, I’ll be at GeekGirlCon, one of my favorite Seattle conventions! I will primarily be womanning the DefCon One Publishing booth (H121), but I’ll also be on one panel and doing a signing! The panel is “DMing for Beginners,” Saturday, September 30th, from 2:30-3:30 p.m. in Samus. I will be talking about how to […]

An Interview with Author Nathan Crowder

| September 27, 2017

One of my regular writing compatriots is now also one of my compatriots in publishing. Razorgirl Press, who published Brass and Glass, will be releasing Nathan Crowder’s Of Rooks & Ravens at GeekGirlCon this weekend. Here’s Nathan’s blurb for the book: Ravensgate is a magical place, located on the edge of a vast dead lake between the […]

Volatile Figments is available for pre-order!

| September 26, 2017

My latest collection, Volatile Figments, is now available for pre-order! This is an ebook only collection of some dark contemporary fantasy short stories–some of them veer toward horror, but I’m not entirely sure that they reach that mark. Here’s the official blurb: Dani finds the new director in her college theater department more than a little unnerving, […]

A Day in the Life: Finding Time to Write

| September 25, 2017

As somebody who works a regular 8-5 job and writes, some people are amazed that I get so much writing done. Here’s a little breakdown of how I sneak it all in! In Theory I get up ridiculously early in the morning (by my standards, which is 5:45 a.m.) and leave to catch the bus […]

Fun for Friday: A Writing Prompt

| September 22, 2017

Sometimes, the thing you need to get started on a story is just the first line. This writing prompt from The Wesleyan Writing Blog is just the place to look for that sort of inspiration. They suggest using a line from the nearest book, but you may not want to use it word for word if you’re […]

“Miasma” is in the 2017 Write Well Award Anthology!

| September 21, 2017

My story, “Miasma,” was selected as one of the winners of the 2017 Write Well Award, which means that it’s now included in their 2017 anthology, which is now available! You can find it in print or ebook on Amazon!

Review of Everfair

| September 20, 2017

My latest review for Mad Scientist Journal is for Nisi Shawl’s Everfair, a fascinating alternate history steampunk-fantasy look at a nation forged from the defeat of King Leopold in the Congo in the late nineteenth century. This book really appealed to me as a historian and a steampunk author! If you’re interested in learning more about it […]

Utter Fabrication is now available!

| September 19, 2017

Mad Scientist Journal’s fourth anthology, Utter Fabrication: Historical Accounts of Unusual Buildings and Structures, is available today. I’m one of the two editors of this anthology, which is filled with stories about haunted houses and other weird and creepy places. It includes 22 such stories, ranging from the cute and delightful to the downright haunting, so […]

How Do You Know You’re the Protagonist? The Weird Stuff Happens to You

| September 18, 2017

The other day, one of my co-workers came by my desk and asked about the plastic penguin that I have there. It came from the Mold-O-Rama at the Brookfield Zoo in Chicago, and I had to explain to him the backstory of WHY I had to have a critter from the Mold-O-Rama, which involves the […]