History That Never Was

Home of Dawn Vogel: Writer, Historian, Geek

Fun for Friday: November 2020 Writing Prompts

| October 30, 2020

Here comes November, with autumn and winter temperatures and holidays in their wake in most of North America! This month’s prompts reflect the late autumn/early winter nature of November, and also include some holiday-related words and also some random words. If you’re doing NaNoWriMo in November, you could use the words to push you forward […]

Spooky Reads for All Ages: Spiders of the Shifting Swamp!

| October 29, 2020

It’s almost Halloween! Do you have your copy of Spiders of the Shifting Swamp on hand to read? I call it a spooky read, but it’s not really all that spooky. It is, however, a fun book for kids that adults will also enjoy. It features spiders, ogres, and lizards in its pages, but it’s […]

What I’m Reading, Watching, and Listening To: Late November 2020 Edition

| October 28, 2020

Reading: I’ve finished all of the books I’ve offered to review, which means I’m finally putting a dent in the pile of books I’ve bought over the years for fun. Currently on a historical fantasy/ fantastic history kick, unsurprisingly. Watching: Still working our way through Hanna, V, and Kindred: the Embraced. I had to explain to Jeremy why […]

Veiled Prophet Essay at Fantastic History!

| October 27, 2020

Catherine Schaff-Stump is hosting some of my articles about the real history behind my stories from Unfixed Timelines at her Fantastic History blog. The fourth post, “The Veiled Prophet,” is up now! One year at Christmas, while flipping through a book about St. Louis at my mom’s house with Jeremy, Mom and I had to […]

Poetry Forms: Clogyrnach

| October 26, 2020

I’ve been interested in trying some of the Welsh poetry forms, but I find a lot of them intimidating due to their requirements for meter and rhyme. While the Clogyrnach also includes those requirements, they seem a little more friendly in this shorter form. The Clogyrnach (pronounced Clog Ear Nak) is a Welsh poetic form […]

Fun for Friday: Architectural Images?

| October 23, 2020

This week’s images are mostly based on architectural things, except maybe that last one. The first image is a tall, slender white building atop a hill. The structure of the building looks as though it is twisted in a counterclockwise direction when facing it, and it gives the impression of a unicorn’s horn emerging from […]

At What Cost? now out!

| October 22, 2020

I’ve got a new story out this week! “At What Cost?” is included in the second volume of the House of Zolo’s Journal of Speculative Literature. The inspiration for this story came from the week-long stints I used to do for work, where I would drive into a former limestone quarry known as “The Cave” […]

Two Kickstarter Projects!

| October 21, 2020

A couple of folks I know have Kickstarter projects going right now, which I think some of my readers might be interested in! Atthis Arts is currently seeking support for In This Moment, an anthology of stories and poetry for global justice, reflecting the protest and resilience that fill our lives in 2020. The already slated […]

What If I’m a Merfolk?: Big Fish

| October 20, 2020

The new story that appears in What If I’m a Merfolk? is “Big Fish,” which is a very short flash piece. It’s told in an unusual style for me, in that it’s a first person story in which the narrator responds to unstated questions from an unseen and unheard second character. But for this story, […]

NaNoWriMo Advice

| October 19, 2020

I’ve talked before about why I personally don’t do NaNoWriMo anymore, but despite that, I still have advice for NaNoWriMo folks, based on my experience in past years! I think NaNoWriMo is valuable for newer writers, and even some experienced writers who need the proverbial kick in the pants to get started on a project. […]