History That Never Was

Home of Dawn Vogel: Writer, Historian, Geek

Short Stories or Novels: Which Should You Tackle First?

| November 30, 2020

If you’re sliding into the end of November with a brand new novel draft in hand after NaNoWriMo, congratulations! If you didn’t quite reach the end of your novel, that’s okay too! What’s critical in either cases is that you finish. And then? You revise. If you’re new to writing, you may find a lot […]

Fun for Friday: December 2020 Writing Prompts

| November 27, 2020

It’s hard to believe we’re already creeping up on the beginning of December, as it feels to me that November just started! Nevertheless, here we are! With these prompts, the winter holidays are in full swing. I’ve tried to arrange the words for each date in interesting ways to suggest some themes. But it’s always […]

“For the Weird Girls Who Want to be Mermaids” in What If I’m a Merfolk?

| November 26, 2020

My story “For the Weird Girls Who Want to be Mermaids” was one of those stories that came from an imaginative mind and a bit of the real world. What if that dry patch of skin wasn’t actually dry skin, but was scales finally emerging from beneath your human skin? And what are the choices […]

Review of Among the Red Stars by Gwen C. Katz

| November 25, 2020

Among the Red Stars by Gwen C. Katz (Harper Teen, 2017) is a historical fiction novel featuring the Night Witches, the Russian women pilots who flew daring nighttime missions. While the details of the plot are slightly fictionalized, the novel adheres closely to the reality of the history of the Night Witches. The story revolves […]

My 2020 Story Publications

| November 24, 2020

I feel like I haven’t published a lot of stories this year, but then I put together a post like this, and I realize I’m incorrect in that assessment. 2020 has seemed so long that some of the stories that came out in January and February feel like they were released a lifetime ago. But […]

Marketing in 2020

| November 23, 2020

A lot of authors went into 2020 with lots of excitement and hopeful feelings about it being a good year. And while things may have gone well for some, the majority of us may be looking at the year as a dark spot in an otherwise promising career trajectory. But that doesn’t mean you have […]

Fun for Friday: Autumn Writing Ideas

| November 20, 2020

If you’re looking for some fun autumn writing prompts, for either kids or adults, check out this page for some neat ideas. While they are geared more toward creative writing than speculative fiction, there are always ways to twist things to a more speculative bent if you prefer. And there are a couple of prompts […]

Thinking about Book Gifts for Kids?

| November 19, 2020

If you’ve got kids on your holiday gift list this year, I’ve got a couple of recommendations from my writing! Spiders of the Shifting Swamp is a children’s book, complete with illustrations and large print. It’s a story that can be read to younger kids, but that younger readers can probably manage on their own, […]

What I’m Reading, Watching, and Listening To, Mid-November 2020

| November 18, 2020

Reading: I’ve picked up more books for reviews, so I’m alternating between books for reviews and books that have long been in my to read pile (which I’ll also review, most likely). Watching: Because Jeremy needed to watch a little bit of The Legend of Korra for a game he was running, we decided to get […]

“Nochnaya Serenada” in Unfixed Timelines 2

| November 17, 2020

The Night Witches were a fascinating and talented group of Russian female pilots during World War II who flew tiny, fragile, slow planes. They made a major impact on the Russian war effort, and they suffered only a small number of casualties in spite of the odds. I’m a sucker for any stories of historical […]