History That Never Was

Home of Dawn Vogel: Writer, Historian, Geek

My 2021 Publications Recap

| November 30, 2021

It’s the time of year when folks start posting lists of their stories and books from the past year that are eligible for award nominations. I had a TON of flash published, which does not currently get its own category in award nominations (it qualifies as “short” for those purposes), but I like to separate […]

Neat Gift Ideas for Writers

| November 29, 2021

If you’re doing some holiday shopping for your writer friends, here’s a fantastic list of ideas that would be neat gifts for a writer to receive! There are tons of ideas here, and some of them might also provide jumping off points for you to consider other options. While many of the links in this […]

Fun for Friday: December 2021 Writing Prompts

| November 26, 2021

December, and the end of the year, are creeping up on us! So it’s time for the December 2021 writing prompts. This month, I’ve got some wintery words, and I’ve also added a bunch of unusual words. Many of these are going to require looking them up to find out what they mean, though some […]

Superhero Book Sale!

| November 25, 2021

If you’ve been considering getting one of my superhero books, the majority of the ebooks are a part of the Superhero-Fiction Black Friday sale, beginning tomorrow and running through December 2nd! You can pick up my books and other ebooks featuring superheroes, and all of the ebooks in the sale are only 99 cents! Heck, […]

Review of You Sexy Thing by Cat Rambo

| November 24, 2021

You Sexy Thing by Cat Rambo (Tor Books, 2021) is a action-packed sci-fi novel of found family, peril, and cooking, blended together in a remarkable and entertaining way. Niko and her restaurant staff are military veterans who managed to break away from their old lives by convincing the military that Niko is a culinary artist. […]

Signed Books on Etsy!

| November 23, 2021

Since DefCon One Publishing isn’t doing any shows this holiday season, or for the foreseeable future, we’re now offering selected signed books via Etsy! The majority of the books we have available are things I’ve edited, and we don’t have any of my releases from 2020 or 2021 on hand. But if you’ve always wanted […]

Guest Post: Arturo Serrano Talks Historical Figures

| November 22, 2021

Today, I’ve invited Arturo Serrano to talk a little bit about how he chose the historical figures he included in his upcoming book, To Climates Unknown. (Available this Thursday!) One of my first steps when I was preparing the overarching storyline of To Climates Unknown was to do a sweeping search for historical events coinciding with the Mayflower. […]

Fun for Friday: Writing Exercises for Writer’s Block

| November 19, 2021

It is a truth universally accepted that a writer in possession of an idea is going to eventually be in need of something to break through their writer’s block. Regardless of the cause of the block, sometimes you can trick your brain into letting the words come out again. These exercises are designed with that […]

“Despite All My Rage” in Intercity Illusions

| November 18, 2021

“Despite All My Rage” started out as a misheard statement, and then turned into a bit of a dare. I had written a story that I characterized as nothing more than an angry rant, but my friend Torrey misheard it as “an angry rat.” When I clarified, she stuck with the assertion that maybe what […]

Review of To Climates Unknown by Arturo Serrano

| November 17, 2021

To Climates Unknown by Arturo Serrano (2021) is a masterful and epic novel spanning centuries and continents. Envisioning an alternate world in which the Mayflower did not reach North America, and the events that both led to that effect and the myriad changes that rippled out from that cause, Serrano has created a stunning portrayal of […]