History That Never Was

Home of Dawn Vogel: Writer, Historian, Geek

Reading Alternate History

| June 30, 2022

My published alternate history (which I prefer to call fantastical history) can primarily be found in two collections: Unfixed Timelines and Unfixed Timelines 2. Both of these collections include stories along with brief essays on the history that inspired them. I’ve got plans for an eventual third volume in this series, and at that point, I plan […]

Unfixed Timelines 2 Complete on Channillo

| March 22, 2022

Have you checked out Unfixed Timelines 2 on Channillo? At this point, the entire book has been posted! You just need a Channillo subscription to read my stories and essays, and you can read other books there as well! A Russian pilot using a bit of magic and music to rescue her compatriot. The family impacts […]

My Brand New Newsletter!

| January 31, 2022

I’ve just launched the sign-ups for a brand-new author newsletter that will come out monthly. In it, I’ll talk about what I’m up to, interesting history and research things I’ve found, what’s coming next, and recommendations for other books and writing you might enjoy if you like mine! If you sign up, you also get […]

Unfixed Timelines 2 on Channillo

| January 20, 2022

Have you checked out Unfixed Timelines 2 on Channillo? Each Tuesday, I’m publishing a story or essay related to the historical elements of the story there. You just need a Channillo subscription to read my stories and essays, and you can read other books there as well! A Russian pilot using a bit of magic and […]

Unfixed Timelines 2 Launching on Channillo!

| December 14, 2021

It’s been a little while since I’ve launched a book on Channillo, but as of today, you can read the first story in Unfixed Timelines 2, “Nochnaya Serenada,” on Channillo with a subscription! Each Tuesday through the middle of March, I’ll post a new story or essay on some of the historical elements of the stories, […]

“Parcel Post” in Unfixed Timelines 2

| September 23, 2021

My story “Parcel Post” was born out of a random historical “fact” and a public domain children’s book. The “fact” was that children could be mailed in the early twentieth century. It’s not entirely true, but it’s still quite evocative. (I talked more about that here, and also in the essay in Unfixed Timelines 2 […]

Question: How Much Historical Research?

| July 26, 2021

I was talking to a newer author of historical fiction recently, and one of the questions they had for me was how much historical research do you need to do before writing historical fiction? My terribly unhelpful answer is, of course, it varies. If I’m writing a short story that’s tied to historical events in […]

“A Balance of Power” in Unfixed Timelines 2

| June 29, 2021

I feel like I’ve always had an interest in Jack the Ripper, and I have no idea what started it, though it’s likely the mystery of who he was that has kept me interested over the years. When I finally decided to write a Jack the Ripper story of my own, however, I didn’t want […]

“All That Transpires under the Night Sky” in Unfixed Timelines 2

| May 20, 2021

The backstory behind “All That Transpires under the Night Sky” is an odd one. I had started the story several years before I finished it. For whatever reason, it wasn’t working, and I shoved it into a folder of things to work on some other time. This proved effective when I was later looking for […]

“The Actor-Observer Effect” in Unfixed Timelines 2

| March 23, 2021

I work alongside archaeologists and anthropologists in my day job, so it’s no surprise that some of their terminology infects my brain, and thus my writing. I’ve also become keenly aware over the years about just how flawed a lot of early anthropological work was, with the practitioners inflicting their own understanding of how the […]