History That Never Was

Home of Dawn Vogel: Writer, Historian, Geek

Advice for Speculative Fiction Writing

| April 8, 2024

If you’re looking for some helpful advice for speculative fiction writers, check out this article with some great suggestions about how you might refresh your speculative fiction writing! I think the advice presented here is useful for all levels of speculative fiction writers, whether you’re just getting started or whether you want to try something […]

Review of Embroidered Worlds

| January 10, 2024

The Embroidered Worlds anthology, edited by Valya Dudycz Lupescu, Olha Brylova, and Iryna Pasko (Atthis Arts, 2023), collects speculative fiction stories from Ukranian and diaspora authors. A number of the stories are translated from Ukranian and reprinted in English for the first time, allowing English-speaking readers to get a taste of speculative fiction from Ukraine they […]

Review of Resurrections by Ada Hoffmann

| December 20, 2023

Resurrections by Ada Hoffmann (Apex Book Company, 2023) is a wonderful collection of speculative fiction stories and poetry, ranging through a variety of themes and lengths. Many of the pieces feature neurodiverse and/or queer characters, either explicitly or implicitly. The collection as a whole is brilliantly assembled, with many of the stories arranged in such […]

Review of Tea Leaves by Jacob Budenz

| September 27, 2023

Tea Leaves by Jacob Budenz (Amble Press, 2023) is a collection of short stories with mostly queer protagonists and filled with a delightful surrealness across the various worlds and characters of the stories. I first became familiar with Jacob’s writing when he submitted the story “Seen” for DefCon One’s I Didn’t Break the Lamp anthology, which […]

Interview with Priya J. Sridhar

| August 23, 2023

Today, I’m talking with Priya J. Sridhar, who is a prolific writer spanning fiction and nonfiction, and much more! Read on to learn more! DV: Tell me a little about yourself and your writing. PJS: I am a speculative fiction writer with eight books under my belt, a nerdy nonfiction writer, and a copywriter in […]

Identifying and Avoiding Common Spec Fic Problems

| February 28, 2022

There are many pitfalls that can trip up a speculative fiction author. This article talks about the seven deadly sins of speculative fiction, but more than that, it gives recommendations on how to avoid those pitfalls, which is key to improving your stories!  

Tips on Speculative Detective Fiction

| February 15, 2021

Many people like to read mystery stories or detective fiction, but if you’ve never tried your hand at writing it, it can be a challenging genre to tackle, especially when you add speculative fiction elements. Here, author Tyler Hayes breaks down some of the pitfalls and advice for writing speculative detective fiction. It’s a fantastic […]

Review of Unnatural Order

| January 27, 2021

Unnatural Order, edited by Lyss Wickramasinghe and Alis Franklin (CSFG Publishing, 2021), is an anthology of stories of monstrous beings produced by the Canberra Speculative Fiction Guild. The stories range widely under the speculative umbrella, with fantasy, science fiction, and horror all represented in the anthology’s pages. In a themed anthology, each author’s ideas on a […]

Review of Claiming T-Mo by Eugen Bacon

| July 31, 2019

I’ve been a reading machine lately, and my first of several reviews is up at MSJ today! Claiming T-Mo is a wonderful speculative fiction, multi-generational novel involving otherworldly beings and family relationships. You can read my review here or check out the book (out on August 13) here!

Review of The Bathwater Conspiracy by Janet Kellough

| March 28, 2018

My latest book review is up at Mad Scientist Journal. Today, I’m reviewing The Bathwater Conspiracy by Janet Kellough, which was a fast read for me, both in terms of book length and the page-turning quality of the story. I read the whole thing in under 4 hours on the plane back from Philadelphia! I don’t read […]