History That Never Was

Home of Dawn Vogel: Writer, Historian, Geek

Brass and Glass 1, Six Years Out

| January 31, 2023

It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost six years since I published my first novel, Brass and Glass: The Cask of Cranglimmering. In a lot of ways, it feels like it’s been even longer than that! It’s still a book of which I’m quite proud, and I still recommend it to people looking for steampunk, […]

Co-Writing Interview with E.D.E. Bell and Stewart C Baker

| January 30, 2023

Having recently edited a co-written book got me thinking about co-writing in general, so I decided to talk with some folks who have co-written stories and books. Here’s the second interview! DV: Tell me a little about each of you. Emily: I’m a quiet fantasy writer, small press editor, and mom of three who works […]

Fun for Friday: February 2023 Writing Prompts

| January 27, 2023

It’s time for the February 2023 writing prompts, and yet again, I’m borrowing my lists from other sources. It’s the combination of the three, I think, that will lead to interesting things. Words in the first column are from the Kick in the Creatives February 2023 art prompts. They’ve got the most variety! Words in […]

“Dangers of the Deep” in Doorways in the Gloom

| January 26, 2023

My story “Dangers of the Deep” is a flash fiction piece grown out of a prompt about, well, dangerous things underwater. Of course, that’s a favorite topic of mine, but in this particular story, it’s not any of the usual types of creatures I write about. Instead, it’s a tentacled monstrosity with no clear goal […]

Kickstarter Recommendation: Shacklebound Books

| January 25, 2023

If you like reading flash fiction and drabbles, check out the Kickstarter for the second year of Shacklebound Books! They publish loads of drabble and flash fiction anthologies, plus a drabble magazine, Martian: The Magazine of Science Fiction Drabbles. They’ve published a few of my pieces in their first year, and I’m excited to see […]

My Historical Fiction Publications, New, Old, and Coming This Year!

| January 24, 2023

I’ve got one recent historical fiction publication out recently. My story “Memento Mori” appeared in Queer Weird West Tales and tells a potential story about a weird bit of trivia related to Calamity Jane! I’ve published a lot of my fantastical history stories in Unfixed Timelines and Unfixed Timelines 2. Later this year, I plan to publish the third […]

Heat Mapping Productivity

| January 23, 2023

For the past few weeks, I’ve been working on productivity heat mapping so I can get a better sense of the best way to structure my days. This is a system by which you look at your day in hour-long segments and see when you’ve had the best productive hours and the least productive hours. […]

Fun for Friday: Random Title Generator as Prompt

| January 20, 2023

I love random generators, so it’s no wonder that I’m sharing this Random Title Challenge prompt/generator! It uses dice to choose words from three lists, which you put together into a title and then use to inspire a story. The best thing about this challenge is that you can make your own lists of adjectives, […]

Reading about Camp as a Hope for Warmer Days?

| January 19, 2023

Have you ever noticed that when you read a book describing the weather, sometimes you feel like the weather outside must match what you’ve been reading about? If this is the case for you, and you’re tired of the cold, what about checking out a book about a summer camp? Maybe that can bring some […]

Review of Awaken the Daughter by Jeremy Flagg

| January 18, 2023

Awaken the Daughter by Jeremy Flagg (Brave New Worlds, 2020) is an alternate history superhero novel. It is the first book in The Dawning of Superheroes series, part of the larger Children of Nostradamus world, and it is filled with delightful historical detail and great characters you will love to root for as they work […]