History That Never Was

Home of Dawn Vogel: Writer, Historian, Geek

DefCon One Spring Reads!

| March 12, 2025

It’s not quite spring yet, but we’re ahead of the game at DefCon One Publishing, with a list of spring reads! These books take place in the spring months, either in part or wholly, or have flowery covers. We’ve also got eight spring quarterlies from Mad Scientist Journal on the list, which often include spring-themed stories […]

Sure Shot in Cobalt City: Homecoming Out Today!

| March 11, 2025

Sure Shot in Cobalt City: Homecoming is out today! This is the second installment in my alternate 1950s, superhero, noir mystery series, but each book is a stand-alone story that doesn’t require knowledge of the other books! This book has Sarah Castile returning to her hometown of Cobalt City for a case … or two! […]

February 2025 Stories

| March 4, 2025

I had two new stories out in or around February. (One was technically January, but I didn’t realize it was out until after my January story post!) As I mentioned previously, I had four stories selected for the Hawthorn & Ash anthology, and the first of those has appeared on the Iron Faerie Publishing website. “Glaistig” […]

Monthly News from History That Never Was

| February 13, 2025

If you’d prefer to get your news from me in a once-a-month, digestible format, you should subscribe to my newsletter! In it, I talk about what I’ve been working on, interesting history and research rabbit holes, what’s coming next from me, and recommendations for other books and writing you might enjoy! If you sign up, […]

Cover Reveal for Sure Shot in Cobalt City: Homecoming!

| February 11, 2025

My next book, Sure Shot in Cobalt City: Homecoming, will be out a month from today. It’s a sequel of sorts to Sure Shot in Las Capas: The Case of the Absent Star, but the books can be read in any order and don’t require you to read them both to understand either one. A […]

The BSFA Long List … and I’m on it?!

| February 5, 2025

The British Science Fiction Association (BSFA) Long List came out at the end of January, and lo and behold, Weathering Youth is one of the collections that was nominated! Now I realize that this is the long list, which is no guarantee of being selected as a finalist, but I was super excited to see my […]

January 2025 Publications

| February 4, 2025

Right at the end of January, Holly & Broom (Hawthorn & Ash vol. 6) came out with four of my drabbles in it. One of those stories, “Glaistig,” is available on the Iron Fairie Publishing website as of yesterday, with the other three to come. The other three drabbles are “Witch Knight,” “Tarot Estoterica: The Black […]

Newsletter Subscribers Get a Free Story!

| December 12, 2024

Are you subscribed to my newsletter? It comes out once a month, near the middle of the month. In it, I talk about what I’m up to, interesting history or other research rabbit holes I’ve gone down, what’s coming next, and recommendations for other books and writing you might enjoy if you like mine! If […]

My November 2024 Publications

| December 3, 2024

I had two new pieces out in November this year: a flash fiction story and a poem. My flash fiction piece was “We Dream in Color,” a post-apocalyptic story with queer characters, in Toad Shade Zine. This one came out of a one-hour flash fiction writing challenge and was inspired by an image of a […]

Weathering Youth Out Today!

| November 12, 2024

Today’s the day! My latest collection, Weathering Youth, is out today! Within its pages, you’ll find younger protagonists and protagonists with a more youthful outlook, regardless of age. The stories range from humorous to dark, within the realms of fantasy, sci-fi, and horror! This is my largest collection to date, with almost fifty stories and poems! […]