History That Never Was

Home of Dawn Vogel: Writer, Historian, Geek

Judgement in A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages

| June 25, 2026

The Judgement tarot card represents rebirth, awakening, and absolution. In A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages, this is represented by a haiku and a poem. The haiku, titled “one shouldn’t pass their” after the first line, deals with judgement on a more practical level. The poem, “On the Ocean,” is a cento sonnet, or a […]

“Homecoming” in This Book Has Ghosts in It

| June 23, 2026

“Homecoming” is the first story in This Book Has Ghosts in It and includes elements of my ongoing interest in writing about the dangers of deep water. Though this story isn’t one of my “things in the water that want you dead” stories, there’s certainly something strange about the water and the town it touches. The […]

“Propagating Rosa glacies” and “The Glass Cauldron Shattered” in Chimerical Remembrances

| June 18, 2026

“Propagating Rosa glacies” and “The Glass Cauldron Shattered” are two of the flash fiction pieces in Chimerical Remembrances, which fit nicely together, as they share a theme of magical revenge. “Propagating Rosa glacies” is written from the perspective of a botanist giving advice on growing a particularly finicky plant. Their most important pieces of advice are tied to […]

Don’t Forget About Bounty of the Atoll!

| June 16, 2026

Have you checked out Bounty of the Atoll? It’s a fantastical history novella that mashes up bits of two fairy tales, plus a couple of essays about the setting and history. And it’s got gorgeous cover art from Kloudinthesky! Far from Spain, there are rumors of a beautiful princess held prisoner by a witch and […]

Sure Shot Stories Cover Reveal!

| June 11, 2026

My next collection, Sure Shot Stories: Tales of the Lady Huntsman, will be out from DefConOne Publishing on July 14! This collection takes two of my published Sarah Castile stories and adds a third, unpublished story to the mix. All three stories are set in the post-World War II era, with two in Europe and one […]

“Knock Three Times” in Chimerical Remembrance

| May 28, 2026

“Knock Three Times” is one of the longer stories in my Chimerical Remembrance collection. It was inspired by a YouTube video about weird history, some interesting images, and a song I love. The YouTube video was about the history of Pheasant Island, which is an uninhabited island in the Bidasoa River between France and Spain that […]

“It’s My Party and I’ll Scry If I Want To” and “No Bunny Like You” in Weathering Youth

| May 26, 2026

Because Weathering Youth is my biggest collection to date, I’m grouping the short stories and flash fiction stories in pairs for my posts, based on the way they fall in the collection. This lets me look at the connections between the stories and how I decided to arrange specific stories in the collection! “It’s My Party and […]

The Sun in A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages

| May 21, 2026

The Sun tarot card represents the success, joy, and vitality. In A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages, this is represented by a haiku and a flash fiction piece. The haiku, named “a victory won” after the first line, embodies the first of the meanings of the Sun tarot card, success. The flash fiction piece, “The […]

Bounty of the Atoll Out Today!

| May 12, 2026

My novelette, Bounty of the Atoll, is out today, with cover art from Kloudinthesky! Far from Spain, there are rumors of a beautiful princess held prisoner by a witch and islands that possess innumerable wealth. Three captains set out to rescue the princess and claim the treasure, but what they find is not entirely what […]

Have You Checked Out This Book Has Ghosts in It?

| May 5, 2026

Have you checked out my dark fantasy collection, This Book Has Ghosts in It? It’s a collection of 40 pieces of short fiction and poetry, most of which is dark contemporary fantasy, but with some other dark fantasy pieces tossed in. Ghosts of the modern era aren’t always those of the deceased. In this collection are […]