History That Never Was

Home of Dawn Vogel: Writer, Historian, Geek

“A Modern Mary Shelley” in Doorways in the Gloom

| August 16, 2022

My story “A Modern Mary Shelley” was from a Drawlloween prompt of the author’s name. In this case, I wrote a second-person story from the perspective of a student entranced by the odd girl in their class, discovering more and more about her until the final conclusion. One of my favorite lines from this story: […]

“A Burrito is not a Sandwich” in Intercity Illusions

| August 9, 2022

The title of my story, “A Burrito is not a Sandwich,” was absolutely meant to be a reference to the ongoing battles over what is and what is not a sandwich. Personally, I subscribe to the cube theory, by which a burrito absolutely is not a sandwich. But what started for me as a story […]

New Pieces Out in July 2022

| August 4, 2022

I had two new sci-fi pieces out in July, one poem and one short story! My poem, “The Way Forward is a Maze,” appeared in the Veterans of Alien Wars issue of Eye to the Telescope. I wrote this poem for this call for submissions, and it turned out well. The poem is about how […]

Celtic Tales in Old Legends and New Fables

| July 28, 2022

Celtic tales worked their way into three of the poems of Old Legends and New Fables, specifically “A Man of the Earth,” “The Cromlech Glen, and “If You See the Black Dog.” I haven’t been able to retrace the details of the legend that inspired “A Man of the Earth,” but it has some bits in […]

My Fantasy Collections

| July 26, 2022

If you’re looking for books for a lover of fantasy, I’ve got a few books you could check out! If you’d prefer short stories, Denizens of Distant Realms is half a dozen fantasy short stories with dragons, witches, fairies, cats, and more. If instead, you’d like a book that’s primarily poetry with a few stories, What […]

“Double Angel” in Avatar of Freya

| July 21, 2022

“Double Angel” started out as a Drawlloween prompt that I turned into a Cobalt City story. This was the first of the Friday Jones/Dulcamara stories I wrote, with the main character based on the character I’d played in a Cobalt City University game. She wound up being the sensible one of the group and was […]

So Close to Readings on Patreon!

| July 19, 2022

Did you know that I have a Patreon? I do! It’s a way for my fans to throw a small amount of money my way to support my writing and learn about what I’m working on! I share updates about my works in progress, including snippets of stories for my patrons! I’m inching ever closer […]

“One, Two, Three, FOUR!” in Intercity Illusions

| July 14, 2022

My collection Intercity Illusions is full of urban fantasy stories, and “One, Two, Three, FOUR!” is no exception. The original idea for the story was a young bunch of wizards forming a rock band at their wizard school, where electric instruments were strictly prohibited. Along the way, they realize that their instruments are just the tools […]

Conceits of Whim and Fancy Out Today!

| July 12, 2022

My latest collection, Conceits of Whim and Fancy, is out today. It’s a collection of short and flash fiction, along with a handful of poems, all of which are fantasy. Fairy tales you’ve never read, magic workers young and old, and a few characters who defy description—all these and more can be found within Conceits of […]

New Poetry Out in June 2022

| July 7, 2022

I’ve been selling pieces pretty steadily, but I only had one new piece release in June. My poem “Lost in Space” appeared in Felis Futura, which is an anthology of future cats. I wrote this poem specifically for the anthology, involving cats on a spaceship and how their shedding might gum up the works a […]