History That Never Was

Home of Dawn Vogel: Writer, Historian, Geek

“Daddy’s Little Girl” in Sparx and Arrows

| February 28, 2023

“Daddy’s Little Girl” was one of the first stories I wrote, and one of the earliest stories I published. After being invited to write in the Cobalt City Universe, I carved out a little corner that would let me write a story set in history and with a female hero. Eleanor Castile was that character, […]

Scenes from a Quiet Apocalypse is Five!

| February 23, 2023

I released Scenes from a Quiet Apocalypse, one of my strangest and most experimental novellas, five years ago this month. I based the structure on the tarot cards of the major arcana, pulling characters and details of the scenes from the images and meanings of the various cards. The main character, Destiny, is The Fool, though […]

Recent Fantasy Publications

| February 21, 2023

If you’re looking for a fantasy story or poem to read, here are a few of my recent fantasy publications, along with some of my collections! My flash fiction piece, “Patience,” appeared in Wyldblood Magazine in October of last year. It’s a brief piece about working to get what you want, but not being impatient about […]

“Princess Last Picked” in Conceits of Whim and Fancy

| February 16, 2023

A few of the stories in Conceits of Whim and Fancy feature younger protagonists, and “Princess Last Picked” is one of them. This was a story inspired by the idea of presenting an unlikely character to save the members of her community when their greatest strength (literally) was used against them. I was utterly thrilled with […]

The Sidewalk Diverges Out Now!

| February 14, 2023

Today’s the release day for The Sidewalk Diverges! If you like contemporary fantasy with a bit of humor, some familial love, and more, check out this collection! It’s sixteen stories of varying lengths and nineteen poems! In The Sidewalk Diverges, stories about magic sit alongside stories about superpowers, while ghosts, angels, and fae intermingle. These contemporary fantasy […]

January 2023 Publications

| February 9, 2023

I had two new pieces out in January 2023, a poem and a short story. The poem was “Embrace,” published in Star*Line. This is a short poem in what seems to be a very unofficial form, in which the first words for eight of the lines are pulled from the eight-word middle line. The poem name […]

Like My Writing? Support Me on Patreon!

| February 7, 2023

If you like my writing, have you considered supporting me on Patreon? I’m almost to the goal where I’ll make a monthly video of me reading one of my stories or an excerpt from a longer piece! In addition to getting video readings, my Patreon is a great way to support me and learn about […]

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, […]

“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 […]

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 […]