History That Never Was

Home of Dawn Vogel: Writer, Historian, Geek

What I’m Reading, Watching, and Listening To, Early June 2021 Edition

| June 9, 2021

Reading: Books for review, for the most part, though I’ve been revising some writing craft books, and I just got a copy of How the Girl Guides Won the War, which is related to World War II. It’s theoretically research for a future novel, though I’m not sure if I’ll be writing about the Girl Guide […]

Review of Thornwood by Leah Cypess

| June 2, 2021

Thornwood by Leah Cypess (Delacorte Books for Young Readers, 2021) is a delightful retelling of the Sleeping Beauty from the perspective of her sister. Written for a middle grade audience, the book is a wonderful read for kids and adults alike. The book begins with the premise that Sleeping Beauty’s story went mostly as the […]

TV Show Recommendation: The Nevers

| May 26, 2021

I had a lot of trepidation about watching The Nevers, knowing that Joss Whedon was involved. Because while I am a fan of a lot of Joss Whedon’s shows, I’m not a fan of his behavior, and I’ve been gradually moving away from supporting his previous projects. But The Nevers hooked me from almost the first […]

Book Recommendation: Story Genius by Lisa Cron

| May 19, 2021

I recently read and recommended Wired for Story by Lisa Cron, and now I’m back to talk about another of her books, Story Genius. Whereas I found Wired for Story to be something that I could apply to both novel and shorter writing, Story Genius is 100 percent a book for people who want to write a novel. […]

TV Show Recommendation: The Irregulars

| May 12, 2021

(This show recommendation has a couple of small spoilers, but they’re not anything that should ruin your enjoyment of the show if you haven’t already watched it!) I’m a fan of period dramas, ensemble casts, and supernatural elements, so there is basically no surprise at all that I adored The Irregulars. It was a wild twist […]

What I’m Reading, Watching, and Listening To, May 2021

| May 5, 2021

Reading: Finishing up the last of the writing craft books, and then I get to launch into a bunch of books, most of which I bought for myself! Reviews for all of them, of course, but I’m a little excited to have been able to pick out a couple of books on my own! Watching: The […]

Book Recommendation: Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody

| April 28, 2021

Save the Cat! Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody insists frequently that this book is not a formula for writing a novel, but it provides a ton of information on novel structure and pacing that could be used as something like a formula, or at least a strong set of guideposts. This approach is marvelous […]

TV Show Recommendation: The Owl House

| April 21, 2021

We’ve just recently finished watching the first season of The Owl House, and it’s a a delight! It’s definitely a cartoon that’s designed for kids and tweens, but it’s so utterly charming and, like many cartoons, has plenty of humor for adults as well. What I really love about this show is that the main character […]

Book Recommendation: Wired for Story by Lisa Cron

| April 14, 2021

Wired for Story by Lisa Cron is a fantastic book for writers who want to work more on their writing craft. Using facts about how readers’ brains work, Cron explains how you can use and defy expectations in ways that will satisfy your readers. At the same time, she gives excellent insight into why some […]

What I’m Reading, Watching, and Listening To, Early April 2021 Edition

| April 7, 2021

Reading: I’m currently taking a short break from reviewing books to beta read a novel and to read a couple of recommended books about writing craft. I’ve got Wired for Story and Story Genius by Lisa Cron, and Save the Cat by Jessica Brody. I’ll probably be talking more about these in the coming weeks, as I’m able […]