History That Never Was

Home of Dawn Vogel: Writer, Historian, Geek

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 […]

April 2026 Recap!

| May 7, 2026

By the numbers: Stories out at the beginning of the month: 36 Acceptances received: 3 Rejections received: 20 (1) Stories withdrawn: 0 Resubmissions: 34 New Submissions: 7 Stories out at the end of the month: 53 My numbers for April are looking the best they have this year! I worked to get a bunch of […]

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 […]

“Strange Bedfellows” and “Texts from Upstate” in Chimerical Remembrance

| April 28, 2026

The pairing of “Strange Bedfellows” and “Texts from Upstate” in Chimerical Remembrance may seem a little odd. “Strange Bedfellows” is a rare non-speculative flash fiction piece from me, while “Texts from Upstate” is absolutely speculative flash. What they do have in common is queer women protagonists, some mystery, and a bit of humor. “Strange Bedfellows” takes […]

“Tote Tante” and “Meat!” in Weathering Youth

| April 23, 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! “Tote Tante” and “Meat!” […]

Cover Reveal for Bounty of the Atoll

| April 16, 2026

I’m so excited to reveal the cover for my next novelette, Bounty of the Atoll! The artwork was created by Kloudinthesky, who did an exceptional job of translating my “I dunno, a wrecked Spanish galleon?” into this stunning work of art! Far from Spain, there are rumors of a beautiful princess held prisoner by a witch […]

The Moon in A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages

| April 2, 2026

The Moon tarot card represents the subconscious, illusions, intuition, and emotions. In A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages, this is represented by a haiku and a poem. The haiku, titled “Counting Mermaids at Twilight” (one of the few not titled by its first line), touches on the illusory nature of this card and the perception […]

Two More Weathering Youth Stories (with long titles)

| March 31, 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! “The Dark Forest Takes” […]

“Werewolves in London” in Chimerical Remembrance

| March 24, 2026

My story “Werewolves in London” in Chimerical Remembrance combines humor with the difficulty of parenting, particularly when one’s offspring are werewolves. It also touches on themes of family and urban vs. rural living, as the protagonist navigates all of these things and more in trying to find the best solution for her family. If you enjoy […]

The Star in A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages

| March 19, 2026

The Star tarot card represents hope, healing, and renewal. In A Tarot of Sorcery and Sages, this is represented by a haiku and a poem. The haiku, titled “The stars fall like rain” after the first line, is a necessarily brief reflection that touches on the hope aspect of the Star, while also having literal […]