History That Never Was

Home of Dawn Vogel: Writer, Historian, Geek

The Brass and Glass Trilogy

| June 1, 2021

It’s been just over three years since the second book in my Brass and Glass trilogy came out, making it about four years and two years for the other two books. It remains the most ambitious project I’ve completed to date, and it all came from a short story about a wild goose chase for a […]

What Sort of Apocalypse?

| May 27, 2021

Scenes from a Quiet Apocalypse promises an apocalypse right upfront in the title, but what sort of apocalypse is it? Sudden, inexplicable, and weird. Those are all words I’d use to describe the apocalypse. A huge swath of the population suddenly goes quiet, their thoughts are no longer their own, and they work in concert, […]

Intercity Illusions Cover Reveal!

| May 25, 2021

I’ve got another collection coming out on June 15, Intercity Illusions! This is a collection of primarily short stories, with a small amount of poetry mixed in. All of the stories are loosely defined as urban fantasy. Each one is set roughly in present day, with most of the world functioning the way our world works. […]

“All That Transpires under the Night Sky” in Unfixed Timelines 2

| May 20, 2021

The backstory behind “All That Transpires under the Night Sky” is an odd one. I had started the story several years before I finished it. For whatever reason, it wasn’t working, and I shoved it into a folder of things to work on some other time. This proved effective when I was later looking for […]

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. […]

Have You Checked Out Barren?

| April 29, 2021

Have you had a chance to check out my latest novella yet? Barren is available in ebook, and it’s only 99 cents! Barren is a climate change apocalypse story about finding a glimmer of hope and pursuing it, even at great personal peril. The main character, Lemy, is deeply curious and wants to help people if […]

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 […]

Denizens of Distant Realms for Many Readers

| April 27, 2021

My collection of short fantasy stories, Denizens of Distant Realms, may not be for readers of all ages, but it’s a good collection of short stories for adults and teens, and maybe some older kids. There’s nothing explicit to be found within its pages, but there are a few stories that younger readers wouldn’t entirely […]

Cover Reveal and Pre-Order Available for Old Legends and New Fables

| April 22, 2021

Continuing on with my many publications in 2021, today I’m both revealing the cover for Old Legends and New Fables, and letting you know that it’s available for pre-order! This collection primarily collects poetry related to the mythology and other stories of a multitude of cultures, with a handful of stories. The gods of old have […]

“Fortissimo Possibile” in Heroes of Necessity

| April 20, 2021

“Fortissimo Possibile” was one of the two stories in Heroes of Necessity that was written to a specific prompt. In this case, the prompt was for stories that involved low-powered superheroes–the sort that some might consider to be heroes with “useless” powers. But no powers are “useless,” when it comes down to it. Leila’s power […]