History That Never Was

Home of Dawn Vogel: Writer, Historian, Geek

Review of Weird Dream Society edited by Julie C. Day

| June 10, 2020

Weird Dream Society: An Anthology of the Possible and Unsubstantiated in Support of RAICES (Reckoning Press, 2020), edited by Julie C. Day, is an anthology of weird speculative fiction stories that run the gamut from unbelievably surreal to quite believable. The twenty-three stories range in length and scope, but they come together to form a […]

I Didn’t Break the Lamp Out Now!

| October 15, 2019

The latest (and theoretically last) Mad Scientist Journal Presents anthology is out today. I Didn’t Break the Lamp is a collection of stories told from the perspectives of people with imaginary friends and the imaginary friends themselves. “When I was little, I didn’t have an imaginary friend, I had an imaginary bully. She was a little girl […]

Review of Triangulation: Dark Skies

| October 2, 2019

My latest review is up at Mad Scientist Journal for Triangulation: Dark Skies, which came out earlier this year. It’s an anthology of stories about light pollution and the beauty of a dark sky, filled with stars. There are sci-fi, fantasy, and horror stories within the collection, just right for about any possible taste! If you’d like […]

“Princess Last Picked” out now!

| April 18, 2019

Swords, Sorcery, & Self-Rescuing Damsels is out this week, including my story, “Princess Last Picked.” As I mentioned before, it’s a sweet middle grade story about a princess and her friends saving the day. It’s set in a quasi-Celtic fantasy world, and involves cleverness winning out over strength and magic. I had a lot of […]

Upcoming Story Releases!

| April 4, 2019

I’ve got four stories coming out in April and May, three of which are in anthologies, and the fourth of which (which actually comes out first) is a quick read! On April 12, you’ll be able to read my story, “Brick-Red Love,” at The Arcanist. This is one of the stories I wrote during Drawlloween (using […]

Next MSJ Kickstarter Launches Tomorrow

| January 31, 2019

Tomorrow, we launch the Kickstarter for our next Mad Scientist Journal anthology. This one is titled I Didn’t Break the Lamp: Historical Accounts of Imaginary Acquaintances, and it will features stories about imaginary friends, things that go bump in the night, monsters under the bed, and more. If you’re interested in this sort of anthology, be sure […]

Winter Reads: Anthologies

| December 27, 2018

Even though the holidays are drawing to a close, that doesn’t mean it’s not still a good time for reading. Cold and dreary days and nights sometimes call for curling up with a good book. Here are a handful of anthologies including some of my stories! “Fortissimo Possibile,” Oomph! (Crossed Genres Publications, October 2013) – […]

Review of Terra! Tara! Terror!

| December 12, 2018

My latest book review is up at Mad Scientist Journal, this one for Terra! Tara! Terror!, a wide-ranging anthology of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror stories! In addition to new stories from authors, the book includes a couple of reprinted pieces. To my delight, one of them was “Annabel Lee” by Edgar Allan Poe, and the book also […]

Review of Bikes Not Rockets

| October 10, 2018

It’s fitting that I’ve just finished reading and reviewing a book about bikes, since I’m getting ready to go on a bike trip … sort of. I won’t actually be on a bike, but I’ll be accompanying my mom and sisters on a bike trip as their driver. This way, we can throw all of […]

Review of Once Upon a Fact

| August 8, 2018

I’ve got another book review up this week at Mad Scientist Journal, for an anthology of futuristic fairy tales called Once Upon a Fact. If this sounds like the sort of thing you might enjoy, you can check out my review here!