History That Never Was

Home of Dawn Vogel: Writer, Historian, Geek

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 […]

Review of Tales for the Camp Fire

| August 21, 2019

Tales for the Camp Fire is a charity anthology for the victims of the November 2018 fire that destroyed the town of Paradise, California. You can read my review of this horror collection at Mad Scientist Journal, or buy a copy online!

“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 […]

Review of Broken Metropolis edited by dave ring

| February 27, 2019

My latest book review is up at Mad Scientist Journal, for an anthology of stories with queer protagonists called Broken Metropolis. Within, you’ll find 10 short pieces ranging all over the urban fantasy landscape. A number of the stories feature some wonderful magical realism, while others involve clearly supernatural creatures. You can read my review here, or […]

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 […]