History That Never Was

Home of Dawn Vogel: Writer, Historian, Geek

“I Need a Hero” in The Sidewalk Diverges

| October 24, 2023

My microfiction story, “I Need a Hero,” is a look at a forgotten god who finds herself in need of a champion for the modern age, and finds a way to locate that champion and retain them. Because it’s so short, there’s not much else I can say about it, other than to note that […]

My Latest Urban Fantasy Pieces

| July 13, 2023

I’ve had a number of new and reprinted urban fantasy pieces come out since my last post on the subject. Here’s where you can find them! “Hashtag TPE,” which originally appeared in It Came from Miskatonic University, was reprinted in LOLCraft: A Compendium of Eldritch Humor. This is an entertaining look at a college campus tour when […]

“Mind the Gap” in The Sidewalk Diverges

| June 20, 2023

“Mind the Gap” was written to a prompt about voids, so I decided to combine the void of “the gap” with another void. If you’re not familiar with the phrase “Mind the Gap,” it’s an announcement made in London in Tube stations. It may be used elsewhere as well, but I know it from British […]

“Wishes without a Birthday Cake” in The Sidewalk Diverges

| May 23, 2023

I started writing “Wishes without a Birthday Cake” in a writing workshop with K. Tempest Bradford that involved her asking a question to begin the story, followed by additional questions to shape the story as we wrote. While the end result of that exercise needed some editing after all of the free-writing, it turned into […]

“There Is No I in Heavenly Host” in The Sidewalk Diverges

| April 25, 2023

“There Is No I in Heavenly Host” was 100 percent written on a quasi-dare. The editors for a special speculative fiction issue of Friends Journal mentioned wanting to see a story in which a biblically accurate angel dealt with having their name misspelled on their coffee order. So I wrote it. And they loved it. This […]

Don’t Forget to Check Out The Sidewalk Diverges!

| March 23, 2023

Have you checked out The Sidewalk Diverges yet? It’s chock full of contemporary fantasy short stories, shorter fiction pieces, and poetry. The vast majority of the pieces are upbeat and slightly humorous, though there are always a few dark corners here and there. In The Sidewalk Diverges, stories about magic sit alongside stories about superpowers, while ghosts, […]

The Sidewalk Diverges Out Now!

| February 14, 2023

Today’s the release day for The Sidewalk Diverges! If you like contemporary fantasy with a bit of humor, some familial love, and more, check out this collection! It’s sixteen stories of varying lengths and nineteen poems! In The Sidewalk Diverges, stories about magic sit alongside stories about superpowers, while ghosts, angels, and fae intermingle. These contemporary fantasy […]

Cover Reveal for The Sidewalk Diverges

| January 17, 2023

My next collection will be out February 14, so it’s time to show off the cover! It’s a simple one, based on some manipulation of one of my photos, but I think it works for this collection! In The Sidewalk Diverges, stories about magic sit alongside stories about superpowers, while ghosts, angels, and fae intermingle. These […]

Recent Urban Fantasy Publications

| December 13, 2022

I’ve got a few recent urban and contemporary fantasy publications that might be of interest if you enjoy that genre! “Slime, or Primordial Ooze?” is a contemporary fantasy poem about the slime craze from a few years ago, which was published in Star*Line in January 2022. “Promises Made” is a microfiction story about modern fae […]

Cross and Circle for the Holidays

| December 1, 2022

I always like to mention my novella, Cross and Circle, around the holidays because that’s when it takes place. The story begins at the end of the fall semester and progresses through December and into January. Although there’s not much holiday celebrating that happens on-screen in this novella, it’s still set at the right time of […]