History That Never Was

Home of Dawn Vogel: Writer, Historian, Geek

“If the Light is Constant” in Doorways in the Gloom

| March 21, 2023

“If the Light is Constant” is a creepy little piece of microfiction that delves into perception and reality. Because it’s so brief, it leaves a bit to the imagination, which I find is often very effective for horror and other dark stories. The monsters you can’t quite see are far more terrifying than the ones […]

“Dangers of the Deep” in Doorways in the Gloom

| January 26, 2023

My story “Dangers of the Deep” is a flash fiction piece grown out of a prompt about, well, dangerous things underwater. Of course, that’s a favorite topic of mine, but in this particular story, it’s not any of the usual types of creatures I write about. Instead, it’s a tentacled monstrosity with no clear goal […]

Reading about Camp as a Hope for Warmer Days?

| January 19, 2023

Have you ever noticed that when you read a book describing the weather, sometimes you feel like the weather outside must match what you’ve been reading about? If this is the case for you, and you’re tired of the cold, what about checking out a book about a summer camp? Maybe that can bring some […]

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 […]

New Pieces out in November 2022

| December 8, 2022

This past month saw publication of a short story, a couple of pieces of flash fiction, and a poem! “Chrysopoeia,” a flash fiction piece about a charlatan and the person who reveals him for what he really is, appeared in The Dire Dark, which is an anthology of dark fantasy pieces. My short story “Easy […]

Have You Checked Out Camp Haunt?

| November 22, 2022

Sometimes, the best reviews for a book you can get are the ones that aren’t necessarily posted online. My mom reads all of my books, and she sent me a message a few days after finishing Camp Haunt. She said she really wanted to read it to see what I remembered about camp, and she […]

“The Thing in the Swamp” in Doorways in the Gloom

| November 17, 2022

“De store gamle. Danish, again. Most people translate it as ‘the big old ones.’ It means something a little different to the old Danish families in Selbyville.” “The Thing in the Swamp” is my tangentially Lovecraftian dark contemporary fantasy story, featuring a protagonist who knows what her family has been getting up to over the […]

Recent Spooky Stories

| October 27, 2022

If you’re looking for some spooky reads of short stories, here are a few of my recently released dark and horror stories! “Memento Mori” appears in Queer Weird West Tales. This story involves Calamity Jane and the detritus of Wild Bill Hickok’s life, along with some surreal and spooky events related to the two. “Dangers […]

Spooky Stories and Novella

| October 25, 2022

If you’re looking for some spooky Halloween reads, I’ve got a few options available! Volatile Figments is a collection of six dark contemporary fantasy short stories in which the protagonists deal with the supernatural. They generally tend toward dark contemporary fantasy rather than horror, so they’re spooky without being terrifying. Doorways in the Gloom is […]

September 2022 Publications

| October 6, 2022

For the first time in a long while, I don’t have any new stories or poems out in the past month! But not to fear, there will be more new pieces coming soon. So in the meantime, I did have a new book out this month: Camp Haunt. Which is actually a re-release of sorts, since […]