History That Never Was

Home of Dawn Vogel: Writer, Historian, Geek

“The Sky Rock” at Centropic Oracle!

| April 21, 2020

Sometimes you start writing a story and aren’t sure where it’s going to end up. And when your main characters are a pair of birds, the answer to that could be “just about anywhere.” And that’s how I wound up with a story in which the punchline is … Well, you’ll have to listen to […]

Review of Key of Astrea by Nicholas Marson

| February 5, 2020

My latest review is up at Mad Scientist Journal for The Key of Astrea by Nicholas Marson. It’s a young adult book that mashes up fantasy and sci-fi. I will note that I had some contents notes about this book, but those can be found in my review. If they don’t push you away, though, you can […]

“Superstitions” and “Follow My Lead” Now Out!

| January 30, 2020

I’ve got two new stories out recently! “Superstitions” is the story of a girl, her sailing ship, and her unconventional crew, and it’s published at Theme of Absence. It’s under 1,000 words, so it’s a very quick read. The magazine also did an interview with me, which you can find here! (The interview is longer.) Also, […]

“Muss” available in Witches, Warriors, and Wyverns

| January 23, 2020

I’ve got a new story out in Witches, Warriors, and Wyverns from TANSTAAFL Press. TANSTAAFL Press is local to the Seattle area, and I’ve interacted with their editor frequently at local events. This is their first high fantasy anthology, and I’m happy to be a part of it. “Muss” was one of my Drawlloween stories from […]

Review of Carpe Glitter by Cat Rambo

| January 1, 2020

My latest review for Mad Scientist Journal is up now, this week for Carpe Glitter by Cat Rambo. This is a novelette, so it was a really quick read that I read in about an hour. But the title was awesome, and the plot sucked me right in, with a very realistic tale of dealing with the […]

“Dry Spell” in Denizens of Distant Realms

| December 26, 2019

One of the stories in my fantasy collection, Denizens of Distant Realms, began life as a fantastical history story. “Dry Spell” was originally about an enslaved Romani woman living in colonial Virginia during an extensive drought. Based on the research I had done, this scenario was plausible–there were Romani slaves in the American colonies, and there […]

“We Have Not Always Been Small” in Denizens of Distant Realms

| October 24, 2019

A while back, there was a meme I saw of a small black cat attacking the ocean, at least until the ocean “attacked” back in the form of surf. The text said something about cats forgetting that they’re not dragons anymore. That was the inspiration for “We Have Not Always Been Small,” a story that […]

Don’t Forget: Denizens of Distant Realms is Available!

| August 29, 2019

If you haven’t already checked it out, the ebook and print versions of my collection, Denizens of Distant Realms, are both available now! So whether you prefer to read on a screen or on paper, I’ve got you covered! I’ll be posting about the various stories that appear in this collection in the coming months, so […]

Slipstream Fiction

| August 26, 2019

I write a lot of short stories that fall loosely into the fantasy category, in that they have fantastical elements, but that might be more accurately described as “slipstream.” They’re the sort of story where something is clearly outside of a realistic experience, but that thing is both never explained and never questioned–it simply is. […]

Fun for Friday: Fantasy Writing Prompts

| August 23, 2019

If you’re looking for some inspiration for fantasy stories, check out this list of 50 fantasy plot ideas. There are a wide range of possibilities here, whether you want to write something short or long. I’m even going to consult this list for poetry ideas, since I’ve got about a week left in my August […]