History That Never Was

Home of Dawn Vogel: Writer, Historian, Geek

“At What Cost?” in New Moons Under Which to Sleep

| February 22, 2022

My story “At What Cost?” has a long history. The idea stemmed from an unusual place I used to work, which was an archival facility in what was once a mine. We referred to it as “The Cave,” because driving in, you went through what looked like the very large mouth of a cave. It […]

Sci-Fi Reads

| January 27, 2022

If you’re a sci-fi fan, I’ve got one sci-fi collection that might appeal to you! New Moons Under Which to Sleep contains mainly previously published sci-fi short stories, flash fiction pieces, and a couple of poems, plus a couple of poems that were new to the collection. I’ve had a bunch of other very short […]

Fun for Friday: Sci-Fi and Post-Apocalyptic Images

| January 21, 2022

This week’s Fun for Friday is sci-fi and post-apocalyptic images! The first image is an illustration from the mid-twentieth century speculating on what space travel would be like. It depicts three men, two of whom are seated at a table and one of whom is floating horizontally toward the table. They appear to be engaged […]

“Earworm” in New Moons Under Which to Sleep

| January 11, 2022

“Earworm” was a story I wrote for a very specific anthology call that involved “space opera” in a more literal sense than the genre typically means. So my main character was the alien beatbox for an operatic vocal group. As I’ve talked about before, the inspiration for the story was related to K-pop videos, even […]

Review of You Sexy Thing by Cat Rambo

| November 24, 2021

You Sexy Thing by Cat Rambo (Tor Books, 2021) is a action-packed sci-fi novel of found family, peril, and cooking, blended together in a remarkable and entertaining way. Niko and her restaurant staff are military veterans who managed to break away from their old lives by convincing the military that Niko is a culinary artist. […]

“Far from Home” in New Moons Under Which to Sleep

| November 11, 2021

“Far from Home” is an “inspired by real life” story twisted into a sci-fi story. Much like the characters in my story, I live in an apartment building, and I have heard people dragging things down the hallway. Some authors might take that and go with a horror twist. But I took that and wrote […]

“Vodyanoi” in New Moons Under Which to Sleep

| September 30, 2021

“Vodyanoi” is one of the oldest stories I’ve written, being over a decade old at this point. It’s been published a couple of times, but I also very much wanted to include it in a sci-fi collection, once I had enough to make such a collection. It’s a strange story, inspired by a song (“Strange […]

Review of Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

| September 29, 2021

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2015) is the first book in their young adult space opera Illuminae Files series. A mix of sci-fi, thriller, and mystery, Illuminae is a story told in found documents from interview transcripts to AI artistry. Just a day after Kady Grant broke up with […]

Have You Checked Out New Moons Under Which to Sleep?

| August 26, 2021

Have you had a chance to check out my book of science fiction stories, New Moons Under Which to Sleep? It’s got nine reprinted stories and six poems, which are a mix of reprints and new for this collection. Unusual spacecraft, aliens among us, and finding new ways to survive. New Moons Under Which to Sleep is a collection of science-fiction […]

My Sci-Fi Publications

| July 27, 2021

Although I’ve published a lot of books, there’s only one sci-fi book in the mix, and it’s the most recent one! New Moons Under Which to Sleep is a collection containing previously published sci-fi short stories, flash fiction pieces, and a couple of poems, joined by a couple of poems that were new to the collection. […]