History That Never Was

Home of Dawn Vogel: Writer, Historian, Geek

Have You Checked Out Intercity Illusions?

| July 22, 2021

Have you had a chance to check out Intercity Illusions? Cities are filled with the strange and unusual, especially when you add the supernatural to them. This book collects urban fantasy stories and poetry highlighting the abnormal goings-on across myriad cityscapes. These tales will leave you wondering what is real and what is merely an illusion. […]

Looking for Some Fantasy Reads?

| June 24, 2021

If your idea of a great summer read is something from a world of fantasy, I’ve got a couple of books that might fit the bill! What If I’m a Merfolk? spans traditional fantasy and more modern fantasy, but presents a load of interesting merfolk poetry and a handful of short stories, all dealing with […]

Have You Checked Out Old Legends and New Fables?

| June 17, 2021

Have you had a chance to check out Old Legends and New Fables yet? It’s got a wide variety of poetry and a handful of short stories, and the topics wind their way through familiar and unfamiliar mythology, legend, and other stories. Here’s the blurb for the book: The gods of old have become stories, as […]

Intercity Illusions Cover Reveal!

| May 25, 2021

I’ve got another collection coming out on June 15, Intercity Illusions! This is a collection of primarily short stories, with a small amount of poetry mixed in. All of the stories are loosely defined as urban fantasy. Each one is set roughly in present day, with most of the world functioning the way our world works. […]

Old Legends and New Fables Out Today!

| May 11, 2021

Today is the release day for Old Legends and New Fables! This collection primarily includes poetry related to the mythology and stories of a multitude of cultures, with a handful of stories. It also features cover art that I painted (based on a photo of the Parthenon). It may not be a perfect cover, but I’m […]

Denizens of Distant Realms for Many Readers

| April 27, 2021

My collection of short fantasy stories, Denizens of Distant Realms, may not be for readers of all ages, but it’s a good collection of short stories for adults and teens, and maybe some older kids. There’s nothing explicit to be found within its pages, but there are a few stories that younger readers wouldn’t entirely […]

Two New Stories!

| February 27, 2020

I’ve got two new stories out recently! “Dakota Travis, Saurallero Extraordinaire” started out with a different title about riding a dinosaur. Ultimately, it turned into a flash piece that was still about riding a dinosaur, but in an obituary format about the first man to make an art form out of riding dinosaurs on other […]

Short Story Engines

| February 3, 2020

Most people use plot or characters to make their stories go, but this article presents some other options for short story engines. It’s a very interesting read that gave me some ideas for potential future stories. It also includes some exercises for trying out some of these alternative engines, which is a fantastic place to […]

Writing to Prompts

| January 6, 2020

Last week, I talked about writing to a theme. This week, I’m talking about writing to prompts. The two things are related, but not entirely the same. Writing to prompts comes up frequently if you’re looking to challenge yourself to write a daily, weekly, or even monthly story, when you don’t necessarily have an end […]

Writing to a Theme

| December 30, 2019

I write a lot of stories that are prompted by themed calls for submissions. These are often for anthologies, but they are sometimes for a themed issue of a magazine or for a magazine with a very specific genre/aesthetic. I’ve had fairly good luck with placing my stories in themed anthologies, so today, I’m talking […]