History That Never Was

Home of Dawn Vogel: Writer, Historian, Geek

New Moons Under Which to Sleep Out Today!

| July 20, 2021

Today’s the day! My first ever book of science fiction stories, New Moons Under Which to Sleep, is out! This collection is an interesting one, as I don’t typically consider myself a sci-fi author. However, every story in this collection has been previously published! So I guess maybe I’ve written a few sci-fi stories after all! […]

New Stories and Poetry Out Recently!

| July 8, 2021

I’ve had two stories and one poem published recently, all of which are available online! The first is “Wishes without a Birthday Cake,” in Land Beyond the World. This story came out of a writing sprint class that I took with K. Tempest Bradford (which I talked about here). The story underwent some revisions to […]

“The Actor-Observer Effect” in Unfixed Timelines 2

| March 23, 2021

I work alongside archaeologists and anthropologists in my day job, so it’s no surprise that some of their terminology infects my brain, and thus my writing. I’ve also become keenly aware over the years about just how flawed a lot of early anthropological work was, with the practitioners inflicting their own understanding of how the […]

Review of Hollow Skulls and Other Stories by Samuel Marzioli

| January 6, 2021

Hollow Skulls and Other Stories by Samuel Marzioli (JournalStone, 2021) is a collection of thirteen horror and otherwise dark short stories. The majority of the stories are previously published stories, while a few are new to this collection. One of Marzioli’s greatest strengths, showcased in this collection, is a sense of creeping dread that pervades […]

Setting Goals for 2021!

| January 5, 2021

While 2020 didn’t go entirely as planned for many folks, even after a promising start, I’m hopeful that 2021 will be an improvement. True, things can still get worse, but I’m choosing hope in terms of creating my goals this year. One of my goals for 2020 was to become agented, but that didn’t pan […]

“Say a Little Spell” in Coast to Coast Stars

| December 15, 2020

A few of the stories in Coast to Coast Stars feature characters that I created for “Happily Never After” and wanted to explore further. “Say a Little Spell” takes magic-user Preethi back to her childhood, when she was still learning the limitations and requirements of the magic that she and her grandmother share. It’s a very […]

Short Stories or Novels: Which Should You Tackle First?

| November 30, 2020

If you’re sliding into the end of November with a brand new novel draft in hand after NaNoWriMo, congratulations! If you didn’t quite reach the end of your novel, that’s okay too! What’s critical in either cases is that you finish. And then? You revise. If you’re new to writing, you may find a lot […]

My 2020 Story Publications

| November 24, 2020

I feel like I haven’t published a lot of stories this year, but then I put together a post like this, and I realize I’m incorrect in that assessment. 2020 has seemed so long that some of the stories that came out in January and February feel like they were released a lifetime ago. But […]

Coast to Coast Stars: A Pale Imitation

| November 12, 2020

“A Pale Imitation” is a story about the daughters of a hero in “Happily Never After,” but it was also my response to a list of prompts related to superheroes who were twins and they ways they could use that to their advantage. By giving a pair of sisters the same powers, they could easily […]

At What Cost? now out!

| October 22, 2020

I’ve got a new story out this week! “At What Cost?” is included in the second volume of the House of Zolo’s Journal of Speculative Literature. The inspiration for this story came from the week-long stints I used to do for work, where I would drive into a former limestone quarry known as “The Cave” […]