History That Never Was

Home of Dawn Vogel: Writer, Historian, Geek

Trilogy Middles in Brass and Glass 2: The Long-Cursed Map

| September 25, 2025

When I reached the point at which Brass and Glass became a trilogy, I had to sit down to outline the entire series. With one book under my belt, and two more planned, I needed to figure out how to sustain the overall story across three books but also make each book able to stand on […]

My Steampunk Collection, Wreathed in Steam

| August 14, 2025

I haven’t had any steampunk stories or poems published recently, so my most recent steampunk publication is Wreathed in Steam, which collects seventeen of my steampunk pieces – eight stories and nine poems – in one place! The stories in this collection are often shorter pieces, but there are two longer stories included, and one of […]

Brass and Glass Still Shines!

| April 8, 2025

My first novel, Brass and Glass: The Cask of Cranglimmering came out almost exactly eight years ago. Even though that’s quite some time ago, and I’ve accomplished a lot more writing goals since, I’m still proud of this novel! Though I don’t write as much steampunk any more, I enjoyed the worldbuilding and character development for […]

My Brass and Glass Trilogy

| January 14, 2025

My Brass and Glass trilogy has been in the world for a little over five years, which is a wild thing to me! The first book came out in 2017 and the second in 2018. Then, after a bit of delay when my first publisher closed, I had the covers updated and the third one […]

Eight Plus Years of The Trouble with the Tick-Tock Tabby

| November 26, 2024

The Trouble with the Tick-Tock Tabby was one of the first things I self-published, back in 2016. At that point, I’d been writing for publication for more than seven years. And since 2016 was eight years ago (!), that means I’ve been writing for fifteen years, which is a wild thing to think about. But […]

My Steampunk Books

| November 19, 2024

If you love steampunk, I’ve got plenty of book options! First, my Brass and Glass trilogy is a completed series of action and adventure steampunk, involving airship pirates and whiskey. The first book, The Cask of Cranglimmering, introduces you to the crew and world, and the other two books take the story to its conclusion. If you’re […]

Review of Sleeping Worlds Have No Memory

| October 30, 2024

Yaroslav Barsukov’s Sleeping Worlds Have No Memory (CAEZIK SF & Fantasy, 2024) is an expansion of his novella, “Tower of Mud and Straw,” which I reviewed previously. Now as a full length novel, the story expands beyond its earlier constraints and plays more with the theme of memories in this fantastical world! The original novella […]

Researching Nineteenth Century Diving for Brass and Glass 3

| September 12, 2024

When I was writing Brass and Glass 3: The Boiling Sea, I knew at least some of my characters were going to need to dive into that Boiling Sea in order to find the treasure they were looking for. But my setting is steampunk and roughly analogous to the nineteenth century in terms of technological influences. […]

The Brass and Glass Series

| May 2, 2024

If you like steampunk, have you checked out my Brass and Glass series? It’s a trilogy following Captain Svetlana Tereshchenko and the crew of The Silent Monsoon as they look for a cask of whiskey, which leads them to search for a map, which leads them to the fabled location of a legendary treasure. All three […]

Very Short Fiction and Poetry in Wreathed in Steam

| April 18, 2024

I included one very short piece of fiction, “Paint Pots,” in Wreathed and Steam, which is a gaslamp fantasy style piece of microfiction about a magical painter. I also have a number of poems in this collection, which vary between steampunk and gaslamp fantasy. Some of my personal favorites are two involving ghosts: “My Josephine” and […]