History That Never Was

Home of Dawn Vogel: Writer, Historian, Geek

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 […]

Books and Stories for Younger Readers

| May 16, 2024

I’ve got some recent story publications that are suitable for younger readers, along with several books, including steampunk and fantasy titles! My flash fiction story “Dinosaur Seeds” is written for an adult audience, but kids would very likely enjoy this story, which involves a child planting “dinosaur” seeds and the surprising results! This story can […]

Newer Steampunk Stories!

| February 13, 2024

It’s been a while since I posted about my steampunk stories, so I’ve got a bit of catching up to do! Back in December 2022, Factor Four Magazine published “Don’t Count Your Sprite Shards Before They’re Caged,” a flash fiction piece involving an airship, a captain, and her crew pursuing a dangerous energy source. While some […]

Books for Kids

| September 19, 2023

I’ve got several books for kids, including steampunk and fantasy! The Trouble with the Tick-Tock Tabby is a middle grade book featuring girl detectives Chrysanthemum and Marigold Marsh. The setting is a steampunk Victorian era. The characters are 9 and 12 years old, which skews toward the younger end of middle grade, but the reading level […]

Things for Kids to Read

| January 12, 2023

I’ve recently published my third book for younger readers to read, so it’s time to update this list! The Spiders of the Shifting Swamp is my children’s picture book that I also illustrated! It’s a fantasy story in which spiders run a shop and interact with other swamp creatures. The reading level is about right […]

“The Magnificent Matter of the Mischievous Monkey” in C. & M. Marsh, Girl Detectives

| November 24, 2022

“The Magnificent Matter of the Mischievous Monkey” was technically my third Marsh sisters story, as I wrote it after The Trouble with the Tick-Tock Tabby. It’s also the title in this series I’m most likely to foul up, as it went through a few iterations before I got it to work within my self-dictated naming […]

My Steampunk Books

| November 15, 2022

If you enjoy reading steampunk, I’ve got five books, for both adult readers and younger readers! First off, I have the Brass and Glass trilogy: Brass and Glass: The Cask of Cranglimmering is the first in the series, followed by Brass and Glass 2: The Long-Cursed Map and Brass and Glass 3: The Boiling Sea. These […]

Steampunk Reads

| March 31, 2022

If you enjoy reading steampunk, I’ve got four books out now, and a fifth one coming soon! First off, I have the Brass and Glass trilogy: Brass and Glass: The Cask of Cranglimmering is the first in the series, followed by Brass and Glass 2: The Long-Cursed Map and Brass and Glass 3: The Boiling Sea. […]

My Books for Children!

| October 28, 2021

I write quite a bit of stuff for younger readers, but much of that is short stories that are scattered here, there, and everywhere, including throughout my collections. But I also have two books that are explicitly for younger readers. The Trouble with the Tick-Tock Tabby is a middle grade book featuring girl detectives Chrysanthemum […]