An interesting point many 1632 readers may not realize is that it has sister storylines. In the original novel, we find out that alien artists from a race called the Assiti caused the event by being careless with their artwork, allowing “shards” to fall randomly. One of those caused Granville to swap places with some land in 1631 Thuringia, but it was not the only event. We eventually learn that there were many micro-events that didn’t register with the public mind. No one would notice if a sphere of land in the middle of the ocean swapped with land pretty much anywhere in history, for example. It would just literally be swallowed by the ocean and disappear without a trace. But in addition to events that no one noticed, there were a few bigger events. Time Spike was the first of these to be published in 2008, with Marilyn Kosmatka. In 2017, The Alexander Inheritance with Gorg Huff and Paula Goodlet was published, followed by The Crossing in 2022 and An Angel Called Peterbilt in 2024. At the time Eric wrote the post below, it was the only additional shard to be written. Two sequels to it were printed by Ring of Fire Press and they are being re-released by Baen Books in early 2026. In Time Spike, an Illinois prison is sent back through time millions of years, landing them with the dinosaurs. But it’s not just dinosaurs. Along the way, they picked up native Americans, murderous conquistodors, and a few post-Civil War American soldiers. In addition to having a lot more people travel back, it’s a much larger amount of land and the land, like the people, represents multiple eras. Garrett W. Vance has taken this fertile landscape and written Time Spike: First Cavalry of the Cretaceous and Time Spike: The Mysteerious Mesa. There are also short stories set in the Time Spike shard in The Grantville Gazette…
people
One of the things I love about the 1632verse is the way the same characters pop up in different stories by differen writers – the way they would pop up in different people’s lives in a real small town. This addresses the basics of asking to use someone else’s character. The short version is: ask nicely on BaensBar.net (1632 Tech forum) and you’ll probably get permission, unless the author with a claim has plans you might impact. Krystal Reed is one of my characters. Shortly after claiming her, someone else wanted to use her. I knew I was going to write a minimum of one novel with her but I didn’t really know where I was going, so I declined to share. Others on the Bar hopped into the thread and we provided several different options fo the writer that fit their parameters and they were good to go. She’s a good example of a character where you are likely to get very limited permission from the author with a claim. She’s one of my lead characters. I have written three novels that feature her, at this point, as well as short stories. I have one more novel planned. That’s not saying I won’t share. It IS saying there’s a lot more canon around her than most characters outside of the mainline novels. I have two other characters, sisters name Gude and Demuth. Another author needed a couple of nurses to send to the Three Leagues. They were both in training to be nurses and I no longer needed them at the point he needed nurses, so I modified what I was doing with them in my story a bit and handed them off. They are now mine up to a certain date, and his after that date. Then I have Irene Flannery. She appeared for one paragraph, about three lines, in 1632. I asked for, and received, permission to…
Question being answered: Is there any difference on what author is paid by how I buy the book? We know that fans genuinely want to buy in a place that supports their authors the most. Obviously, Amazon and other businesses take a share of anything sold on their site, but does the author get more if you buy it direct or does it somehow add a bunch of costs and they don’t really end up earning more? So, short answer is that yes, we earn a bit more if you buy directly from an author or our publisher, but the important part is that you actually buy what we are producing. (If you are paying for Kindle Unlimited, that counts – and pretty please, swipe through to the very end, even if it’s biographical and other material you’ve seen before because every page is paid.) For magazines including Eric Flint’s 1632 & Beyond, our subscription base through our website gives us a measure of financial stability. In other words, please subscribe! You can also give gift subscriptions. Based on his experience and knowledge of the publishing business, Eric is clear in his post that the difference in income between buying from a major book store or directly from an author isn’t significant. I will add one caveat to what he wrote because it was more than a decade ago. You can now borrow digital copies from libraries and authors do indeed get some income from that. I don’t know the details, but there is some income. What really matters is having people read, buy, and share. Authors need new readers. Publishers need new readers, and new authors. You undoubtedly already know this but it bears repeating, one of the best ways to help us find those new readers is to review what we publish. Even a simple star rating helps. Please and thank you. – Bethanne (Publisher, Eric Flint’s 1632…
Science fiction & fantasy has conventions where fans gather to meet their favorite authors. 1632 minicons began with Eric Flint guiding other writers around Mannington, West Virginia, the model for Grantville. After a few years, the 1632 minicon became a track within another convention, moving from convention to convention to provide opportunities to fans in different geographic areas. Please follow either this link or the QR code and answer these questions to help us plan. We want to bring 1632 to you. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeSlSG8gaq2w_U4_jkPaNf9J84_9BBICYg5_GJ8SCBh-woong/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=113551832623582709704 Thank you so much for your participtation! Here are some examples of the questions: Would you attend a science fiction/fantasy convention with a 1632 track (“minicon”)? How far are you willing to travel for this? How important is easy site access via plane, train, or bus? May we have your ZIP code for convention planning purposes? Which 1632 Baen plotlines or threads would you like to see more of? From which 1632 Baen authors would you like to read more books? Which 1632 & Beyond plotlines or threads would you like to see more of? From which 1632 & Beyond authors would you like to read more books?
The British Isles remain a few years behind everything else in the main line in terms of politics and Baen novels. It’s just how things have ended up. The current most recent novel in the British Isles is the Dragon Award Finalist 1635: The Weaver’s Code by Eric Flint and Jody Lynn Nye. More than nine years after Eric’s post below, the British Isles are STILL in 1635. As a result, authors are still fairly constrained in what we can write in the British Isles. With that said, constrained doesn’t mean we can’t write anything. Tim Sayeau wrote the charming story “A Guest At The New Year” (Issue 6) and the sequel “Rose-Hip And Red Velvet” (Issue 9), which are set in England. (Personally, I’m hoping to read more of the story – hint, hint, Tim if you are reading this!) The story itself works without any reference to politics, but even within it, there were a few references that had to be removed because the political situation is still fluid. The basic rule is that the short stories in the magazines can’t muck about in anything that hits on high politics, as Eric explains in more detail below. Because everything is canon, all the writers have to be careful if we write anything that uses. – Bethanne (Publisher, Eric Flint’s 1632 & Beyond magazine) 13 January 2016 12:33 The problem mostly involves people trying to write stories that take place in the British Isles, if those stories either impinge upon so-called High Politics — or, and this is the trickier issue, presuppose that something already established is going to stay that way. This same issue exists everywhere in the series, of course, but most things happening on the continent are taking place within the context of story lines that are established through early/mid 1636. The problem with the British Isles is that that story line is lagging behind most…
Unfortunately I didn’t copy the date Eric wrote this, but he hadn’t published 1634: The Baltic War yet, so it’s been a while. With our writers looking toward Issue 15 of Eric Flint’s 1632 & Beyond, which has romance as a theme, and our next Salon call focused on romance, it’s timely content to share. In the many years since he wrote this, romance in all it’s glorious varieties has continued to be a strong part of 1632. Marla and Franz’ relationship is one of the most thoroughly fleshed out romances, but it’s far from the only one. In my own writing, my personal favorite relationship is between two octogenarians in my forthcoming Baen e-book release Red Shield. But I am looking forward to hearing more about Andrew Mackey and Julie Sims and their romance. And Eddie Cantrell and his bride. And… Well, you get the idea. The 1632verse isn’t just about battles and technological developments. It’s about people, and people have romances. We even dedicated the January 2026 issue of the magazine to romance, although, like most of romance itself, things didn’t go exactly as planned. Enjoy some insights on romance from Eric! – Bethanne (Publisher, Eric Flint’s 1632 & Beyond magazine) Romance RULE NUMBER ONE. What really keeps readers alert and on the qui vive, romance wise, are NEW romances. Old familiar ones are fine, of course, and you want to keep them simmering nicely on the pot or your fans will get grumpy. But you need a new romance to really liven things up. This can get tricky, mind you, in a long series, because after a while how many damn romances can you keep piling up? Still, while it’s a challenge, it can usually be done. One gimmick, of course, is to draaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawwww out the romance across several books. I used this gimmick shamelessly in the Belisarius series, starting the Rao-Shakuntala romance in the first novel…
Eric asked the Bar a question in July 2010 (“Medical Advice Wanted”). No one knew who was going to be injured when he asked the question, but when you’ve read up to a certain point in the series, there is no doubt who he’s talking about, and reading this was fun for me. Then I realized that I was reading it on the third anniversary of Eric’s death. I didn’t know him but many others who are part of this universe did. Eric created something unprecedented with 1632. Originally conceived as a stand-alone novel, there were over 14 million words in the universe when he died and the words just continue to flow – and be published. In addition to dozens of novels, there are two separate magazines. The Grantville Gazette is no longer producing new volumes (but is available to purchase) and ended with 102 volumes. The new magazine Eric Flint’s 1632 & Beyond has 12 issues, plus two special issues, so far, and the next two issues are largely set. Over 200 authors have been published between the two magazines and Baen 1632verse novels. And it’s all canon (albeit some a bit provisionally). That’s astounding. Inconceivable, really. (I do hope you heard that in Vizzini’s voice.) This only happened because Eric opened his world in such a unique and generous way. There are a string of new draft blog posts “from Eric” waiting to be published. Like this one, they are comments Eric made on Baen’s Bar, so they have been publicly available (for anyone who wanted to dig for them) for years. Topics including writing, being a writer, and a ton of different aspects of the 1632verse and how it has developed. Together, they shed an interesting light on the man who created this incredible universe This post is different from those. This is Eric asking the “bar flies” on BaensBar.net (current url, not the one from…