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?
people
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. Enjoy some insights from Eric! – Bethanne 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 and not concluding it until the fourth. There are lots of ways to draw it out. Two excellent staples are: a) The simplest is an age problem, created by the fact that one…
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…