Eric wasn’t perfect, and he would have been the first one to say so. Below is his comment on the bar regarding why there are 8 stars on the USE flag. But after that is what Mike Nagle wrote in the Grantville Gazette. The reason was given in the original novel 1632, something Eric wrote more than 20 years before his Bar post. It’s easy to think that an author will remember everything they’ve written, but that simply isn’t the case. It especially isn’t the case when it’s been decades with many books in that series and multiple totally unrelated series having been written in the interrim. Personally, I think it’s pretty amazing that we have so many writers and fans who can help us keep track of all these details even when we forget them. – Bethanne Kim (Publisher, Eric Flint’s 1632 & Beyond magazine) Baens Bar 20 February 2020 00:59 I’m guessing, because BALTIC WAR was written so long ago that my memory is fuzzy, but I suspect the reason there are eight stars on the cross of the USE flag is simply because that’s how many our artist Tom Kidd put on it and it didn’t occur to me at the time to think about the logic behind it. There’s no logic at all to having it based on the original cities in the New United States. What would make sense would be to do it the way the USA’s flag works, which is to add a star every time a new province is formed. Then — oh, joy! — we can have endless wrangles because the imperial cities start clamoring that they damn well ought to be represented on the flag as well as the provinces, and grouchier members of the CoCs would insist that provinces under imperial administration shouldn’t be given the same august status as self-governing provinces. Mike Nagle (excerpted from 1632 and Flags of…
writing
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…
In this comment from BaensBar.net in 2015, Eric notes that because he is the author (sometimes overseer) of the 1632 alternate history, hegets to make the final decision on what is or isn’t plausible, and a big part of that is what makes the best, most interesting, most entertaining story. Since Eric has died, that mantle has passed. There are now a few who carry that mantle, but it starts with Bjorn Hasseler, editor-in-chief for Eric Flint’s 1632 & Beyond. If you disagree with Bjorn’s canon call, you can appeal above him – but I strongly suggest you have a really good reason if you do. You may know some specific subject matter area better than Bjorn, but you don’t know the 1632 universe better than he does. Seriously. You just don’t. And now, for Eric’s thoughts, which are what you are really interested in anyway. – Bethanne (Publisher, Eric Flint’s 1632 & Beyond magazine) 06 April 2015 12:39 There’s a lot of overlap between this discussion and the one under the thread title “Military guns in 1636 (the Ottomans)” and I’ve already made a couple of posts in that thread. I’m pressed for time because I’m trying to get a novel finished — well, most if it, anyway — before Lucille and I leave for a ten-day trip to the eastern Mediterranean in two and half weeks. And I have to go to LA for the Writers of the Future event this weekend, which will eat up a big chunk of that time. So I’ll keep this as brief as possible. I want to start by making a general comment. I am bemused by the ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY I KNOW WHAT’S POSSIBLE AND WHAT ISN’T!!!! attitude that’s being taken by some people in this discussion. My response is blunt: Bullshit. I am 68 years old. I have personally observed a number of wars and have a very good knowledge of…
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…