But I set aside half the space for new writers, and threw the anthology open for submissions from the participants in the discussion in the "Tech Manual." A number of the participants are aspiring writers as well as fans, and I was confident that they'd be able to produce a number of excellent stories. Which, they did. About sixty stories were submitted, and I selected nine of them for the anthology.
What was most important to me, though, is that the anthology stories-those from the newcomers as well as the established writers-expanded my own view of this world. The basic framework of the 1632 setting remains the one I had created in 1632, but that theme now has well over a dozen variations on the tune. Aspects of the story to which I had given little thought were now developed into stories in their own right. Characters were introduced who began to shape the ongoing story I was writing myself, and the way I thought about it.
I could give a multitude of examples. The character of Tom Stone, for instance, was first developed by Misty Lackey in her story "To Dye For"-and was then incorporated by Dave and me into 1633 and will become a major character in a sequel which I will be writing with Andrew Dennis. That sequel will develop Andrew's story for the anthology, "Between the Armies." It involves characters who were either minor in 1632-such as Father Larry Mazzare-or were first developed by Andrew, and will relate the impact which the Ring of Fire has on Italy and the Catholic Church.
To conclude, although I created this setting and will continue to write solo novels in it, I see myself as part of an ensemble. Sometimes as soloist, sometimes as a participant in chamber music-especially in my duets with Dave Weber-and sometimes conducting the orchestra.
One of the members of the orchestra needs to be singled out for special mention in this afterword, and that's Mike Spehar. Mike was in the course of writing a story for the anthology when the events on September 11 required him to break off from it due to his professional responsibilities. Mike is such a good writer that I hated to see his work simply go to waste. So, with Dave's agreement, we incorporated what he had written into some of the earlier chapters of 1633. The character of Jesse Wood was developed originally by Mike, along with the technical basis for the aircraft. (With some input from Evan Mayerle, I should add.)
Then, as we continued to write the novel, things developed further. Periodically, Dave and I would ask Mike if he could write a new scene for this or that chapter, since Mike-who is a retired U.S. Air Force pilot-could give the flying scenes a vividness and detail that neither Dave nor I possibly could. Mike did so, and the first drafts of many of the scenes in a number of the chapters were written by him. Except for the final battle at Wismar, in fact, all of the flying episodes were originally written by Mike-and he was our technical editor for that final scene.
Mike will continue to play that role for us in 1634: The Baltic War, and I'll be very surprised if he doesn't wind up writing his own stories-or becoming a full collaborator on a novel-as this series progresses. I expect the same will happen with some other people who have participated for over two years now in shaping the 1632 universe. I will certainly be encouraging them to, and doing my best to help the process.
I like to collaborate, accepted wisdom be damned. It's probably not an accident that I tend to think of writing in musical terms. I'm quite sure that if I were a violinist or a pianist, instead of an author, I'd play at least as much chamber music as I would solo compositions or concertos.
Now, I need to publicly thank a number of people who gave Dave and me a lot of help in the way of technical advice and historical expertise. I can't possibly name them all, but I'll start by thanking the hundreds of people who have participated in the 1632 Tech Manual discussions for the past two years. Then, in particular:
Virginia DeMarce, who is a professional historian and a specialist on 17 th -century Germany. (Virginia, by the way, is also one of the authors who will be appearing in the upcoming anthology-and with whom I hope to be collaborating on a novel before too long, following up on the story line she developed for it centering on the character of Veronica. Like Mike Stearns, I'm partial to tough old biddies.)
Andrew Dennis, for his advice on naval and historical matters.
Detlef Zander, who has been incredibly helpful in tracking down information for us in his native Germany. His assistance in providing us with diagrams, maps and photos of the north German ports, canals, rivers and the Wietze oil field was invaluable.
Bob Gottlieb, Rick Boatright, Drew Clark and Marcus Mulkins, who provided us with a great deal of assistance on matters relating to chemistry, steel production, medicine and antibiotics. Rick was also our radio expert, and guided us through the complexities of that part of the story.
Ralph Tacoma and Conrad Chu, for general advice on matters of engineering.
And, finally, I'd like to thank Judith Lasker. Not for any particular thing involving 1633, but just for the help and encouragement she's given me for a long time now.
NOTE: Those of you who enjoyed this book and would be interested in participating in the online discussion regarding the 1632 series are welcome to join it. You can do so as follows:
1) On the Internet, using your web browser, go to: http://www.baen.com/
2) Select "Baen's Bar" from the menu across the top.
3) Fill out a quick and simple registration. Thereafter, you can simply log in.
4) Once you get into the Bar, select the conference titled "1632 Tech Manual."
5) Then, lurk or post, as you choose. Most of all, enjoy yourself.
THE END
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1633
Table of Contents
Part I
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Part II
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Part III
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Part IV
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
PART V
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Part VI
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Part VII
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Afterword
by Eric Flint