Flag of the Russian Philippines

Okay, I've got another classic flag of mine that is home on my blog at long last.  It first appeared on Alternate History Weekly Update, so without further ado, here is it:

This is the flag of the Petrines, also known as the Russian Philippines. It comes from a world where Russia built up their navy early on. This meant Russia could devote more effort and focus on their colonies in the Americas. Besides further colonizing Alaska, they also colonized what would have been British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and California, though not without objections from the Spanish.

Eventually, after a chance discovery of gold, the Russians and Spanish went to war over California. It was ultimately decided that Russia would pull out of California, but in exchange would take some other Spanish land; with the Spanish offering the Philippines. As a result the Russian Philippines was born.

The Russians encouraged people from many different nations to help settle their new colony both to provide labor and to prevent the former Spanish colonists (such as they were) from taking over. This would, over the years, lead to a blending of native cultures, colonial settlers and slaves from Russia's African outposts have the archipelago a unique culture like nothing before it. However, they never forgot that it was Mother Russia to whom they all, even if indirectly, were linked.

Flag of British Korea

This is an old flag of mine that I collaborated with an internet friend to make.  It previously appear over on Alternate History Weekly Update, and now it's here on my personal blog.  So without further ado, here it is:

This is the flag of British Korea. It's from a world where it was Britain, rather than America, which convinced Japan to come out of isolation. The British had intended to add Japan to their empire, but it soon became clear this wouldn't be feasible. The British, however, had been poking around Korea, which presented a much easier target, and thus British Korea was born. Side effects of this included a Spanish-Japanese war in which Japan took the Philippines, Guam and the Marianas Islands; as well as Japanese participation in the Scramble for Africa.

British Korea was occupied by the Japanese during World War II, but the British regained it after the war. The Soviets demanded control of Northern Korea, but the British wished it to stay unified. As a compromise, British Korea remained unified while Japan was split into a Communist North and a Democratic South. Korea officially gained independence from the British in the 1970s.

Also, since I know someone will say it, British Korea is Best Korea.

Interview: Matt Mitrovich

Today we've got another interview coming your way on Knowledge, Adventure and Wonder. He's the creator of The Alternate History Weekly Update, an alternate history aficionado and a good friend of mine. He's Matt Mitrovich and he is our guest for the day. So without further ado, let's get on with the interview.

1)  In your own words, who is Matt Mitrovich?

What a surprisingly difficult question. There are a lot of words that can be used to describe me: blogger, author, attorney, alternate historian, husband, son, brother, American, etc. I think a simple explanation is that I am just nerd who really enjoys alternate history.

2)  When did you first discover alternate history?

It had to happen early in my high school career. I remember going to the local book store and stumbling upon a paperback copy of Worldwar: In the Balance by Harry Turtledove where Hitler and Churchill are standing next to each other on the cover. Knowing a thing or two about World War II already, such a pairing was definitely a head turner. I bought the book and the rest, as they say, is history.

3)  What inspired you to start The Alternate History Weekly Update?

It's complicated. I started blogging during a time in my life when I was at my lowest. I felt my career was going nowhere and despite the number of times I told people I wanted to be a writer, I never actually wrote anything. Blogging was a way of letting off some steam from work and proving to myself I could write on a regular basis. Choosing what to write was difficult at first. I wanted to write about alternate history, but I needed a certain angle. Anyone could write their own alternate history timelines or scenarios and post them on the web, but I wanted to do something unique.

That is when I realized that most alternate historians don’t know a damn thing about the genre. Most knew the major authors and a few of the major sites, but topics like the Sidewise Awards or more obscure creators were mysteries to the fans. I decided then that I would write about the genre itself. I would cover the news and educate people about the history and people behind alternate history.

With Alternate History Weekly Update’s five year anniversary coming up next June, I think I made the right decision.

4)  I've heard that you've published a bit of fiction yourself in the past.  Can you tell us a little about that?

As mentioned above, part of the reason why I started The Update was to practice my writing. Once I became more comfortable with blogging, I decided to take a crack at writing fiction. I chose to write a short story first because I wanted to be pragmatic and didn’t think I could produce a novel just yet. My first short story I ever finished, “Collapse Theory”, has yet to be published. Although I was pretty proud of it, most publishers I submitted it to passed on it. Eventually I became frustrated with it and moved on to something else.

My first short story to be accepted by a publisher was “The Enchanted Bean”, which was a steampunk retelling of the Jack and the Beanstalk fairy tale. You can find a copy of it in Once Upon a Clockwork Tale. I published several other shorts after that: “Road Trip” (Forbidden Future), “A Perfect Hell on Earth” (Jake’s Monthly: Recollection) and “Revenants of Warfare” (The Were-Traveler).

To be honest I haven’t written much fiction since. When I was able to officially say that I was a published author, I lost interest in writing anything else. I really enjoyed blogging so I focused on that instead. Recently I have been feeling the urge to write fiction again and might even try for a novel, but we will see what the future brings.

5)  Now, I'm not personally a fan of the favorites game, but do you have a favorite work of alternate history?

I really have a soft spot in my heart for Worldwar: In the Balance, because it was the first alternate history book I read, but even I think “In the Presence of Mine Enemies” (the short story, not the novel) is my favorite Turtledove work. I enjoy the works of SM Stirling as well. He is probably one of the best world builders in the genre and knows how to write a series. Kim Newman’s Anno Dracula books are great as well if you like dark humor and pop culture references. Even though his writing is a little old fashioned, I always enjoy reading anything by Harry Harrison. Newer authors I have enjoyed include Michael J. Martinez and Tony Schumacher. Stephen Baxter isn’t a new author per se, but I only started diving into his bibliography recently and I am happy to report I have enjoyed every minute of it. So to answer your question: no, I don’t have just one favorite work of alternate history

6)  You used to be an admin for the AltHistory Wikia, before it went down hill, what was that like?

It was fun while it lasted. I got the job because I’m pretty sure I annoyed the other admins with my constant reports of vandals and spammers. They will deny it, but I am pretty sure they made me an admin just so I would take care of those issues myself and not annoy them anymore. To their eternal horror (I’m guessing) I was a very active admin and pushed for reforms and created written guidelines for what were previously unspoken rules. I made a lot of good friends and I think even gained a level of respect.

Then things started to go down hill. People I knew left and a new group of editors joined. Many were good, but a lot had more snark than skill. I soon just became exhausted with the constant arguments and challenges. I also realized I spent more time policing the wiki then actually writing anything. This was around the same time I started The Update, so I “retired” as an admin and threw myself into blogging.

Although I did eventually return to the AltHistory wiki in a limited capacity, I was soon put off by the current user base. Again, there are still a lot of good editors working there, but they are being overshadowed by the people who are dragging the wiki down. I hope one day the AltHistory wiki can improve, but until then I will remain a lurker.

7)  So you're serving as a judge for the Sidewise Awards.  Can you tell us a how you were selected, and for readers who may not have heard of them, tell us a bit about the awards themselves.

The Sidewise Awards for Alternate History is an annual award given out at Worldcon for the best alternate history novel and short story. It was founded in 1995 by Steven H Silver, Robert Schmunk and Evelyn Leeper. Since then many judges have come and gone. Steven is currently the only original judge still serving (although Evelyn helps out behind the scenes and Robert still hosts the awards’ page on his website, Uchronia).

There really isn’t much of a story to how I was selected. Steven emailed me asking if I would serve a judge. After I finished squealing with geeky glee, I emailed him back saying I would. The next awards are going to be presented in 2016 at MidAmeriCon II and I hope to be in attendance. If anyone else is going, let me know and maybe we can meet up to talk alternate history.

8)  You recently started your own YouTube channel.  What inspired you to do so, especially at a time when many users feel that YouTube has thrown them under the bus.

I enjoy experimenting with new mediums and YouTube was something I felt was deficient when it came to alternate history. Don’t get me wrong, Cody Franklin’s Alternate History Hub is something even people who are not fans of the genre should check out, but besides him, there really aren’t any other channels I can recommend.

Creating my own channel is my own effort to rectify that situation. I am still set in “throw everything against the wall and see what sticks” mode, so I can’t really talk too much about what I am doing. I can say I am approaching alternate history on my channel, The Alternate Historian, the same way I did it for The Update.

9)  Are there any non-alternate history books that you happen to be a big fan of?

1984, Fitzpatrick’s War, The Lost Fleet series, World War Z, Theodore Rex, Vortex, The Dark Tower series, The Zombie Survival Guide, Lord of the Rings, A Song of Ice and Fire, Starship Troopers, Mythology, “The Good War”, Lies My Teacher Told Me, Starfighters of Adumar, The Jungle, Revelation Space, Marvel Zombies, The Kingkiller Chronicles...the list goes on.

10)  Besides your own blog you're a frequent contributor at Amazing Stories.  How'd you get started with that, and what's that like?

Again, not a very exciting story. Before Steve Davidson, the editor of Amazing Stories, relaunched the magazine, he was looking for contributors. I filled out his form and he contacted me back and offered me a place on the staff. I tried various different ways to write for the magazine and eventually just said “screw it” and wrote about alternate history.

Steve has been one of the best editors I ever had and he has been very supportive, especially when I asked to go from a weekly to a bi-monthly schedule. He is passionate about Amazing Stories and I look forward to seeing all of his hard work pay off.

11)  What does the future hold for Matt Mitrovich?

Well I want to write more fiction and produce better quality videos for my channel. I also want to encourage more guest posts to The Update to give me time to do both of those. We shall see though. I try not to plan too far in advance.

In truth, 2016 will be the year where my wife and I focus on bringing home Baby Mitro. We are planning to adopt and if you would like to learn more, check out our blog or are GoFundMe page.

12)  Any advice for aspiring bloggers and alternate historians?

For bloggers (and writers in general) my advice is to start writing. There is a 99% chance that you are not a genius, so don’t worry about whether your content is “good”. Just write on a regular basis about something and share it with others. You will get better as time goes on and hearing criticism, even if it is not constructive, will help you improve.

As for alternate historians, always always always do your research. If I ever have to read about another British North America (in a world where the Americans lost the Revolutionary War) having to buy Florida from Spain, I will teleport to where you live and beat you with one of your Turtledove books (don’t lie, we all have at least one).

On Flags, Commissions and Sean Sherman

I can safely say that I'm enjoying having a blog.  I should probably limit myself to two post per day, or three if I'm feeling especially ambitious.  That way I don't flood you guys with my material and I'll be able to stretch things out.  I guess I've been missing writing for an Internet audiance the way I did when I wrote for Fanfiction and Fictionpress, and don't worry, we will talk about what I did on those sites sooner or later.  For right now, though, let's talk about flags.

I've loved flags for as long as I can remember.  I've always been fascinated by their designs and their histories.  I even have a collection of flags of world nations, American states, Canadian provances and historical flags of various nations.  Therefore, it was perhaps only natural that sooner or later I'd make my own flags, especially after I got into alternate history.  Hey, I've been fascinated by maps and geography for many years, and I started making those when I got into alternate history.  

Now let's take a minute to talk about Sean Sherman, frequent contributor at Alternate History Weekly Update, but he also has his own blog known as Other Times.  Sean frequently contributes to the Flag Friday posts.  What I like the most about Sean's flags is that they're simple but effective.  What I mean by that is that they're the kind of things I can easily see myself replicating.  It was this simple effectiveness that gave me the confidence to submit my own flags to the Alternate History Weekly Update.  I have submitted for Flag Friday a couple other times as well.   

Recently, I noticed one of Sean's flags had the colors from two of the bands over laps with each other. This is something I've had occurred in my own flags, but it didn't bother Sean or Matt.  It's little things like this that let me know I'm doing something right, and that my flags really are good just as they are.  As you may have guess my flags have appeared on Flag Friday a few times as well.  

Speaking of flags of mine I have some very exciting news.  Toixstory, on of my favorite map makers, recently commissioned me to make a series of flags for his/her (I was never quite clear on Toixstory's gender) Grand War series.  It all started when Toixstory expressed a desire to have more flags based on his/her timelines.  So I took it upon myself to make a flag based on Islamic China from the Grand War map, pictured here

Toixstory loved it so much that I was asked to make flags for the other nations of the Grand War universe.  I made good on my promise and I will receive credit when the map and story come out, which should be relatively soon.  

Speaking of flags I've made, just as I'll be posting maps I've made to this blog I will also be posting flags while I work on my column, The Audio File, for Alternate History Weekly Update.  I should post the first flag soon so stay tuned for that.  

The Twilight Histories Podcast

So we begin with the first official blog post.  There's a lot of topics that could be covered in this post, but I think I start with one that, if you've followed my work in the past, you're probably familiar with.  In this post we're going to talk about one of my favorite podcasts: The Twilight Histories with Jordan Harbour.  

It feel at this point that I should point out that this podcast has nothing to do with a certain book series by Stephenie Meyer.  The title is intended to be an allusion to Rod Serling's classic series The Twilight Zone.  Trust me, there are no sparkly vampires, and if vampires ever do appear in the show I assure you they will be proper ones.  Now that we have that out of the way, let's talk about the podcast.  

This is both a time travel and alternate history podcast in the style of old time radio adventure serials where you, yes you the listener, go on an adventure.  The first few episodes, collected as bonus material in the members only section of the website, tell their stories in a detached narrative focusing more on the history of their timeline rather than on stories and characters.  Starting with the episodes Roma Islamica and Ice Age Misery, however, things changed.  Jordan really found his voice, and the stories became much more character driven and personal.  Bonus tracks to the mains shows, continuing the stories of the world's presented, have recently become available on the show's website.  A series of shorter blitz shows, focusing on first-hand accounts of historical events, have also recently been produced.   

There's not enough words to describe how much I love this podcast.  The engaging stories, the creative new worlds, fresh takes on familiar places, the music and sound effects.  It all just works so well!  Ah, but maybe I have other reasons?  Perhaps I have a bit of a personal connection?  Well, you not to terribly off the mark.  

Last year I'd been trying to find my voice/style in alternate history map making.  I had posted a few joke maps, as well as some more serious maps, on Alternatehistory.com's maps and graphics section.  I knew what my next map would be: based on my favorite episode of the Twilight Histories, Roma Islamica, and set 500 years in the future of the timeline.  I made the map, consulted the companion book for details, used my imagination and posted it to Alternatehistory.com.  The reaction...to say it was almost universally negative would perhaps be a major understatement.  

I was under a nearly nonstop attack from all sides.  The other members of the maps board seemed to be under the impression that I'd just massacred 1000 handicapped orphans by hail of gunfire; or that's how there comments seemed anyway.  Thankfully, a few kind hearted members actually stood up for me and called for an end to the torment.  I know it was just a stupid message board, and a bunch of stupid (mostly) Brits, Scots, Aussies and Kiwis (the Americans, by contrast, were much nicer and more laid back) but the damage had been done.  

I began to doubt my ability as a map maker and I was at the end of my rope.  Then I thought, what if I were to post to the Twilight Histories Facebook Page?  I figured I didn't have much left to lose, and if Jordan didn't like it I figured it would be a fitting final nail in the coffin for my map making career.  So I posted the map and...he absolutely loved it!  I really loved it!  

Not only did Jordan repost it on the main page, but it got honorable mention on a Map Monday in Alternate History Weekly Update.  Before long I made maps of other episodes, and then they got an article all to themselves on the Update (two in fact).  I got to meet someone I admired, a celebrity if only to me, and I couldn't think of a happier ending to the story.  

Oh, but the story doesn't end there.  I'm a fairly regular contributor over at Alternate History Weekly Update; and ever since my recent column,The Audio File, skyrocketed in popularity it seems that I'll be writing about audio magazines offering free alternate history, historical fantasy, time travel and all the various punks for the foreseeable future.  That might seem like a problem with regards to the maps and flags I make, but then I started this blog.  I also want to make it clear I'm not being forced to write about audio magazines, it's just how I feel that, for the moment, I can best contribute to the Update.  

So, I shall be posting my future maps for the Twilight Histories to this blog, as well as my own original maps and maps I have produced in the past.  I can't wait to post these maps, I might even post one tonight, and I hope you can't wait either.  Here's too good times, good maps, and good stories all around.  

And to Jordan Harbour and Matt Mitrovich, although I've probably told you both many times and many ways, thank you both for everything you've done for me and all the opportunities you've granted me.  I only know how to pay you back with even more maps and articles, and I can only hope it's enough.