Today in #althist

I like to introduce you to a new feature on our Twitter feed (@ahwupdate): Today in #althist. Every day I share an important "alternate" event which happened on this day, along with a link to the OTL event. Check out some examples below:

Today in #althist Confederate forces defeat the Union at the Battle of Elkhorn Tavern and invade southern Missouri en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of…
— AH Weekly Update (@ahwupdate) March 7, 2013

Today in #althist, the PRA celebrates its anniversary with a special ceremony in Westmoreland County en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westmorel…
— AH Weekly Update (@ahwupdate) March 9, 2013

Today in #althist Gorbachev, founder of the Union of Sovereign States, becomes General Secretary en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Union…
— AH Weekly Update (@ahwupdate) March 11, 2013

Today in #althist 19th anniversary of the secession of traditional dioceses from the Church of England en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordinatio…
— AH Weekly Update (@ahwupdate) March 12, 2013

Today in #althist the first sedfah refugees make planetfall in the deserts outside Phoenix, AZ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_l…
— AH Weekly Update (@ahwupdate) March 13, 2013

Today in #althist Cyprus, the last crusader state, celebrates the day when James III drove out the Venetian merchants en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_o…
— AH Weekly Update (@ahwupdate) March 14, 2013

If you are interested in contributing to Today in #althist, send me a suggestion at ahwupdate at gmail dot com or direct message me on Twitter. Our friends at Dissecting Worlds already submitted the one on the Church of England. What will you think of next?

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger on Amazing Stories and a volunteer editor for Alt Hist magazine. His fiction can be found at Echelon Press, Jake's Monthly and The Were-Traveler. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.

150,000 Page Views!

Earlier today The Update surpassed 150,000 page views! Wow, just wow. The last time we reached such a milestone was when we surpassed 120,000 page views on 12/7/12.  Thanks to all of our contributors and fans who made this possible. I have decided that after reaching this goal  I will not do this celebratory post again until we reach 200,000 page views.

On a side not, be careful when searching "150,000" on Google at work. Some NSFW pictures come up.

First up, let us look at the top posts of all time (the list on the left is only for the month):

1) Review: "Red Inferno 1945" by Robert Conroy by Sebastian Breit.

2) Preview: Before Watchmen by Sean Korsgaard.

3) How to Write and Publish a Novel in Eight Easy Steps by Chris Nuttall.

4) Showcase: Images of 1984 - Stories from Oceania by Sean Korsgaard.

5) Review: Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation 2 by Chris Nuttall.

6) A first look at NBC's Revolution by Sebastian Breit.

7) January 2013: The Month of No Americans by Matt Mitrovich.

8) Review: Spike's Alternate History by Matt Mitrovich.

9) Civilization II: Eternal War by Matt Mitrovich.

10) Weekly Update #82 by Matt Mitrovich.

Seb upsets fan favorite Sean to take the top spot, but as usual I have the most article on the list (it helps when you are also the editor and most prolific contributor). Alright lets move on to the state of our social networking presence:

• We had 60 Google followers on 12/7/12, now we have 63 (Goal: 100 by 6/13, 63% complete).
• We had 185 Facebook fans on 12/7/12, now we have 207 (Goal: 300 by 6/13, 69% complete).
• We had 74 members in our Facebook group on 12/7/12, now we have 80 (Goal: 150 by 6/13, 53% complete).
• We had 273 Twitter followers on 12/7/12, now we have 319 (Goal 300 by 6/13, 100% complete)
• We have 13 Networked Blogs followers on 12/7/12, now we have 14 (Goal: 15 by 6/13, 93% complete).
• We have 5 Reddit subscribers on 12/7/12, now we have 6 (Goal: 25 by 6/13, 24% complete)

Thank you to our Twitter fans for helping us reach are goal so early. Hopefully we can break our Facebook page and Networked Blogs goal before June as well. Please, if you use either service, follow us and help us reach our goal before our two year anniversary. Also, members of our Facebook group, don't forget you can invite your friends to the group. If you know someone out there who likes alternate history, introduce them to the Update. As for subscribers on Reddit, I promise to share more links to the subreddit. My goal is to post everyday in the afternoon.

I am proud to say the Update averages more than 10k views a month, and we continue to grow.  Those interested in advertising with us should check out our Advertise page for more details. If our readers like one of our advertisements I highly recommend that you click on it and help support Weekly Update.  Please check out our Amazon page as well to purchase a subscription (first 14 day free) for your Kindle (or Kindle app) or write a review (still need to update the page with a new screenshot). All proceeds go to help pay contributors who submit fiction, non-fiction and reviews to The Update.

If you would like to contribute, I encourage you to contact me at ahwupdate at gmail dot com.  The Update would not have grown to become what it is today without the help of the contributors who routinely submit articles to be enjoyed by you, the reader.  All contributors will be given the opportunity to promote their current projects, plus a link to their website(s) in the "Our Favorites" section on the left had side of the blog. If you are struggling for ideas, check out our Submissions page for current writing contests.

Thank you once again for being a fan of The Update and I hope that we can continue to provide top quality content for years to come.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a blogger on Amazing Stories and a volunteer editor for Alt Hist magazine. His fiction can be found at Echelon Press, Jake's Monthly and The Were-Traveler. When not writing he works as an attorney, enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana and prepares for the inevitable zombie apocalypse. You can follow him on Facebook or Twitter.

60,000 Page Views!

[Editor's Note: This is old, we already surpassed 80k]

Last night, Alternate History Weekly Update surpassed 60,000 page views. What is more exciting is that we managed to break this barrier only a month after I announced our 50,000th page view.  With the current rate of a page views, I am debating waiting until every 20,000th page view to write a post like this.  Still these posts are good for giving readers an idea on how the blog is doing, so I will continue to report on every 10,000th page view as long as one month passes.

Moving on, I would like to thank the contributors, authors and fans for helping us grow. Check out the updated world map below:

World map of readers 4/26/12

World map of readers 7/12/12

[EDIT 7/17/12: Kazakhstan should be filled in, no idea why it is not.]

Now onto our social networking presence:

• We had 45 Google followers on 6/11/12, now we have 50 (Goal: 100 by 6/13).
• We had 127 Facebook fans on  6/11/12, now we have 143 (Goal: 300 by 6/13).
• We still have 57 members in our Facebook group.  If you are not a member, please join.  If you are a member, invite your friends. (Goal: 150 by 6/13)
• We had 110 Twitter followers on 6/11/12, now we have 143. (Goal 300 by 6/13)
• We have 7 Networked Blogs followers.  (Goal: 15 by 6/13)

Finally, the net worth of the blog, according to Freewebsitereport.org, is $310 USD.

Considering how fast this blog is growing, advertisers could profit from forming a partnership with Weekly Update.  Those interested should check out our Sponsors page for more details. If our readers like one of our advertisements I highly recommend that you click on it and help support Weekly Update.  Please check out our Amazon page as well to purchase a subscription for your Kindle (or Kindle app) or write a review. All proceeds go to help fund our upcoming podcast and a potential move to Wordpress

If you would like to contribute, I encourage you to contact me at ahwupdate at gmail dot com.  Weekly Update would not have grown to become what it is today without the help of the contributors who routinely submit articles to be enjoyed by you, the reader.  All contributors will be given the opportunity to promote their current projects, plus a link to their website(s) in the "Our Favorites" section on the left had side of the blog.

Thank you once again for being a fan of Weekly Update and I hope that we can continue to provide top quality content for years to come.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a volunteer editor for Alt Hist and a contributor to Just Below the Law. His fiction can be found at Echelon Press, Jake's Monthly and his own writing blog. When not writing he works as an attorney and enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana.

Weekly Update #59

Editor's Note

Another week, another Weekly Update.  Tomorrow is the one year anniversary of the first post on Weekly Update.  I am going to still be posting the usual New Releases post at 11 am, but I will be following it with a sappy and sentimental article about what I have learned and experienced writing this blog.  I don't care if anyone reads that post, I just need to say a few things for myself.

So what else is going on this week?  Well this afternoon I will be introducing a new series that I think you steampunk fans will enjoy, plus Richard Small, author of Confederate Star Rises, will be publishing a response to Chris Nuttall's Musings on an Independent Confederacy.  Speaking of Chris, he has a review coming up this week that I think you will all enjoy.

Meanwhile, we got our first reader from Guernsey.  Welcome!

And now the news...

Alternate Philippines History

Filipinos celebrated Independence Day by writing alternate history microfiction on Twitter.  Sounds like the best way to celebrate the birth of a nation ever!  Here is my favorite tweet so far:

Budjette Tan: #RP612fic Imperial troopers arrived and obliterated the Spanish armada instagr.am/p/LwkF2dlMrF/

You can find more information about this unique celebration and examples of Tweets like the one above, here and here.

Convention Watch

Those interested in experiencing some alternate history outside of the Internet have a few more options available.

Those reader living near Hartford, Connecticut, can experience "A Steampunk Reliquary:A Cabinet of Curiosities" in the Windham Textile and History Museum.  The exhibit is put on by Ann Pedro and features "items so curious that every little element to each item can be fully appreciated only by a long, slow look at them."  The exhibit will remain open until Sunday, Aug. 26. Hours are Friday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Details: http://www.millmuseum.org.

Meanwhile, those living in Dallas, Texas should save the dates of March 8, 9, and 10th.  That is when Dallas All-Con 2013 will be happening.  If you like science fiction, there is a good chance you will enjoy yourself there.

Calls for Submissions

Want to be a published author?  Sure we all do and now you have a few more opportunities to let those short fiction authors inside all of us to get out:

• Nightmare magazine is now accepting submissions.  Check out their Guidelines page for more details on how to submit your alternate history/horror story.
• Ann & Jeff VanderMeer, the same duo who brought you all of those steampunk anthologies, are calling for submissions for a feminist speculative fiction anthology.  Due date for submissions is August 5th and you can find more details here.
• The Future Fire wants submissions for We See a Different Frontier, a colonial-themed anthology, but from the perspective of those being colonized.  Deadline is September 14th.

If the whole process of submitting manuscripts to faceless publishers does not appeal to you, then why not try self-publishing?  Mark Lord, editor of Alt Hist, is starting a series of posts about the pros and cons of self-publishing that you should check out.

As always, good luck.

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

Australia and the Eurozone: a counterfactual account of economic history by Yanis Varoufakis at The Conversation.

'Civ' creator surprised gamer played for a decade by Derrik J. Land at Yahoo! News.

Could the Way of Live of the US South have survived without Lee's successes? by Sebastian Breit at The War Blog.

Books

Fiction Review: Land of Hope and Glory by Geoffrey Wilson at PW.

Press Release: The Good, The Bad and The Infernal by Dion at Geek Syndicate.

Review of 1636: The Kremlin Games by Eric Flint done by Sacramento Book Review.

Steam Patriots by Noble Beast.

Steampunk Spotlight: Cherie Priest’s Ganymede by Jackson Kuhl at Black Gate.

Online Alternate History

Counter Factual Dot Net at TV Tropes.

Life Goes on in the Wasteland: A Hetalia and 1983: Doomsday crossover.

The Superhuman Activity Regulatory Act by Chris Nuttall.

Films

Kung Fu Meets Steampunk Flick "Tai Chi 0" Heading to North America by Scott Green at PC Online.

Your brain cannot handle Hitlar, a movie about Hitler’s evil Pakistani gangster son by Cyriaque Lamar at io9.

Video Games

Black Gold Online reveals debut trailer by Matt Daniel at Massively.

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Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update, a volunteer editor for the Alt Hist magazine and a contributor to Just Below the Law. One of his short stories will be published in the upcoming Echelon Press anthology, Once Upon a Clockwork Tale (2013). When not writing he works as an attorney in the state of Illinois and enjoys life with his beautiful wife Alana.

Weekly Update #25

Editor's Notes

Sorry for the short update this week.  Things have been busy in the non-virtual world.

Got some good things coming this week.  I will be reviewing Then Everything Changed: Stunning Alternate Histories of American Politics: JFK, RFK, Carter, Ford, Reagan by Jeff Greenfield and Korsgaard will be showcasing A World of Laughter, a World of Tears, which can be found at AH.com.  Later this week I will also be interviewing Nick Pardini who operates and stars in What If History, the alternate history podcast.

Meanwhile, we got our first reader from Macedonia and Costa Rica.  Welcome!

And now the news...

Coming Soon: 11/22/63

It is often difficult for an alternate novel to receive mainstream notice.  Even authors like S. M. Stirling, Paul McAuley and L. Sprague de Camp, while well-known in the science fiction community, are generally unknowns when it comes to those who have little interest in speculative fiction.  Unless an author already has had success in the mainstream, tales of alternate history will remain hidden gems on the bookshelves of the world.

With that being said, prolific horror author Stephen King is publishing a new novel titled 11/22/63 on November 8.  The story follows a time traveller as he attempts to prevent the Kennedy assassination.  Want to learn more?  Check out this video or listen to an excerpt from the audio book.

Will this book be worth it?  This writer hopes so and as a King fan I will be picking up my copy of the book when it comes out in November.

Should Spike continue Alternate History?

Should Spike TV's Alternate History be picked up for a full season?  You have heard my review and War Blogger's video commentary tearing the pilot apart, but how many positive reviews have you seen?  Well there is a petition on Twitter (with only one signature so far) requesting that it be picked up as a series.

The truth of the matter is, I would not mind if Alternate History is picked up as a series.  I would even sign the above petition, if I could get a promise of better historical research and real experts to give commentary during the episode.  I doubt very much, however, that Spike TV is the network that can give us that, but I would love to be proven wrong.  Perhaps the History or Discovery channel would be a better network.

What do you think?

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

The 2011 Red Sox alternate history by Jim Caple at ESPN.

Alternate History Lesson: Fuel or Fool? by Benjamin at SteampunX Serial.

D is for DIVERGENCE POINT by Guy Saville.

Webliography: The WWHHD (What Would Hillary Have Done?) question and the idea that Clinton should replace Joe Biden on the 2012 ticket by Eric Zorn at the Chicago Tribune.

Welcome to the Multiverse by Sean Carroll at Discover Magazine.

Media

What if the Inuit had colonized Denmark? by Liselotte at Newsvine.