Weekly Update #119

Editor's Note

I have been bad about promoting myself lately. These last two weeks I have posted a review of Stirling's The Given Sacrifice and a revised article about the dangers of crosstime travel on Amazing Stories. Also my most recent professional sale, the time-travel saga "Road Trip", is available for purchase. Check them all out, I think you will enjoy it.

So it looks like ABC is producing a show where the colonists lost the America Revolution. I am going to write a more in-depth piece about the show later this week, mostly because I want to wait for more information and it does not meet the theme of today's Weekly Update. See if you can guess the theme.

And now the news...

Update: Anno Dracula: Johnny Alucard by Kim Newman

Johnny Alucard by Kim Newman comes out this week. This is the fourth volume in Anno Dracula series (you can read my reviews on The Bloody Red Baron, "Vampire Romance" and Dracula Cha Cha Cha)  and it has been a llllooonnnggg time since we have seen a new novel-length entry in this series. Here is the description from Amazon:

DRACULA COMES TO NEW YORK: Kim Newman returns to one of the great bestselling vampire tales of the modern era. Considered alongside I Am Legend and Interview with theVampire as one of the stand-out vampire stories of the last century - this brand-new novel is the first in over a decade from the remarkable and influential Anno Dracula series. 

Newman’s dark and impish tale begins with a single question: What if Dracula had survived his encounters with Bram Stoker’s Dr. John Seward and enslaved Victorian England? 

Fallen from grace and driven from the British Empire in previous instalments, Dracula seems long gone. A relic of the past. Yet, when vampire boy Johnny Alucard descends upon America, stalking the streets of New York and Hollywood, haunting the lives of the rich and famous, from Sid and Nancy to Andy Warhol, Orson Welles, and Francis Ford Coppola, sinking his fangs ever deeper into the zeitgeist of 1980s America, it seems the past might not be dead after all.

You can read excerpt from the novel at Tor and io9, where you can also learn about Dracula from Kim himself. He also did a piece on Lit Reactor about using other people's characters in his novels. Already pre-ordered my copy, have you?

The Battle for the North Pole: Santa Vs Dracula

Speaking of Dracula...

A new mashup comic is coming from Ed Power and artist Melissa Dejesus called Santa vs Dracula. Here is the description from the press release:

VAMPIRE VS ELF! WEREWOLF VS REINDEER! FRANKENSTEIN VS SNOWMAN! When Count Dracula, Igor, Mr. Hyde, and their forces of darkness invade the North Pole to obtain Ol’ Saint Nick’s ability to gain entrance into any home, Santa, Mrs. Claus, Jack Frost and all the forces of Christmas are forced to defend their home and their holiday! This is it, naughty vs. nice in an all-out, epic battle of the ageless for the ages! SANTA VS DRACULA! This time… It’s Seasonal!

Funded with a Kickstarter, this 168 page full-color graphic novel is being distributed by SLG Publishing and will be out in October. You can see the interior art here.

Start Publishing’s Halloween horror short-short story contest

Want to write a really, really short horror story? Start Publishing is having a short story contest. Writers must submit a 250 word short horror story to contest [at] start-media [dot] com. Upon email submission, they ask that writers tweet @startpublishing confirming the submission. Start Publishing will randomly select five stories to be judged by friend of The Update Michael J. Martinez (author of Daedalus Incident) to choose one winner. Martinez is going to critique the winner’s horror story and give special writing tips.

The winner’s horror story will be featured on the Start Publishing blog and the November issue newsletter. Winner will also be able to select one free eBook from the Start Publishing/Night Shade Books catalog. The winner will be announced on Start Publishing’s Twitter and Facebook pages on October 31st. Deadline for all submissions: October 21, 2013.

Is 250 words long enough to fit in some alternate history? Anyone up to the challenge?

Let's Play - Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs

Even more horror?!?! This is just a video I enjoyed last week and as a Victorian, horror-survival game, steampunk fans might enjoy it:

Who said it was hard to combine horror with alternate history? Right that was me...

Calendar

September 20-28: Steampunk version of The Pirates of Penzance in Tasmania, Australia. (I realize that is a big place, but I am too lazy to track down the exact town.)

September 26: Essex Museum (Salem, MA) will host a steampunk party.

October 1: Loncon 3 attending membership rates will increase.

October 10 and 12: Matthew Buchholz will be promoting his new book Alternate Histories of the World at two separate events in Pittsburgh, PA.

The monsters on the cover keep the theme going. Huh? HUH?

Links to the Multiverse

Articles

Apollo Quartet 3 Cover Reveal by Ian Sales at Whippleshield Books.
Black People Don’t Like Steampunk, Fantasy and Science Fiction! by Balogun at Chronicles of Harriet.
Buy Steamboat Rampage, Help Fight Cancer by Heather Massey at The Galaxy Express.
Gentler than Steampunk: Clockpunk Author Releases New Book by 1888PressRelease.
How to Change the World by Paul Kincaid at Through the dark labyrinth.
Playing Fast and Loose with History by David Barnett at Tor/Forge's Blog.
Time tourism by Charlie Stross at Charlie's Diary.
Total War Rome: Destroy Carthage by David Gibbins at Geek Syndicate.

Comics

Comic Book Preview: THE STEAMWORLD CHRONICLES at Nuke the Fridge.

Counterfactual and Real History

5 Embarrassing Failures History Class Turned Into Victories by John Champion at Cracked.
The 5 Most Terrifying Civilizations In The History of the World by Neal Nicholson at Cracked.
Alternate Histories & Their Impact On 2013-14 by Zdeno's Cigar at SB Nation.
Robert Heinlein's Starship Troopers & The Cold War by Andrew Liptak at Kirkus.
What Might Have Been, and the Fall of Lehman by Andrew Ross Sorkin at DealB%K.

Games

‘Dishonored: Game Of The Year Edition’ Announced by Samuel James Riley at Game Rant.
Sengoku Basara 4 Will Have An Alternate “What If” History Mode by Eugene at Siliconera.
The Swindle, an indie steampunk stealth game, put on indefinite hold by Tim Colwill at Games.on.net.

Reviews

The Age of Godpunk by James Lovegrove at Falcata Times.
Alternate Histories of the World by Matthew Buchholz at Hyperallergic.
The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon at The Sydney Morning Herald.
A Case of Doubtful Death by Linda Stratmann at Alt Hist.
Inceptio by Alison Morton at Alt Hist.
Wild Cards (Series) by George R.R. Martin at Em and Emm Expound on Exposition.
William Shakespeare’s Star Wars by Ian Doescher at Functional Nerds.

Television

10 Biggest Dodged Bullets in the History of Doctor Who by Charlie Janes Anders at io9.

* * *

Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. His new short story "Road Trip" can be found in Forbidden Future: A Time Travel Anthology. 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.

DBWI Writing Contest Winners

So it took me a while to get to this point, but I am now ready to announce the winners of the Double-Blind What If Writing Contest! Just to remind you all, this contest had three categories: fiction, non-fiction and reviews. Sadly there were no entries in the review category, which disappoints me since I thought there was really some room for imaginative works. Nevertheless we had some great entries and its time we end the suspense and announce the winners.

First up is the fiction category. I defined fiction as two or more characters interacting with each other. The entries that came under this category are:

Chronicles of the Socialist Republic by Dimas Aditya Hanandito
Eckener Topic of Discussion at Yearly WTW Conference by Zach Anderson.
Midterm Exam, History 412: Modern North America, 1847-Present by Kyle Owenby
The President That Never Was: A DBWI Alternate History by Tyler “tbguy1992” Bugg
Travaillis Republique Democratique Never Existed by Sean Sherman.

And the winner is...Midterm Exam, History 412: Modern North America, 1847-Present by Kyle Owenby!

Finally, we get to the non-fiction category, or the essay category. While these works are fictional in the sense that they are set in the alternate history, I differentiated them from the entries above because there is no interaction between numerous characters. Instead you just have an author speaking to an imaginary audience in the form of an essay/article/etc. With that in mind, the entries in this category are:

Coronation Special: Looking back at the Anglo-Dutch Civil War by Matthew Tuck
Worlds Apart: What if Marvel Never Merged With DC? by Ben Ronning

And the winner is...Worlds Apart: What if Marvel Never Merged With DC? by Ben Ronning!

Congrats to both of our winners. I will be contacting you shortly about receiving your prize. Thank you to everyone who participated, they were all excellent submissions and I wish I could reward you all for your hard work. Meanwhile, I know there were few people who were working on submissions, but missed the deadline. If you are still looking for a place to publish your story, feel free to contact me at ahwupdate at gmail dot com.

I have some upcoming contests planned, but I want to give everyone a breather so I do not overload you guys with competition like I did earlier in the year. I do recommend, however, that cartographers out there consider what they might like to submit to The Update in the near future...

* * *

Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update and a blogger on Amazing Stories. His new story "The Enchanted Bean" can be found in Once Upon a Clockwork Tale from Echelon Press. 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.

Double-Blind What If Writing Contest

We are only a little more than a month away from The Update's 2 year anniversary. Yay!!! To celebrate I am finally announcing the contest many have been bugging me about. Yes, that's right, it is the DOUBLE-BLIND WHAT IF WRITING CONTEST.

Simply put, double-blind what ifs (DBWIs) are alternate histories within an alternate history. You can get a more detailed description over at the AH.com Wiki or check out my article on them at Amazing Stories. So what do I want from you? Be creative. Write an essay about how alternate history might develop in a world where the Confederacy won the Civil War. Write a story about two historians debating what ifs in a universe where the Persian Empire conquered ancient Greece. Review an OTL historical fiction novel, but as a reviewer from a completely different timeline altogether. All of those ideas and more are acceptable. Use your imagination!

Here are the rules:

• Submissions should be between 500 to 7000 words. We are open to accepting submissions over 7000, but they may be split into separate parts if possible.
• We are accepting submissions for three categories: fiction (original stories written by you), non-fiction (counterfactual essays) and reviews (books, film, television, etc.) based on the theme.
• Multiple submissions are acceptable, but only one per category.
• Submission period begins today and posting begins June 5. The submission period ends on June 28th.
• All submissions must be sent by email with "DBWI Writing Contest" in the subject line.
• All submissions must meet the theme for the contest but we will not stop accepting articles for the month of June outside the theme, but publication may be postponed for contest submissions.
• All other rules regarding contributing to The Update remain in effect.

There will be a winner selected from each category based on the name of page views each submission generates. The winner from each category will receive a $10 prize. Yes you read that right. The Update is finally paying for submissions, as promised.

WARNING: Any suspected cheating will immediately disqualify the contributor and there will be no appeals.  You are still encouraged to promote your work through your own blogs, websites and social media.

If you any questions email me at ahwupdate at gmail dot com. Please also feel free to share this announcement across Facebook and Twitter. Good luck everyone.

* * *

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.

Point of Divergence Celebrates Its 75th Issue With a Short Story Contest

Friend of The Update, Dale Cozort (author of All Timelines Lead to Rome, American Indian Victorious and "Alternate History Versus the Prime Directive") has a special announcement to make. Point of Divergence, a kind of Do It Yourself Alternate History zine/writers'workshop/slow-motion forum, has been quietly publishing issues for over sixteen years now. Their 75th issue is coming up soon. To celebrate, they're having an alternate history short story contest. Here is the official announcement:

The Prize:

•  $25 Amazon gift card
•  Your choice of one of the following alternate history books Exchange or All Timelines Lead to Rome or American Indian Victories
•  Winning story (and possibly up to two (2) runners-up) will appear in Point of Divergence issue #75 and winners will receive a copy of that issue.

The Deadline:

• Entries Must Be Received By midnight Central Standard time on April 6th
• However, only the first 75 entries will be accepted, so when the 75th entry arrives, the contest will be closed to further entries.

The Story:

• Length: 2000 to 6000 words, with less than 5000 words strongly preferred.
• Other requirements: Alternate History must be a central part of the story--the story would not work without the AH.
• Must be a complete, standalone story, not a chapter or an excerpt of a larger work.
• Must be original, set in a universe of your creation using characters you created.

The Details:

• Current members of POD and past members who were in the APA within one year of the contest deadline are NOT eligible.
• One entry per person.
• The minimum number of entries will be set at twenty (20). If fewer than twenty entries are received, the contest may, at the discretion of the contest organizer, be cancelled.
• Depending on the number and quality of the entries, up to two (2) runners-up prizes may be awarded. If awarded, they will be a subset of the first prize
• Void where prohibited or taxed.
• Entries should be submitted to Althist1atAOLdotcom as attachments to an e-mail in Word format (.doc, .docx, or .rtf) --substitute @ and a dot for the AT and DOT in the e-mail address.
• E-mail with the entries attached should be titled “Contest Entry”
• Include your name and mailing address in your e-mail
• A US winner may receive their copy of the prize book in trade paperback format or in a variety of e-book formats. Due to high overseas postage costs, overseas winners may, at the sole discretion of the contest organizer, be restricted to e-book formats.
• No purchase is required. You may find it helpful to stop by www.DaleCozort.com to get an idea of the contest organizer’s tastes, but mainly just write or polish a good story.
• Decision of the judge is final.
• Stories that have been previously posted at online forums remain eligible, as long as the author retains full rights to the story. However stories that have been published as part of an agreement where money or other tangible items of value flowed to the author in exchange for publication rights are not eligible.
• Contest rules may be modified or clarified at the sole discretion of the contest organizer.

Good luck!

* * *

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.

And The Winner of the Balkanize Me Contest is...

Our second contest, Balkanize Me, has officially come to an end. Although we had less entries than our last writing contest, thankfully the quality of entries did not change. Here is the complete list of submissions in the order they appeared:

Excerpt from Modern History of Oklahoma and Sequoyah, 1890-Present by Zach Anderson

Body Impolitic by Thespitron 6000

January 4, 1815 - New England Secedes by Jeff Provine

Il Sogno della Patria by Dimas Aditya Hanandito

The More Things Change: A Tale of the Aether Age by Grant Gardiner

The range of writing styles for an average alternate historian is quite evident in this contest. I was especially tickled by the humorous entries The Update received. All good things, however, must come to an end. Only one can be crowned the winner and his name is...

DIMAS ADITYA HANANDITO

Congrats Dimas, you will be receiving a blu-ray copy of Iron Sky. Your short story about a divided Italy secured the most page views overall, with Jeff's outline for a balkanized America and Thespitron 6000's parody of the trope coming in second and third place respectively.

Thank you to everyone for participating and stay tuned tomorrow for a special announcement regarding the future of submitting to The Update.

* * *

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.

March 2013: Steampunk Writing Contest

The people have spoken and we at The Update have listened. The writing contest theme for the month of March will be Steampunk.

Do I really need to explain to you what steampunk is? Did you not hear about IBM's prediction of how steampunk is going to be the next  big fashion trend? Good, I'm glad we are all on the same page.

Here are the rules:

• Submissions should be between 500 to 3000 words. We are open to accepting submissions over 3000 depending on their quality, but they may be split into separate parts if possible.
• We are accepting submissions for three categories: fiction (original stories written by you), non-fiction (counterfactual essays) and reviews (books, film, television, etc.) based on steampunk.
• Submission period begins today and posting will begin March 5. The submission period ends on the 28th.
• All submissions must be sent by email with something either in the subject or body of email stating this is for the March theme.
• All submissions must meet the theme for the contest but we will not stop accepting articles for the month of March that do not meet the theme. We reserve the right, however, to postpone publication if we receive articles for the theme.
• All other rules regarding contributing to AH Weekly Update remain in effect.

To encourage you all to submit articles for this contest, the person who generates the most page views in their category will a copy of the new US edition of The Afrika Reich by Guy Saville, courtesy of Henry Holt. Here is a brief description of the novel:

Africa, 1952. More than a decade has passed since Britain’s humiliation at Dunkirk brought an end to the war and the beginning of an uneasy peace with Hitler. 

The swastika flies from the Sahara to the Indian Ocean. Britain and a victorious Nazi Germany have divided the continent. The SS has crushed the native populations and forced them into labor. Gleaming autobahns bisect the jungle, jet fighters patrol the skies. For almost a decade an uneasy peace has ensued.

Now, however, the plans of Walter Hochburg, messianic racist and architect of Nazi Africa, threaten Britain’s ailing colonies. 

Sent to curb his ambitions is Burton Cole: a one-time assassin torn between the woman he loves and settling an old score with Hochburg. If he fails unimaginable horrors will be unleashed on the continent. No one – black or white – will be spared. 

But when his mission turns to disaster, Burton must flee for his life. 

It is a flight that will take him from the unholy ground of Kongo to SS slave camps to war-torn Angola – and finally a conspiracy that leads to the dark heart of The Afrika Reich itself.

WARNING: Any suspected cheating will immediately disqualify the contributor and there will be no appeals.  You are encouraged to promote your work through social media, but if I see that someone has clicked a link to an article 100 times in a minute I am going to obviously suspect foul play.

If you any questions email me at ahwupdate at gmail dot com. Don't forget our February contest is still open for submissions and I will be posting the first entry on Wednesday.

* * *

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.

The Winner of the No Americans Contest is...

Well guys the No Americans writing contest is finally over. We had a lot of great entries and in case you forgot here they are below in the order they appeared:

"Cherry Blossom in the Spring" by Rachel Saunders

"The Holy Land" by Kieran Colfer

Review: Dominion by C.J. Sansom (submitted by Alison Morton)

A Nation Once Again: An Alternate History of the Easter Rising by Andrew Schneider

Industria, Tecnologia, Potenza: An Italy AAR Chapter 1 by Tyler Bugg

"The Boy Who Dribbled" by Dimas Aditya Hanandito

"The Anointed One" by A.J. Nolte

It was difficult to make a final decision about who would win an e-book copy of Chris Nuttall's novel The Royal Sorceress, published by Elsewhen Press. Kieran's "The Holy Land" was a great read, as was Andrew's counterfactual essay on the Easter Rising. Plus, it is always good to see new faces like Rachel and Dimas. I hope we can read more alternate history from you all in the future.

However, rules are rules, and as I said in the initial announcement: "the person who generates the most page views will win the book." So the winner of the No Americans writing contest is...

ALISON MORTON.

Yes Alison's review of Dominion produced the most page views out of all of the entries, with "The Holy Land" and "A Nation Once Again" coming in second and third place respectively.

In the future I think I am going to have separate categories for fiction, non-fiction and reviews, but for now I am sticking with the winner take all format. So congrats to Alison and expect to be contacted soon about how you can retrieve your prize. For everyone else, thank you for participating and I hope to see your new entries for the the Balkanize Me contest and stay tuned for the announcement of the March contest.

* * *

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.

February 2013: Balkanizing Up is Hard to Do

The people have spoken and we at The Update have listened. The writing contest for the month of February will be "balkanize me", the famous trope where alternate historians take a united nation and break it into pieces.

The name for the trope derives from the geopolitical term "balkanization" used to describe the process of fragmentation or division of a region or state into smaller regions or states that are often hostile or non-cooperative with each other, and it is considered pejorative.  Although the term originally referred to the break-up of Ottoman Europe, it came into widespread use after the break-up of Austria-Hungary and Russia following World War I.  Alternate historians generally use the term balkanization when they are breaking up an OTL state into smaller components.

Although balkanized Americas are the most popular, any country can be balkanized, including China:

France:

The "United" Kingdom:

Heck, even Belgium:

Here are the rules:

• Submissions should be between 500 to 2000 words. We are open to accepting submissions over 2000 depending on their quality, but they may be split into separate parts if possible.
• We are accepting reviews, essays and original fiction based on the trope.
• Submissions period begins today and posting will begin Feb 1st. The submissions period ends on Feb 27th.
• All submissions must be sent by email with something either in the subject or body of email stating this is for February 2013's theme.
• All submissions must meet the theme for the contest but we will not stop accepting articles for the month of February 2013 that do not meet the theme. We reserve the right, however, to postpone publication if we receive articles for the theme.
• All other rules regarding contributing to AH Weekly Update remain in effect.

To encourage you all to submit articles for this contest, the person who generates the most page views will receive a blu-ray copy of Iron Sky...because who more wants to fracture the world than Moon Nazis?

WARNING: Any suspected cheating will immediately disqualify the contributor and there will be no appeals.  You are encouraged to promote your work through social media, but if I see that someone has clicked a link to an article 100 times in a minute I am going to suspect foul play.

If you any questions email me at ahwupdate at gmail dot com. Don't forget our January contest is still open for submissions and I will be posting the first entry tomorrow.

* * *

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.

The Top 10 Posts of December

Although we still have next Monday's Weekly Update, I thought this would be the best time to recap the top posts of December. So without further ado:

1) How to Write and Publish a Novel in Eight Easy Steps by Chris Nuttall: Essays detailing what it takes to write a SF/Fantasy novel.

2) Review: Star Trek: The Next Generation/Doctor Who: Assimilation 2 by Chris Nuttall: Review of the Star Trek: The Next Generation and Doctor Who crossover comic.

3) Review: The Kildaran by Adam Gaffen and Richard Evans by Chris Nuttall: Novel about a lost colony of Vikings turned special forces.

4) January 2013: The Month of No Americans by Matt Mitrovich: Next month's writing contest is still accepting submissions so hurry up before we run out of days to post.

5) Weekly Update #82 by Matt Mitrovich: I make a big announcement, plus news on East vs. West, Cherie Priest, Ian Tregillis, SF awards, steampunk events and new releases.

6) Showcase: A Crack at Draka by Matt Mitrovich: I attempt to use my evil powers to get one of my favorite web originals updated again.

7) Industria, Tecnologia, Potenza: An Italy After Action Report by Tyler Bugg: Using Arsenal of Democracy we get a taste of what could have happened if Italy made some better decisions in WWII.

8) Review: By Force of Arms by Billy Bennett by AJ Nolte: The Confederacy won, but the Union gets a second chance.

9) Amazing Stories, the world's first science fiction magazine, opens for Beta Testing of Phase 1 on Wednesday, January 2nd, 2013 by Matt Mitrovich: The classic SF magazine is back and yours truly is blogging for them.

10) Weekly Update #83 by Matt Mitrovich: Iron Kingdoms is novelized, The Afrika Reich gets reviewed, more chances to get published and new releases.

Well Chris did an excellent job getting the top 3 spots, while I once again had the most articles in the top ten this month. Shout out to AJ and Tyler for making the list as well. Stay tuned tomorrow when I recap the best of 2012.

* * *

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.

January 2013: The Month of No Americans

Ever seen a map like this before?

It is meant to be funny, but it does highlight the average American's lack of knowledge of the outside world. Or as author Mark Twain put it: "God created war so that Americans would learn geography."

Alternate historians are no exception to this American-centric mindset. Consider that one of the two most written about subjects in alternate history is the American Civil War. Even the classic works of WWII alternate history, like The Man in the High Castle or Fatherland, are either set in America or feature prominent American characters.

Here at AH Weekly Update, we are taking it upon ourselves to correct this grave error by marking the month of January 2013 as the month of no Americans. We are requesting submissions of essays, reviews and maybe even some original alternate histories involving histories besides the United States of America. Here are the rules:

• Submissions should be between 500 to 1500 words. We are open to accepting submissions over 1500 depending on their quality.
• Submissions period begins today and posting will begin January 3rd. The submissions period ends on January 30th.
• All submissions must be sent by email with something either in the subject or body of email stating this is for January 2013's theme.
• All submissions must meet the theme. America or Americans don't have to be completely absent from the submission, but they should have a minor presence at best.
• We will not stop accepting articles for the month of January 2013 that do not meet the theme, but we reserve the right to postpone publication if we receive articles for the theme.
• All other rules regarding contributing to AH Weekly Update remain in effect.

To encourage you all to submit articles for this contest, the person who generates the most page views will receive a copy of Chris Nuttall's new novel The Royal Sorceress, published by Elsewhen Press. Also let me state that again: the person who generates the most page views will win the book. So if you submit more than one article, the total page views of all the articles will be totaled when determining the winner.

WARNING: Any suspected cheating will immediately disqualify the contributor and there will be no appeals.  You are encouraged to promote your work through social media, but if I see that someone has clicked a link to an article 100 times in a minute I am going to suspect foul play.

If you any questions email me at ahwupdate at gmail dot com.

* * *

Matt Mitrovich is the founder and editor of Alternate History Weekly Update 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.

Four Famous Pictures And How They Are Interconnected

By: Tyler S. Bugg

For: Professor M. Mitrovich

University of Chicago

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words, but some are worth much more. Many pictures, taken years apart, however, can tell an entire story. Four of these pictures, that of the famed luxury liner Titanic arriving in New York on its maiden voyage, the raising of the Rising Sun over reclaimed Iwo Jima, and the Stars and Stripes over the German Reichstag, both in the Second Great War, and then the Hammer and Sickle being planted on the Moon by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics are perhaps the four most famous pictures of the past century.

However, all four can be tied together, to show that, not only are part of the mosaic of history, but they can all be linked together as a single story. It may seem ridiculous, and down-right silly, but it is possible, and I am to show it in this essay.

On April 16, 1912, the R.M.S. Titanic arrived in New York City, after a maiden crossing that nearly ended before the ship left England less than a week earlier, when the ship nearly collided with another ship. However, except for a minor detour traveling through an ice field, the ship arrived safely. Among those on board was future President John Jacob Astor IV, who ran for the Republican Party of the US in 1916, and won over incumbent Democrat Woodrow Wilson. He was a staunch isolationist, and instead of drawing closer to the Allies in the First Great War (which had started in 1915 after the destruction of the Lusitania in Liverpool, England, blamed on German saboteurs) as Wilson had done, Astor continued to push for progressive reforms at home, and ignored the international situation.

In 1918, after the Dual Revolutions in Russia that toppled Czar Nicholas II and the Empire, and established the first Communist government in the world, Germany was able to force their way through the deadlock of the Western Front by attacking through the demoralized French forces. This resulted in the fall of Paris in May, 1919, and the encirclement of the British Army in Northern France after German forces reached Caen in Normandy. With France already out of the war, and facing a Communist revolution of its own, Britain gave up. In the Peace of Potsdam, France had to give up most of its colonial empire to Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy, while Britain had to grant independence to India.

Through the 1920s and 1930s, the prosperity that covered the world before the war was slow in returning, and had only begun to pick up speed when the Vienna Stock Market crashed in September, 1934. In the next few years, neither Britain nor France was able to salvage its democratic government, and both became “National Socialist” dictatorships, the former under Oswald Mosley, the later under Pierre Semard. After their brutal rise to power and the alienation of the Soviet Union, led by Leon Trotsky since the death of Lenin in 1929, the two nations formed a new alliance in 1937 and attacked the German Empire in 1940, forcing the Kaiser and the German government to flee to Austria, while the Soviet Union remained neutral, though expressed contempt for the “Corrupted Marxism of the West.” However, German and Austro-Hungarian (called the “Teutonic”) forces were able to prevent the French and British from south to Vienna, the whole of Bohemia and Moravia turning into a First Great War battlefield with trenches and bombed out towns and ruined mines and factories.

In 1942, the United States under President J. Edgar Hoover was thrust into war when British and French troops, based in Canada, attacked the US for abandoning the Allies in the First Great War. The unprepared Americans were finally able to check the Allies at Philadelphia, Bismarck, North Dakota, and Portland, Oregon after a miserable winter of fighting, and began the liberation of occupied America, and later into Canada, with the help of the German Navy in cutting supplies (although the British and French Fleets were more than a match, most of the force was still in European waters to protect against invasion). The able leadership of Hoover, and military officers such as Patton, Eisenhower, and German General Adolf Hitler, who was sent to train the Americans in modern warfare, helped turn the tide of war.

As America fought the British and French, the Japanese launched a sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and quickly captured the Philippines, much to the shock of the US, but they were too busy with their own invasion to do much about it. After the French and British were evicted from North America, the US launched an attack on Iwo Jima, hoping to threaten Japan into making peace by taking this strategic island. However, the Japanese quickly counterattacked, and in a bitter battle against green and untested American soldiers, where victorious, raising their flag over Iwo Jima again. The battle, however, made both Japan and America realize that neither would be able to win against the other, so signed a peace treaty in 1945.

America focused its attention to Europe, but it took months of hard fighting with the help of her German allies to whittle down the British and French fleets to allow a secure crossing. In 1946, after the massive and deadly Battle of the Atlantic, the US felt secure enough to mount an amphibious assault on Britain, to use the island as a springboard into Europe itself. The shock of the landing forced the overthrow of Oswald Mosley, and German/American forces were able to secure the British Isles as a base to attack the French.

In the summer of 1947, American forces landed in the Netherlands, and in a three pronged assault strove to cut off the majority of forces in occupied Germany by racing to the Swiss border, while pushing east from the Rhine toward Berlin, and west toward Paris. After cutting off the majority of forces from supply from the French homeland, the Teutonic armies began the long hard slog, liberating Prague in the spring of 1948. A few months later, the armored spearheads of America reached the outskirts of Berlin, and in a massive battle that nearly leveled the city, the US managed to occupy the German capital, and raised the Stars and Stripes over the Reichstag.

With the Liberation of Berlin, all forces were directed against France proper. The death of Pierre Semard in a bombing raid in Bordeaux in August 1948 made the National Socialist state collapse in on itself, and France sued for peace. The British and French had the remainder of their colonial empires striped away, while Scotland and Ireland were granted freedom from England, while France was divided into multiple states, including Aquitaine, Brittany and Normandy, with Germany and Spain taking over a large amount of territory.

But the supreme victor of the war was the Soviet Union. Trotsky’s neutral policies, as well as selling weapons to the Teutonic and American forces, ensured its survival and prosperity, in comparison to the ruined cities of the US, Germany and the defeated France and Britain. The vast resources of the Soviet Union were used to build a perfect socialist state, the temptation of which was too much for the weakened German Empire which succumbed to Marxism in 1952. The Empire of Austria-Hungary survived, but was dependent on the trickle of American aid to survive.

The US struggled to rebuild its homeland, as well as control the rebellious Canadian territories that they occupied in the war. It wasn`t until the late 1950`s that America was truly on its feet again, only to surfer the blow of watching the Soviet Union launch the Space Race, sending rocket after rocket with many experiments into orbit: the first man-made satellite, the first animal, the first human and the first spacewalk, with nary a tragedy (or, at least, as far as we know).

Although the US under President George Patton tried to catch up to the Soviet Union after he was elected in 1960, it was too late. The premier goal of the exploration of space, the moon, was achieved by the USSR in 1963. The US seemed to enter a low period, while even the Hapsburg Empire at last succumbed to the inevitable march of Communism, and all of Europe was Red by the 1980`s. Japan holds on, with a large East Asian Empire to support it.

So, the picture of the Titanic arriving in New York in 1912, the flag raising over Iwo Jima and the Reichstag in the Second Great War, and the Soviet Flag on the Moon are all connected. Because the Titanic made it to New York, a future President of the US survived, who in turn insured that Great Britain and France would be defeated in the First Great War. In revenge, they would launch a war against the US, followed by opportunistic Japan which would end with the destruction of both of the European empire`s and the realization of Japanese strength, which resulted in two of the photographs: of the Japanese re-occupation of Iwo Jima and the American flag over the Reichstag. Because of the weakness of the Western powers after the war, only the Soviet Union could launch men into space, and eventually land on the moon and begin to build its far flung space empire. These four photos, when seen apart, are just points in history. When taken together, they show how interconnected the history of the world is.

*          *          *

Tyler “Tbguy1992” Bugg is a Canadian History Student currently on summer break, and, if he can find time in between video games (ALTERNATE HISTORY video games, mind you), work and such, he tries to write. If he could find a job writing for a video games company for an Alternate History story set in Canada, the world will most likely stop turning for a moment while everyone comprehends it.

New Look and New Contest!

Check out our new banner above, the icon to your right and our new color scheme.  This was brought to you by Ralph Pierre-Louis, graphic and web designer.  He is available for freelance so if you want to spruce up your website, I cannot recommend him enough.  You can contact him at pierrelouisr1 at gmail dot com.

Ralph got the pictures he used for the banner and the background for our Facebook page, group and Twitter profile from Kieran Colfer.  Thanks buddy for letting us use your pictures.

Final shout out to my sister and marketing adviser, Jackie Mitrovich.  Not only did she introduce me to Ralph, but she gave me a lot of great advice about promoting the blog.  I think we can all expect great things from her in the future.

Remember, feedback is appreciated, so I would love to hear your opinion of our new look.

To celebrate Weekly Update's new look, I am announcing a writing contest!

Rules

Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to create an original alternate history scenario involving the photos used in our new background.

Just so you understand, your timeline should include the following events:

1) The Titanic sails into New York City safely in 1912.

2) The Japanese raise their flag over Mount Suribachi on Iwo Jima.

3) The Americans raise their flag over the Reichstag.

4) The Soviets plant their flag on the Moon.

Feel free to interpret the pictures/statements above as liberally as possible.

Your submission can be in any format you like (simple timeline, essay, fiction, etc.) as long as you include all the pics.  Please keep all submissions under 40k words, I do not need another novel to read.  All submissions must be sent to ahwupdate at gmail dot com.  Once I get a submission or two I will announce a deadline.  Winner's work will be posted on Weekly Update and be given the chance to promote his or her writings, projects, etc.

Good luck!

*       *       *

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.

Breaking News: Hodderscape Sci-Fi and Fantasy Competition

Hodderscape (follow on Twitter or Facebook), a new community for sci-fi and fantasy fans, has teamed up with Circalit to give writers the opportunity to win free books. All contestants must write and submit a sci-fi/fantasy short story and upload it on Circalit.  The five top-rated short stories will all receive five free books from Hodderscape, including the alternate history tale The Eyrie Affair by Jasper Fforde, the first book of the Thursday Next series.

Besides the requirement that the story be a work of original fiction, the winners will be selected by community voting. Every person submitting a short story must review three other short stories. So good luck to all contestants and remember that as of this post you only have three weeks and five days to submit your story.

Weekly Update #33

Editor's Note

Got some good stuff coming up this week.  With the 2012 US Presidential Election getting closer and with an alternate historian running for the Republican nomination (see below) I thought it was time to share my opinion on politics and alternate history.  Plus I should have a new Airship Update, Korsgaard may be posting his review of Roswell, Texas this week and we can always expect Henry Martin to publish something interesting.

Currently I am reading The Phoenix Gambit by Douglas McDonough, an alternate history involving a plan by the Confederate States to relocate to Mexico following their defeat at the Battle of Gettysburg.  Will it hold considering my position on American Civil War alternate histories?  We can only wait and see, so keep your eyes open for a review and perhaps even an interview.

Meanwhile we got our first reader from Panama.  Bienvenida!

And now the news...

New Short Story Writing Contest with $1,000 Prize by David Farland and East India Press

There is a new writing contest open to all participants that is being sponsored by East India Press and David Farland, author of over fifty published novels and anthologies.  Now as far as I know, Farland has not written any alternate history works himself, but he was responsible for discovery Eric Flint, author of the 1632 series.  So alternate historians should take notice.

Stories can take place in any time period, and can take place anywhere, even on on another world. You also have the option of placing your story in the world of Farland's new story, Nightingale (sample chapters and a description of the magic system should be available soon).  Farland will personally read your story, along with many other judges,  including Kevin J. Anderson and Tracy Hickman.  Farland will also edit the winning story to help ready it for publication.

Remember, you can choose not to use the Nightingale setting, though there are good reasons to do so obviously. East India Press may also ask the winner and other finalists in the contest to submit manuscripts for review.  Deadline for submissions is March 1, 2012.  More guidelines can be found here and those interested in attending a writing workshop taught by Farland can find more information here.

Update: Newt Gingrich

With the Iowa Republican primary just weeks away, alternate historian and politician Newt Gingrich is one of the top contenders.  As expected, more mainstream news outlets are discussing Gingrich's alternate history works, but not always in a positive manner.

George Mason's University's History News Network published a short comic last week imagining an alternate history where Gingrich is a History Department Chair (spoiler alert: he is not very good).  Hendrik Hertzberg of The New Yorker also used Gingrich's alternate history works as an intro into his rant about Gingrich and the positions he stands for (ouch).

Still some good has come out of Gingrich's rise to the top.  Amy Davidson of The New Yorker wrote "Nine Stories from a Year That Might Have Been", which if taken together, paints a very grimdark version of the year 2011.  This alternate historian is very happy to know that no matter how bad things were in 2011, they could have been a lot worse!

Links to the Multiverse

Article

China and the shadow of German history by Francesco Sisci at Asia Times Online.

A Healthy Alternative to Fascism (or: Putting Your Dieselpunk Look on the Right Side of Alternate History) by Miriam at Steampunk Emma Goldman.

List of published AH.com authors

Rethinking History by Richard Ridley at CreateSpace.

Interviews

Charles Stross by Locus.

Harry Turtledove by SF Signal.

Books

Forbes Library Alternate History selection

Review of Enigma: A New Life of Charles Stewart Parnell by Paul Bew Gill done by Alan Titley at Irish Times.

Review of The Hidden Nature of Reality: Parallel Universes and the Deep Laws of the Cosmos by Brian Greene done by A. Jurek at Seattle pi.

Review of Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro done by Emily at Em and Emm Expound on Exposition.

Review of Opening Atlantis by Harry Turtledove done by Emily at Em and Emm Expound on Exposition.

Update on Clash of Eagles by Sebastian P. Breit a.k.a War Blogger.

Online Alternate History

The British Raj by Sebastian P. Breit (a.k.a. War Blogger).

Upper Peninsula War by various authors.

Video Games

'BioShock' creator talks history, writing and 'nerdity' by Larry Frum at CNN Tech.

Theater

2011 year in review: Best in theater  by Charles McNulty at the Los Angeles Times (see "Peace in Our Time").

Interview of Rev. Col. J. Henry Martin

As promised here is the winner of the Oral History of Doomsday Contest.  The below interview is set in the fictional 1983: Doomsday universe.  Today we celebrate the actions of Stanislav Petrov, whose refusal to follow his orders prevented a computer glitch from starting World War III.  Now without further ado, it is time to hear from Rev. Col. J. Henry Martin...

*  *  *

The following is based on what I personally may have experienced in the wake of Doomsday. The interviewer is Bob Jones IV, who in OTL actually was a journalist for World Magazine in the 1990's. I have not been able to locate him since 2008, though.

The interviewer:
Robert "Bob" R. Jones, IV, is a publisher and radio commentator presently living in Traveler's Rest, Republic of Piedmont. He is the son of Bob Jones III, the chancellor of Bob Jones University where his younger brother, Stephen is the president. However, Jones is better known as a legislature and one-term governor of the Republic. Leaving office in 2010, Jones returned to publishing as Managing Editor of ''World Magazine,'' a monthly News source serving the states of the Appalachian Alliance. He also speaks daily from the studios of WFBC, a radio station heard throughout the state and as far away as Asheville.

Today's guest:
The Rev. Col. J. Henry Martin, retired chaplain of the Piedmont Armed Forces. Rev. Martin now serves as Pastor of Calvary Presbyterian Church, located in Greenville County near Traveler's Rest. Martin is a graduate of Bob Jones University, having received his Masters of Divinity there in 1980. Martin's undergraduate degree is from the now destroyed University of Georgia at Athens, with family believed to be living in the state of Neonotia.

The interview was recorded in the church office of Calvery Presbyterian Church on September 13, 2011 for broadcast on the 28th anniversary of the Soviet attacks that nearly destroyed America on Sunday, September 25, 1983.

Jones: Thank you, Pastor, for allowing my crew and myself into your busy schedule.

Martin: The pleasure is all mine, Governor, I was disappointed when you decided to leave politics. And you can call me Henry.

Jones: Please, call me Bob, that chapter of my life is past. I think the Lord would have me just where I am now. But let's get to the interview, going back to that fateful day almost 28 years ago. Hard memories for all of us, but every year fewer are willing to speak of those trying times.

Martin: My story is boring beside yours, Gov.. I mean Bob. But those days are hard to forget. I had been working nights at the old Beth Eden Nursing Home, but I had most weekends off to allow me to preach in search for a call ...

Jones: Remind our listeners of how that works for Presbyterians.

Martin: Yes, as a Presbyterian, the local Presbytery - that's the leadership of all the churches of the PCA in the state or region - and my local Church in particular oversaw my search for a pastorate in the region. I was preaching about once a month all over the state of South Carolina.

Jones: So it is conceivable that you may have been in Columbia that night when the bombs fell.

Martin: Well, yes. The Lord was good, at least to me. I still ache recalling the certain death of some of the people that I had had the pleasure of serving in the low country.

Jones: So, tell us about your family, starting with how it was back in 1983.

Martin: Yes, my wife and I had celebrated our sixth anniversary in August, and her 29th birthday only a week before, just a day after our oldest son, Jimmy, celebrated his fifth birthday on Saturday. Children from Second Presbyterian Church, where we were members, and from kindergarden at First Baptist of Berea, where he had begun just weeks earlier, had a great time. I hope that the childhood memories of that party helped during that dreadful time.

Jones: So, you were 30 years old at the time, right? With three children.

Martin: Yes, two boys and a baby girl - Jim, Tim, and Rebecca. Little Rebecca, named after her grandmothers, was fifteen months old. That night I was putting the children to bed when the lights went out around 8:30.

Jones: And your wife ...?

Martin: She was at work as a nurse working at Greenville Memorial Hospital. She worked evenings and sometimes had to work on the weekends. She had the car and was half-way across town when the world changed forever.

Jones: Was the car operative after the EMP?

Martin: Yes, the Lord was good to us that way. I can't recall just what model, but I'm thinking it was a mid-seventies Ford. It had a simple ignition system, but lost its radio that night. However, we didn't see my wife Debbie until the next night.

Jones: I understand the hospitals were on emergency alert nonstop starting the next day.

Martin: Yes, my wife's problem was that no one showed up to relieve her that night. It took the police to find and persuade willing medical personnel to come to work on the 26th. Then the police had to escort her to our house to assure her safety. The first refugees from the Columbia area began to arrive in town by late Monday.

Jones: So what about your job? You said you worked at a nursing home.

Martin: Yes, and it was really sad what happened with most of those residents.

Jones: Can you tell us about it?

Martin: Well, as the hospitals were filling up, beds were needed for the severely injured. Before too long, we were having to discharge many of the healthier residents to make room for those in need of 24 hour attention. By winter, the terminal cases were also being transferred to homes that were available. There was.. there was..

Jones: I know its hard, even now, a quarter century later. But times were desperate.

Martin: I am sure families that could barely get by would agree with you. I quit my job in February to take care of our children while my wife worked 12 hour shifts at the hospital. We were moved to within two blocks of the hospital by the hospital administration in March of 1984.

Jones: So, you were an ordained minister, but out of work ...

Martin: No, I was "licensed" in lieu of a call. And since travel was almost impossible, churches tended to either keep their present pastors or consolidate with those that had one. Associate Pastors in some of the bigger churches began to fill the pulpits and accept calls to smaller churches.

Jones: Okay, so what did you do? Did your wife continue her career?

Martin: Well, we had hoped I would have a church soon, and then we found out we were expecting our fourth child.

Jones: You hadn't planned this, right?

Martin: No, times were hard, for sure, but then, the common easy 'birth control' available soon disappeared. We were own our honor, trying to time things right ...

Jones: Uh, yes ...

Martin: Sorry, too much information.

Jones: Perfectly alright, I've got several nieces, nephews and such living in town. My brother Stephen and his family, and then there's those out of town.

Martin: That's right, you're a bachelor.

Jones: Yep. No BJ the 5th on the radar.
Anyway, so your wife had to quit work?

Martin: Yes, just short of the first anniversary of Doomsday, actually. She was glad to get out of the high pressure job at the hospital anyway. I began to find odd jobs around town, and then my wife got hired at a doctor's office that serviced Bob Jones University.

Jones: Oh yes, my mother used to take Stephen and I there for check ups. Didn't your wife work the University hospital some when you were in school?

Martin: Right. And after she began at the doctor's office she sometimes helped out there. All four of our children were born there, you know?

Jones: Even the last one?

Martin: Yes, born in October of 1984.

Jones: So, with your wife employed by the University, your children had a chance at going to the school there.

Martin: Yes, Jim and Rebecca graduated from the University. Rebecca finished grad school there.

Jones: So, when did you finally enter the ministry"

Martin: My first call was to the Augusta Street Presbyterian Church to assist the struggling congregation there. Their pastor had become 'part time' and then had to find work nearer where he lived. He was an older man, so he retired from the ministry. That was in 1985. And then, the military made a call for chaplains during the Anderson-Taccoa War.

Jones: That was in 1987, I remember it well.

Martin: I began serving out of Donaldson, but saw some time in the field. Deborah continued to work at the University up through 2007, and I retired in 2008. That's when I took the call to Calvary.

Jones: Can you tell us some of your experiences in the war?

Martin: Well, the war was rather routine stuff. There was the occasional funeral, a few weddings for young soldiers anxious about surviving. But the tragedy of 1-1-1 had to be the biggest challenge.

Jones: Already a veteran of the war, your job had become an administrative one, right?

Martin: Well, I was a Lt. Colonel by then, and I oversaw the small chaplain corps that the Armed Forces maintained during the occupation of Anderson county. The demilitarized zone was working well, and nothing had been heard from Toccoa in over ten years..

Jones: Apart from sporadic terrorist attacks ...

Martin: Well, the military didn't consider those as war related, though the government did. Anyway, things were going well until the strike of Midnight the last day of 2000.

Jones: Uh, yes, I remember oh so well. Who could forget? We all lost someone in that terrorist attack. I was in the thick of the politics of that dreadful time.

Martin: Yes, I remember how that boosted your visibility and raise you out of your father's shadow.

Jones: Pastor, I think I am the interviewer here. Anyway, you had to deal with the trauma of hundreds of soldiers that had to do search and rescue in the ruins, correct.

Martin: That's right. It was a holiday, the first day of a new century according to the calendar 'purists' who carried the opinion of the day. And many of our finest soldiers were actually there when the auditorium crumbled around them. Few survived, and those that did pulled loved ones out with them.

Jones: Well, it looks like the tape is about to wind down. Thank you Col. Martin, for your time. For WFBC and World Magazine, this is Bob Jones.

*  *  *

Want to hear more about Martin's trials and tribulations following Doomsday?  Read his personal log.