It is, excepting the lead novel and the serialized e-novel The Anaconda Project (2007), virtually all collaboratively written, including some "main works" with multiple co-authors.

[8] As stated in the first Grantville Gazette and on his site, Flint's novel 1632 was an experiment[9] wherein he explores the effect of transporting a large group of people back in time, in this case an entire American town.

The plot allows pragmatic, American, union-oriented, political thought to grind against the authoritarian, religion-driven societies of an unconsolidated Holy Roman Empire barely out of the Middle Ages.

Flint explores examples of suffering due to the petty politics of self-aggrandizement and self-interest on the one hand, and the irreconcilable differences of the schism in Christianity such as the Protestant Reformation and the Counter-Reformation on the other.

The "players" sent back through time have no intention of strongly guiding events, but understand how key forces (democracy, sanitation, medicine, egalitarianism, etc.)

Without waiting for Weber, other sequels such as 1634: The Ram Rebellion, 1635: The Cannon Law, and the Grantville Gazettes continue in one thread or another with in-depth looks at societal ramifications from technology, religion, and social unrest as Europe deals with the outlandish ideas of Grantville's influential presence, to machinations of Europe's elites trying to maintain their hold on power, or leverage off of Grantville-triggered events or knowledge for reasons of self-interest.

However, following popular demand for a sequel Flint (a relatively new writer, but an experienced editor) invited other authors contracted to Baen to share the universe to rapidly develop its potential.

As a result, while the first long sequel was being written, Flint concurrently put together the Ring of Fire anthology of short fiction by a wide range of authors.

In parallel, the online message board Baen's Bar received a strong response from fans following the release of the digital advance copy of 1632.

Originally released sporadically, the Gazette eventually evolved to become an online subscription magazine, published every 2 months, with authors paid for their submissions.

[11] The second issue was released in November 2023 and included short stories by Sean Little, Marc Tyrrell, George Grant, Iver Cooper plus the writing team of Gorg Huff and Paula Goodlett are all set in the 1632 universe with Bethanne Kim contributing a nonfiction article.

[12] The third issue was released in January 2024 and included short stories by Robert E. Waters, Bethanne Kim, Marc Tyrrell, and Garrett W. Vance, all set in the 1632 universe, with Iver Cooper contributing a nonfiction article.

[14] The fifth issue was released in May 2024 and included short stories by Virginia DeMarce, Natalie Silk, George Grant, Marc Tyrrell, and Robert Finegold set in the 1632 universe, while Iver Cooper contributed a nonfiction article.

[15] The sixth issue was released in July 2024 and included short stories by Virginia DeMarce, Terry Howard, Robert E. Waters, and Tim Sayeau set in the 1632 universe, while Iver Cooper contributed a nonfiction article.

[16] The seventh issue was released in September 2024 and included short stories by Virginia DeMarce, Natalie Silk, George Grant, Marc Tyrrell, and Robert Finegold set in the 1632 universe, while Iver Cooper contributed a nonfiction article.

[17] The eighth issue was released in November 2024 and included short stories by Garrett W. Vance, Edith Wild, Bjorn Hasseler, Terry Howard, and Bethanne Kim.

The ninth issue was released in January 2025 and included short stories by George Grant, Terry Howard, Marc Tyrrell, Garrett W. Vance, and Tim Sayeau set in the 1632 universe, while Iver Cooper contributed a nonfiction article.

The first fiction written within this thread was the novelette "The Wallenstein Gambit" and the prequel short stories leading up to it, all published in the 2004 anthology Ring of Fire.

This agreement for Weber to leave aside European threads likely will follow up foreshadowings of overt dislike evinced by various Grantville natives for both the African slave trade and the Amerindian encounters with colonizing Europeans—and Flint has already written a very sympathetic, two-volume alternate history from the American Native's viewpoint in his Arkansas Wars series—and he'd written similar foreshadowings into the series' earlier works that were spun into pro-democracy and anti-anti-Semitic social themes now manifesting in the series in the Eastern Europe thread in particular, as well as an overall, muted sub-theme.

In addition, the three books contracted between Flint and David Weber will in part involve expeditions sent by Gustavus and Mike Stearns to American shores.

[28] In 2018, the scope of Ring of Fire Press expanded, with the hiring of managing editor Walt Boyes and Joy Ward, and graphic artist Laura Givens.