Eric Flint is an interesting gent. I've met him several times and once had dinner with him at the Superstars Writing Seminars. When you first meet him you assume he's going to be a grumpy 70-year old man who will soon start yelling at you to get off his lawn.
In reality, Eric has a great sense of humor and a penchant to helping others out. Indeed, I learned more about reading actual publishing contracts from him than in any book I'd read. He's a proud leftist and identifies as a full-on socialist, which is itself funny when one considers he writes mostly for Baen which is considered a right-leaning crowd.
Eric's specialty is science fiction through alternate history, although he also dabbles in fantasy. He was working on a doctorate in history at one time, so that isn't too much of a stretch. His big breakout was first winning the 1993 Writers of the Future contest and then publishing the first of his 1632 series that matched history with magic.
Mr. Flint has co-written with many authors, giving them a break to get into writing professionally. He's been on the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, and Locus bestseller lists, among others.
Eric started writing professionally late in life. His winning entry for WotF came when he was 47 years old, and by 1999 was writing full-time. Before that he worked in many trades, including being a machinist and working for different labor unions.
In 2016, Eric was diagnosed with cancer. It appears he will recover, as he is still attending events and writing. Always with a dry sense of humor, we can always hope he sticks around a few more decades to write more rollicking novels.
Iron Noder 2017