Eric said, in the preface to Grantville Gazette Volume Five:
"Sigh. Not one of these stories deals with Ye Big Picture. Not one of them fails to wallow in the petty details of Joe or Dieter or Helen or Ursula's angst-ridden existence.
Pure, unalloyed, soap opera, what it is."
And we continue in our grand soap operatic tradition with Grantville Gazette (count 'em) Volume Seven.
Is Jon and Linda Sonnenleiter's introduction of up-time style pizza to Naples critical to the war? Nope. Don't think so. Neither is Mark Huston's quiet story about an elderly couple and their choices. But the fans don't much care, we've found.
Ditto for John and Patti Friend's crew of misfits who, somehow, make their way to Magdeburg. They're not important to the events we'll all read about in 1634: The Baltic War, at all. Neither is Virginia DeMarce's Minnie Hugelmair or Tina Marie Hollister. They're just not at all the type to get involved in politics and war.
No more so is Russ Rittger's Chad, who manages to find himself as something of a laundry mogul, or Terry Howard's Jimmy Dick, who seems to drink himself into a philosophical mood with some regularity.
On the other hand, Rick Boatright's radio heads just might have an effect on that little altercation up in the Baltic, and there's just no telling what Kerryn Offord's Dr. Phil might come up with next. Kim Mackey's Colette . . . well, she's got this really, really rich relative who just might come in handy to know.
And, if you'd like to build a Victrola, explore the mass media implications, plan the route for a railroad—not to mention learn about the engines for the trains, well, this is the place. Chris Penycate, Gorg Huff, Carsten Edelberger, Iver Cooper and I will tell you what we know about those.
So, grab your coffee (or whatever beverage), load up on the chocolate bonbon's, kick back in the chair, and have a good time. We hope you enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed putting it together.
Paula Goodlett and the Editoral Board
April 2, 2006