Matt Mitrovich is the administrator of the "Alternate History Weekly Update," a widely read blog among the online Alternate History community. He also runs a YouTube channel, The Alternate Historian.

WALLACE: How would you describe alternate history to someone who has never encountered the genre?

MITROVICH: Alternate history is a genre where authors create settings based on history as we know it happening differently. Although often lumped into the science fiction genre, alternate history does not require fantastical elements to cause the change. It could be as simple as someone in history making a different decision then what they did in our timeline. Any period of history is fair game, but the American Civil War and World War II are popular among people in the English speaking world.

WALLACE: What got you into alternate history?

MITROVICH: As a kid I loved history. I found the past to be fascinating and tried to learn as much as I could about it even outside of school. I was also a huge nerd and consumed a lot of science fiction. I guess it was only a matter of time before my two loves intersected, but it didn’t happen until my early teens when I happened upon a copy of Harry Turtledove’s "WorldWar: In the Balance." Seeing the book cover featuring Winston Churchill and Adolf Hitler posing behind an alien weapon raised my eyebrows, and I was hooked as soon as I started reading it.

WALLACE: What inspired you to start the Alternate History Weekly Update?

MITROVICH: When you read as many books as I do, you eventually start to think you can write a book too. Saying you want to write a book, however, and actually writing something are two different things. I wanted to write, but choosing what to write about was hard. I got enough advice that if you wanted to write the best thing to do was just to write about something, so I decided I should try writing regular posts for a blog. Since I loved alternate history I could easily write about that, except I wouldn’t just be writing my own timelines and scenarios.

Spending so much time with the online alternate history community convinced me that not many people knew much about the genre they played in. There was a lot of interesting history behind the rise of the genre, and I wanted to share it with everyone. So Alternate History Weekly Update became a news and review blog and I posted my first article in June 2011.

WALLACE: What is it like being the spokesman for all online alternate history, as some have said?

MITROVICH: It’s a nice compliment, but I don’t see myself as that at all. I just write about what I would like to read and share it with others who may enjoy it.

There are a lot of people out there who are doing more to promote alternate history then I am. There is Steven H. Silver who founded the Sidewise Awards and is active with several science fiction conventions where he ensures there is always a panel on alternate history. You also have people in new media like Cody Franklin of the AlternateHistoryHub whose YouTube videos have introduced a huge number of people to alternate history and I have seen them begin to drift into alternate history forums to learn more about the genre.

WALLACE: Do you have any favorite authors or novels, or any form of alternate history content?

MITROVICH: Too many to list really. "1984" >is probably my favorite novel of all time, despite not technically being an alternate history, but some have given it an honorary classification. Meanwhile, “In the Presence of Mine Enemies” (the short story, not the novel) is my favorite Harry Turtledove work. I enjoy the works of S. M. Stirling as well, especially "The Peshawar Lancers." He is probably one of the best world builders in the genre and knows how to write a series. Kim Newman’s "Anno Dracula" books are great as well if you like dark humor and pop culture references. Even though his writing is a little old fashioned, I always enjoy reading anything by Harry Harrison. Newer authors I have enjoyed include Michael J. Martinez and Tony Schumacher. Stephen Baxter isn’t a new author per se, but I only started diving into his bibliography recently and I am happy to report I have enjoyed every minute of it.

WALLACE: What books would you recommend for someone wanting to get into alternate history?

MITROVICH: I recommend they check out the Alternate History Guide on the Historical Novel Society website. I wrote it early on in my writing career, and while it sorely needs an update, it is still a good place to start if you are looking to get into alternate history.

WALLACE: Has running the Update had any effects on your offline life?

MIROVICH: I should probably let my wife, Alana, take this question because she could speak volumes about it, but to answer your question, yes it has. Writing is a lonely job because you need to be by yourself to do it. When you have a wife, family and friends, this can be hard to do. Early on Alana complained I spent too much time on the computer, and she was right. Now I work to balance both my online and offline lives and I like to think I have been successful. Alana has actually helped me recently with my alternate history work by joining me on some of my YouTube videos where we discussed Amazon’s "The Man in the High Castle."

WALLACE: Do you have any advice for aspiring authors of alternate history?

MITROVICH: You need to know real history to write alternate history. Don’t rely on what you think you know, because it can be wrong. Always do your research.

WALLACE: How do you come up with content for the Update?

MITROVICH: I follow various sites and people who produce alternate history content. When I see something my followers may find interesting, I share it over Facebook and Twitter. Both platforms provide analytics so I can see how many people are reading and interacting with those posts. This allows me to tailor my Weekly Update, Map Monday and Flag Friday posts during the week.

On Tuesday is New Releases when as you could probably guess) I list all the new alternate history releases that are coming out. Amazon is pretty good at listing when alternate history works are being published, but sites like SF Signal and My Bookish Ways also keep great lists.

Wednesday and Thursdays are usually for guest posts or anything else I may want to write about, like book reviews, editorials or YouTube videos from my channel.

WALLACE: What has been the most earthshaking occurrence in the alternate history community in your time doing "The Update?"

MITROVICH: I think the rise of social media and other new media is starting to change the way people are consuming alternate history. The traditional hang outs for alternate historians, the discussion forum, is becoming an outdated means of communication, just like Usenet groups and the Roundtables of GEnie. Communities on Facebook and Reddit (and to a lesser extent, Tumblr) are starting to grow in number as places where people can discuss what ifs. Other places, like YouTube, are also turning into the primary places people are introduced to the subject.

Admittedly the discussion forum is still a convenient place to share original timelines and stories, but with groups like Sea Lion Press and other small press publishers and sites looking for new content, it is becoming less of a necessity. I am firm believer that alternate historians need to share their work with the largest audience as possible and not just with an audience who are predisposed to liking their creations.

Change won’t happen quickly, but in the next decade or two as more people reach adulthood who have known nothing but our interconnected world, the old methods will either need to evolve or move aside.