Foreword
Most of what this volume contains are stories we had already written, and most of those already published. If you're familiar with the Sewing Circle and the Barbie Consortium from earlier reading, you're going to find a lot that you've already read. However there are things that we didn't know about when the first stories were written, and some things that have changed, or we just got wrong. Like the fact that the Barbies graduated middle school in the spring of 1631 and were high school freshmen in the 1631-1632 school year. We'll leave it to you to guess whether that got changed or was just a mistake.
Another thing we ran into was timing issues. Put people in places that they really couldn't be in. This happens when you have forgetful people writing stories. For instance, "Trommler Records" actually happened while the Barbies were still in school. That's because it turns out they went to Vienna only a few weeks, at most, after graduation. Somehow, the reports of Judy Wendell moving to Magdeburg turned out to be in error. The same with Susan Logsden. In fact, "Trommler Records" isn't located in Magdeburg, but outside Grantville, about half way to Jena where the rents are cheaper.
To make sure you can't just skip the stories you've already read—or just because we're a little OCD—we've stuck the new stuff in in chronological order, so "Poor Little Rich Girls" and "Susan's Story" are inside "Other People's Money." And there are new bits—from a couple of lines to a couple of pages—scattered all through it, along with never-before-seen stories.
In general, this is how a couple of groups of kids got rich and grew up in the 1632 universe.