WHAT IF... the 13 colonies never united?
Tobacco Republic
She’s a diplomat for Virginia. He’s a spy for Pennsylvania.
They’re about to fall in love – as their nations go to war.
In the twenty-first century, the nations of Virginia and the People’s Republic of Pennsylvania have become vassals in a proxy war between the world’s superpowers: Francia and the Soviet Union. Olivia Braxton of Virginia and Brody Linn of Pennsylvania are covert enemy operatives thrown together by the swirl of pre-war intrigue. Can their sudden attraction survive?
Woven into the drama are vignettes from the past. Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and other seminal figures reveal the historical twists behind this taut, action-packed thriller.
Coming Aug. 2025
How the U.S. was never born
After failing to unite in 1776, the thirteen former English colonies of North America have evolved into seven small nations collectively called the Britannic region. In the 21st century, wracked by coups and wars, these volatile countries are exploited by more powerful nations. Against this backdrop, two enemy agents discover a fragile personal peace as their countries rush headlong into war.
Advance Acclaim
"A fictitious history enriches this modern spy novel. In Tobacco Republic, R. A. Moss imagines what might have happened if a weary Thomas Jefferson had failed to convince the American colonies to unite. The novel jumps from that unfortunate past into a global cloak-and-dagger story that is the stubborn colonies’ perilous future. States are each other’s enemies. Parts of Europe (also politically re-imagined) are contenders for the riches of these small, underdeveloped nations. Lovers of spy novels know that fast-paced treachery, betrayal, and gamesmanship are almost always fun. In this novel, they are thought-provoking, too."
—Rebecca Coffey, author of Hysterical: Anna Freud’s Story
"The novel’s ability to contrast and explore different avenues of political opportunity and connection make Tobacco Republic of special, high recommendation to readers and book clubs."
—D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer - Midwest Book Review
"Tobacco Republic is a crackling spy thriller set like a jewel in a wild but timely counterhistory. The thirteen American colonies never united, their conflicts imperil the world, and the “health scare” around cigarettes never got traction. Smoke ’em if you got ’em!"
—Charlie Haas, author of The Current Fantasy and The Enthusiast
"In his fascinating novel, Tobacco Republic, R. A. Moss flashes back to various historical periods to show how an alternative history evolved, upsetting our notions of what the Declaration of Independence meant, how slavery and the results of the Civil War played out, and how all this leads up to the novel’s present time where the thirteen colonies never united and two former colonies are on the verge of going to war."
—John Kachuba, author of Shapeshifters: A History
"It is rare for a well-written modern novel to teach you much of anything. Even more rare is a can’t-put-it-down thriller that makes you think about history, and race, and the choices this country—and others—have made and continue to make. It is also wildly unusual to find wit and warmth and any type of romance in most works of alternative history. Somehow R.A. Moss has put all of these elements together in Tobacco Republic."
Jennifer Silva Redmond, author of Honeymoon At Sea
"R. A. Moss is persuasive when he writes about Glock-laden espionage, and equally so when he burrows into the reactions and feelings of Thomas Jefferson, his mistress Sally Hemings and their daughter Harriet. Moss’s inventions from the past play out against his current day story, and all of it reminds us of how much our daily lives are determined by family and national history. This is a wonderfully inventive and graceful novel."
—John Thorndike, author of The World Against Her Skin and The Passionate Sister