Tobacco Republic
R. A. Moss
WHAT IF... the 13 colonies never united?
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In the twenty-first century, the nations of Virginia and the People’s Republic of Pennsylvania are 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 as their nations rush headlong into war?
Woven into the twenty-first century story are scenes from the past. In a vivid narrative that imagines thoughts and dialog, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Napoleon Bonaparte and other seminal figures reveal the events behind this alternative history.
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COMING AUGUST 12, 2025
Paperback ISBN: 979-8-9926682-0-9
Ebook ISBN: 979-8-9885505-9-4
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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 and journalist (Forbes, NPR)
"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 ​
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"In his fascinating novel 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
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​"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: How I Found Myself Living on a Small Boat
"R. A. Moss is persuasive when he writes about Glock-laden espionage, and equally so when he imagines the reactions and feelings of the historical figures who shape an alternative future where the American colonies never unite. This is a wonderfully inventive and graceful novel.."
John Thorndike, author of The World Against Her Skin and The Passionate Sister
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Author R. A. Moss
I earned my keep as a writer long before penning KING ROBIN, and my upcoming alternative history, TOBACCO REPUBLIC. Under my birth name, I've authored four novels in other genres that earned accolades from Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, and USA Today. Along with being a presenter at book festivals and author conferences in Arkansas, California, Ohio and Wisconsin, my work has been featured nationwide on TV, radio and publications in print and on the web.
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