Hello everyone. First thing's first, this is my first (can I fit one more first in this sentence?)post here on this forum, and was glad to find it existed.
Now on to business. I'm in the process of writing a novel that I would love to one day (soon) get published. In doing some research, I came across the forum here and thought "Well, here's a group of bright folks that I might like to run my ideas past."
So here's the breakdown. Any feedback is welcome, but I'm really looking for your thoughts on plausibility, expansion, and the like.
So to start with, its an alternate American Civil War. (As a caveat, I did read here that a lot of those end up falling into certain fallacies. I hope to avoid that.) The point of divergence comes in 1837. Instead of remaining in captivity after his capture, Osceola escapes with several members of his band (in reality, while members of his group were able to escape, Osceola was unable to). With the uproar caused by the way he was captured (arrested when he arrived for truce negotiations under a white flag initiated by General Jessup), Osceola and his fighters gain political support from some Americans and material and manpower support from nearby Native tribes. During a meeting in a Cherokee village where the charismatic Osceola was trying to sway the Cherokee to the cause, the U.S. Cavalry attacks and Osceola is killed protecting Cherokee children. This galvanizes the two tribes (prior to the cavalry attack, the Cherokee were not likely to assist), and turns the third Seminole War into the Unified Tribes War ( a slightly misleading name, as the only major tribes to take place were the Seminole, Creek, and Cherokee while the rest pursued their own disagreements with the U.S. or remained neutral). During this time we see a markedly similar political scene as our history teaches, up to secession of the Confederacy. However, with the UTW still unfinished, the Confederacy is unwilling to start any major conflict. Although they do shell Fort Sumter, and move to occupy other Union held forts in the South, they were hesitant to press any engagements and remained in a defensive posture.
Fast forward a bit, and a long cold war ensues. Texas and California maintain their status as republics, France keeps its hold on Louisiana, the Mormon state of Desereet remains (though constant conflict with it's neighbors of Texas, California, and Lakotah have it's future in real question), and Cuba has laid claim to Florida south of St Augustine most of the Caribbean islands after WWI left the European powers unable to protect their dependencies. The CSA, having managed to circumvent only some of the blockades on their exports now resembles a South American Banana Republic in terms of economy.
The U.S., under constant threat of terrorist attack originating from (but not sanctioned by) the CSA, has become isolationist to the point of resembling Israel. This is when the majority of the novel takes place.
Thoughts?
Now on to business. I'm in the process of writing a novel that I would love to one day (soon) get published. In doing some research, I came across the forum here and thought "Well, here's a group of bright folks that I might like to run my ideas past."
So here's the breakdown. Any feedback is welcome, but I'm really looking for your thoughts on plausibility, expansion, and the like.
So to start with, its an alternate American Civil War. (As a caveat, I did read here that a lot of those end up falling into certain fallacies. I hope to avoid that.) The point of divergence comes in 1837. Instead of remaining in captivity after his capture, Osceola escapes with several members of his band (in reality, while members of his group were able to escape, Osceola was unable to). With the uproar caused by the way he was captured (arrested when he arrived for truce negotiations under a white flag initiated by General Jessup), Osceola and his fighters gain political support from some Americans and material and manpower support from nearby Native tribes. During a meeting in a Cherokee village where the charismatic Osceola was trying to sway the Cherokee to the cause, the U.S. Cavalry attacks and Osceola is killed protecting Cherokee children. This galvanizes the two tribes (prior to the cavalry attack, the Cherokee were not likely to assist), and turns the third Seminole War into the Unified Tribes War ( a slightly misleading name, as the only major tribes to take place were the Seminole, Creek, and Cherokee while the rest pursued their own disagreements with the U.S. or remained neutral). During this time we see a markedly similar political scene as our history teaches, up to secession of the Confederacy. However, with the UTW still unfinished, the Confederacy is unwilling to start any major conflict. Although they do shell Fort Sumter, and move to occupy other Union held forts in the South, they were hesitant to press any engagements and remained in a defensive posture.
Fast forward a bit, and a long cold war ensues. Texas and California maintain their status as republics, France keeps its hold on Louisiana, the Mormon state of Desereet remains (though constant conflict with it's neighbors of Texas, California, and Lakotah have it's future in real question), and Cuba has laid claim to Florida south of St Augustine most of the Caribbean islands after WWI left the European powers unable to protect their dependencies. The CSA, having managed to circumvent only some of the blockades on their exports now resembles a South American Banana Republic in terms of economy.
The U.S., under constant threat of terrorist attack originating from (but not sanctioned by) the CSA, has become isolationist to the point of resembling Israel. This is when the majority of the novel takes place.
Thoughts?