Eastward Exploration
Columbus Reversed Book Two
While one group of advanced Americans establishes trade with the primitive eastern world, another group seeks out profits in new lands, regardless of who occupies them or claims ownership.
Historical Fiction / Alternate History
Running largely alongside the events in Columbus Reversed, Eastward Exploration focuses on American efforts to explore the newly discovered eastern world for natural resources to exploit. A partnership develops between two private companies with separate interests, the Smithsonian with it's own goals, and the military that supports all of them while also pursuing its own strategic interests.
When military and political conflict come to a head and threaten the other group's efforts at peaceful trade, the military must turn to their established negotiator to mediate the conflict between all four parties⸺the Portuguese, Vatican, Castile, and Americans. Prior treaties are questioned and the critical policy of dealing with infidels is put to the test.
All-the-while storylines from Columbus Reversed are augmented and continued, providing a rich narrative of a honeymoon period, another wedding, and balancing trade between the two countries with vastly different technology.