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And in fact thanks to social media it's more popular than ever. We're truly heading for some very dark times ahead. 
As for Joe Steele, I gave up on it myself. That, along with the Yellowstone series he did, pretty much made me write him off.
Still, he did good stuff in the past. Wonder what he's up to now?
(Looks up his new State of Jefferson series)
History is changed to the points that Sasquatch, Indonesian Hobbits, and Merfolk are real. Ok, I can run with that. History would be unrecognizable, so this could be interesting. They seem to be set in the late 1970's, and.....
Jimmy Carter is president, and losing in the polls due to the Iranian Hostage Crisis. He loses to Reagan, and his concession speech is word for word identical to the real one.
I read all of them, just to see how he'd finally end it. As you know, the California characters spend all three books pissing and moaning about the cold. Freeze to death already, was my take. Plus the idiocy of most of the characters.
Have you ever read Time on My Hands by Peter delaCorte? An American travel writer is in an obscure museum in Paris, is told by someone else that the machine he's looking at is a time machine, and can be gotten to him. Only the man who can procure the time machine wants our hero to go back and prevent Ronald Reagan from becoming President. It was published in 1997. Wonderful.
I have the good fortune to attend various s-f cons, mainly Bubonicon in Albuquerque and Mile Hi in Denver. I've had the privilege to meet a bunch of authors, all of whom are wonderful, of course. I have not crossed paths with Harry Turtledove, although if I did I'd be polite and tell him about the books of his I've liked. No point in being rude.
Oh, and in regards to alternate history, one s-f writer I've talked with feels strongly that once you change even one small thing, you change a lot. I'm inclined to think she's right, which is one reason Joe Steel does not work.
If you are not already attending s-f cons, I hope you will start to do so. You seem like a reader who truly appreciates the genre.
Oh, and that advice applies to all who read this post. 
Oh, oh, oh!! Mile Hi will happen October 1-3. I am planning on attending. Please PM me if you decide to go.
One of my few regrets in life is that I did not start attending s-f cons many years ago. Once I finally started attending, about a decade ago,(aside of some random attending of ConQuest in Kansas City) I started making many friends, especially with writers. OMG! I will only say that I got to see the 2017 eclipse with one very well known writer, which made the eclipse even better than it already was.
Honestly, my friendship with various writers has come out of attending various cons.
Along with Mile Hi and Bubonicon (which isn't too much of a stretch for someone from Denver) I attend the Jack Williamson Lectureship in Portales (OMFG! An absolutely incredible and very small event) and COSine in Colorado Springs. COSine is in January, which means going to the Springs from Santa Fe in January is a bit problematical. I'd been aware of that con for several years, and once, at Bubonicon, talked with some representatives of that con about my hesitation. We wound up agreeing that there would be a special Raton Pass price, which was the same as the advance purchase price. I'd book the hotel, but not pay for the con until I got there, just in case the Raton Pass was impassible. In the several years I've gone to COSine, I was always able to get there. It's a relatively small con, which I personally like.
Another small con is the Jack Williamson Lectureship in Portales, NM. It really is a very out of the way place, which is an important reason why it is so small. I love it. Connie Willis always attends. She gives a talk at the lunch on Saturday, which is always a hoot. I do happen to be an enormous fan of Connie Willis, who is smart, funny, and always on point. And, like so many who attend cons of any kind, is always open to meeting with fans.
In 2019 I went to SoonerCon in Norman, OK. It was perhaps the best con I've ever been to. I am looking forward to attending again, hopefully in 2022. As you might already know or guess, s-f people are extremely friendly, and the cons are wonderful. As already noted, I've been to various ones over the years. SoonerCon had a level of friendliness above and beyond what I was used to. Wow. They also had some programming quite unlike what I'd known before, such as voice acting. I might sign up for some of that at my next SoonerCon. Not that I expect to become a voice actor, but for the very different experience.
I hope all this is inspirational to you. And even if you and I never meet, I sincerely hope you attend various cons.
Gumby. Those crazy eyes and green bell bottoms. He was obviously up to no good.
