I Read Indie: AMERICA'S FIRST DAUGHTER by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie {Giveaway/Excerpt}

We are absolutely thrilled to bring you the Blog Tour for Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie’s AMERICA’S FIRST DAUGHTER, a historical fiction novel is published by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins, and releasing March 1, 2016! AMERICA’S FIRST DAUGHTER is a compelling, richly researched novel by bestselling authors Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie. Drawing from thousands of letters and original sources, the authors reveal the fascinating, untold story of Martha “Patsy” Jefferson Randolph, Thomas Jefferson’s eldest daughter. Patsy was one of the most influential women in American history: not only the progeny of a founding father – and the woman who held his secrets close to her heart – but a key player in the shaping of our nation’s legacy. And her story is one seldom told, until now. Make sure you grab your copy today!

In a compelling, richly researched novel that draws from thousands of letters and original sources, bestselling authors Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie tell the fascinating, untold story of Thomas Jefferson’s eldest daughter, Martha “Patsy” Jefferson Randolph—a woman who kept the secrets of our most enigmatic founding father and shaped an American legacy.

From her earliest days, Patsy Jefferson knows that though her father loves his family dearly, his devotion to his country runs deeper still. As Thomas Jefferson’s oldest daughter, she becomes his helpmate, protector, and constant companion in the wake of her mother’s death, traveling with him when he becomes American minister to France.

It is in Paris, at the glittering court and among the first tumultuous days of revolution, that fifteen-year-old Patsy learns about her father’s troubling liaison with Sally Hemings, a slave girl her own age. Meanwhile, Patsy has fallen in love—with her father’s protégé William Short, a staunch abolitionist and ambitious diplomat. Torn between love, principles, and the bonds of family, Patsy questions whether she can choose a life as William’s wife and still be a devoted daughter.

Her choice will follow her in the years to come, to Virginia farmland, Monticello, and even the White House. And as scandal, tragedy, and poverty threaten her family, Patsy must decide how much she will sacrifice to protect her father's reputation, in the process defining not just his political legacy, but that of the nation he founded.

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AMERICA’S FIRST DAUGHTER EXCERPT

A First Lady

My father had finally decided that he was the president of the United States, and if he wanted both his daughters with him, he would have us. Papa needed us, so we’d join him in Washington City in November, and that was all there was to it.

“Martha, don’t fret!” Dolley said, adjusting the lace of my shawl. “All you need are some new dresses that flatter your bosom. Something distinctive and stylish. You’re already a lovely and charming hostess, so it’ll be no difficulty to transform you into what your father so desperately needs.”

It pained me that my father should so desperately need anything. Dolley was too much of a southern lady to ask if the stories about Sally were true. She didn’t even acknowledge them, but she knew. Everyone knew.

Dolley retrieved her bonnet from where it lay upon the alcove bed in the octagonal bedroom she and Mr. Madison always used when they visited Monticello. Trellis wallpaper in green and white covered the walls, a relic Papa brought home with him from France. “What your father needs right now is a . . . a first lady. And given that he’s a widower, a first daughter will have to

do. There needs to be a woman of grace and good sense at the presidential mansion, since there hasn’t been one there before now. Mrs. Washington retreated, and her daughter flitted about at parties like a shameless princess, born to deference. And that’s to say nothing of Her Majesty, Mrs. President Adams, who received visitors seated like royalty in Buckingham Palace.”

Though I still harbored soft affections for Abigail Adams, I knew better than to say so to Dolley, despite the fact that this conversation reminded me of one I’d had long ago with Mrs. Adams as

she guided me through what fashions I’d require in France.

“I shouldn’t like to cause any sort of scandal by doing the wrong thing,” I said, glancing out the window toward the corner terrace.

“Martha, your father’s presidency is a new start,” Dolley replied.

“Our first real experience with a republic. That’s why they’re trying so hard to bring him down. President Jefferson needs a hostess to set the example, making no distinction between our people and theirs. Everyone will look to you for a model of what a virtuous daughter, wife, and mother of the republic should be. So don’t you worry about gowns. I’ll order everything for you and your sister. Hairpieces and every fashionable thing universally worn by ladies in society today. You must simply play the part.”

STEPHANIE DRAY is an award-winning, bestselling and two-time RITA award nominated author of historical women’s fiction. Her critically acclaimed series about Cleopatra’s daughter has been translated into eight different languages and won NJRW's Golden Leaf. As Stephanie Draven, she is a national bestselling author of genre fiction and American-set historical women's fiction. She is a frequent panelist and presenter at national writing conventions and lives near the nation's capital. Before she became a novelist, she was a lawyer, a game designer, and a teacher. Now she uses the stories of women in history to inspire the young women of today.

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Laura Kamoie has always been fascinated by the people, stories, and physical presence of the past, which led her to a lifetime of historical and archaeological study and training. She holds a doctoral degree in early American history from The College of William and Mary, published two non-fiction books on early America, and most recently held the position of Associate Professor of History at the U.S. Naval Academy before transitioning to a full-time career writing genre fiction as the New York Times bestselling author of over twenty books, Laura Kaye. Her debut historical novel, America's First Daughter, co-authored with Stephanie Dray, allowed her the exciting opportunity to combine her love of history with her passion for storytelling. Laura lives among the colonial charm of Annapolis, Maryland with her husband and two daughters.

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