“Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie have long delighted and moved readers with their deeply researched, richly immersive novels of America’s early leading ladies.” — Allison Pataki, NYT bestselling author

A Wall Street Journal, New York Times and USA Today Bestseller, Laura Kamoie [Kuh-MOY, she/her] 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, training, and teaching. She holds a doctoral degree in early American history from The College of William and Mary, published two non-fiction books on early America, has extensive public history and professional speaking experience, and most recently held the position of Associate Professor of History at the U.S. Naval Academy before transitioning to a full-time writing career, first in romance and suspense under the New York Times bestselling pen name Laura Kaye, and then in historical fiction as Laura Kamoie.

Laura is the co-author of the historical novels America’s First Daughter, My Dear Hamilton, and A Founding Mother (all with Stephanie Dray), and part of the writing team that wrote Ribbons of Scarlet. Laura has won numerous awards, including the Literary Achievement Annie Award from the Arts Council of Anne Arundel County (MD) and the Star Award for Best Women’s Fiction from the Women’s Fiction Writers Association; her work has also finaled in the Audible Audie Awards and the Goodreads Readers’ Choice Awards. In addition, Laura has appeared as an expert commentator on the historical docudrama series, Into the Wild Frontier. Laura has sold more than two million books in the U.S. alone.

Writing historical fiction allows Laura 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, two daughters, and monster German shepherd, Schuyler.

Laura's Featured Titles

A Founding Mother: A Novel of Abigail Adams

William Morrow Paperbacks |
Historical Fiction

In time for the 250th Anniversary of the birth of the United States comes a sweeping, intimate portrayal of Abigail Adams—wife of one president and mother to another—whose wit, willpower, and wisdom helped shape the fledgling republic. A stunning historical novel with modern-day implications from the New York Times bestselling authors of America’s First Daughter and My Dear Hamilton.

In the heart of revolutionary Boston, Abigail Adams raises her children amid riots, blockades, and the outbreak of war. While her husband, John Adams, rises from country lawyer to nation-builder, often away for years at a time, Abigail builds her own independence—managing their farm, making lucrative investments, amassing savings, battling plague and loss, and defending their home. Unafraid to speak her mind, she famously offers fearless political counsel, urging John to “remember the ladies” in the new government. Through it all, she becomes his most trusted confidante and indispensable ally.

When peace is secured, Abigail steps onto the world stage—exchanging ideas with Thomas Jefferson in the French countryside, navigating court life as the wife of the Minister to Great Britain, and presiding over the parlor politics of the early American republic in New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC. Even after her husband’s presidential administration, she continues battling political foes and working behind the scenes to advance her family, secure independence for the women in her life, and ensure a better life for the next generation of Americans.

From war-torn streets to the chandeliered halls of power, A Founding Mother is the unforgettable story of a woman ahead of her time—one whose voice, vision, and valor still resonate powerfully today.

Ribbons of Scarlet: A Novel of the French Revolution’s Women

William Morrow |
Historical Nonfiction

“The French Revolution comes alive through the eyes of six diverse and complex women, in the skilled hands of these amazing authors.”–Martha Hall Kelly, New York Times bestselling author of Lilac Girls

A breathtaking, epic novel illuminating the hopes, desires, and destinies of princesses and peasants, harlots and wives, fanatics and philosophers—seven unforgettable women whose paths cross during one of the most tumultuous and transformative events in history: the French Revolution.

Ribbons of Scarlet is a timely story of the power of women to start a revolution—and change the world.

In late eighteenth-century France, women do not have a place in politics. But as the tide of revolution rises, women from gilded salons to the streets of Paris decide otherwise—upending a world order that has long oppressed them.

Blue-blooded Sophie de Grouchy believes in democracy, education, and equal rights for women, and marries the only man in Paris who agrees. Emboldened to fight the injustices of King Louis XVI, Sophie aims to prove that an educated populace can govern itself–but one of her students, fruit-seller Louise Audu, is hungrier for bread and vengeance than learning. When the Bastille falls and Louise leads a women’s march to Versailles, the monarchy is forced to bend, but not without a fight. The king’s pious sister Princess Elisabeth takes a stand to defend her brother, spirit her family to safety, and restore the old order, even at the risk of her head.

But when fanatics use the newspapers to twist the revolution’s ideals into a new tyranny, even the women who toppled the monarchy are threatened by the guillotine. Putting her faith in the pen, brilliant political wife Manon Roland tries to write a way out of France’s blood-soaked Reign of Terror while pike-bearing Pauline Leon and steely Charlotte Corday embrace violence as the only way to save the nation. With justice corrupted by revenge, all the women must make impossible choices to survive–unless unlikely heroine and courtesan’s daughter Emilie de Sainte-Amaranthe can sway the man who controls France’s fate: the fearsome Robespierre.

My Dear Hamilton

William Morrow Paperbacks |
Historical Fiction

“Not since I read Erik Larson’s Dead Wake have I had such an edge-of-my-seat immersion into historical events. […] No study of Alexander Hamilton would be complete without reading this book.”-Karen White, New York Times bestselling author

From the New York Times bestselling authors of America’s First Daughter comes the epic story of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton–a revolutionary woman who, like her new nation, struggled to define herself in the wake of war, betrayal, and tragedy. In this haunting, moving, and beautifully written novel, Dray and Kamoie used thousands of letters and original sources to tell Eliza’s story as it’s never been told before–not just as the wronged wife at the center of a political sex scandal–but also as a founding mother who shaped an American legacy in her own right.

A general’s daughter…

Coming of age on the perilous frontier of revolutionary New York, Elizabeth Schuyler champions the fight for independence. And when she meets Alexander Hamilton, Washington’s penniless but passionate aide-de-camp, she’s captivated by the young officer’s charisma and brilliance. They fall in love, despite Hamilton’s bastard birth and the uncertainties of war.

A Founding Father’s wife…

But the union they create–in their marriage and the new nation–is far from perfect. From glittering inaugural balls to bloody street riots, the Hamiltons are at the center of it all–including the political treachery of America’s first sex scandal, which forces Eliza to struggle through heartbreak and betrayal to find forgiveness.

The last surviving light of the Revolution…

When a duel destroys Eliza’s hard-won peace, the grieving widow fights her husband’s enemies to preserve Alexander’s legacy. But long-buried secrets threaten everything Eliza believes about her marriage and her 
own legacy. Questioning her tireless devotion to the man and country that have broken her heart, she’s left with one last battle–to understand the flawed man she married and imperfect union he could never have created without her…

America’s First Daughter: A Novel

William Morrow |
Historical Fiction

THE NEW YORK TIMES & USA TODAY BESTSELLER

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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Book Talk

On the history behind and research and writing of any of my novels.

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Abigail Adams's Revolution

A talk exploring Abigail Adams’s beliefs, writings, and activities during the War for Independence and early Republic.

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Founding Mothers

Version 1: A talk based on all of my novels that draws together the revolutionary contributions and experiences of the protagonists of those novels specifically

Version 2: A talk on a wider range of women’s contributions, patriotic dedication, and developing political consciousness during the American Independence movement and birth of the new nation, not necessarily tied to my novels.

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Remembering the Ladies

A talk on the research and writing challenges of telling women’s histories.

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The American Revolution is not Over

A talk exploring the idea that the struggle to fulfill the founders’ original vision of a just society where all people were treated equally is an ongoing and constant endeavor.

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Writing Historical Fiction

A talk on the craft, tips, and tricks of the genre.

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Keys to a Long Writing Career

A talk exploring strategies for crafting a lasting career in an ever-changing business.

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Reinventing Your Career & Living Your Passion

A talk on my author journey from history professor to full-time working author, including discussions of my traumatic brain injury, changing careers at mid-life, risks taken, successes and failures, and lessons learned.

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History & Historical Fiction

A talk exploring what we can learn about the past from historical fiction, how historical fiction can make meaningful contributions to our understanding of history, and what I learned about history, research, and writing as a historian who became a novelist.

Laura’s Events

Laura’s Blog

Honors, Awards & Recognition

New York Times Bestselling Author
USA Today Bestselling Author
Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author
Winner, Literary Achievement Annie Award, Arts Council of Anne Arundel County (MD)
Winner, Star Award for Best Women’s Fiction, Women’s Fiction Writers Association
Finalist, Audible Audie Awards
Nominee, Goodreads Readers’ Choice Awards
Her books are regularly included on lists for best historical fiction, most anticipated historical fiction, and more

Media Kit

By clicking the link below you will be directed to a Google Docs Folder
where you can download author photos and cover images.

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