# Laurie Gilmore
The American writer Melissa McTernan publishes under the pseudonym **Laurie Gilmore**; a #1 New York Times and Sunday Times bestseller in small-town romance, she is most recognized for the cozy Dream Harbor series, which launched with *The Pumpkin Spice Café* in 2023.[1](https://www.tropetrove.com/authors/laurie-gilmore) • [2](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/newsbrief/index.html?record=5851) The series has sold more than 7 million copies in the English language, according to [HarperCollins](https://www.edgepedia.org/harpercollins), and has been translated into over twenty-nine languages.[2](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/newsbrief/index.html?record=5851) • [3](https://www.harperreach.com/?p=151539) McTernan also writes paranormal romance under her real name and is based in upstate New York.[4](https://www.tvinsider.com/swooon/1164497/LAURIE-GILMORE-CHRISTMAS-TREE-FARM-DREAM-HARBOR-SERIES/) • [5](https://www.harperreach.com/authors/laurie-gilmore/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Real name | Melissa McTernan; Laurie Gilmore is a pen name inspired by the TV series *Gilmore Girls*[4](https://www.tvinsider.com/swooon/1164497/LAURIE-GILMORE-CHRISTMAS-TREE-FARM-DREAM-HARBOR-SERIES/) |
| Debut | *The Pumpkin Spice Café* (Dream Harbor #1), published 2023[2](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/newsbrief/index.html?record=5851) |
| Sales | More than 7 million copies in English for the Dream Harbor series, per HarperCollins (May 2026)[2](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/newsbrief/index.html?record=5851) |
| Award | TikTok Shop Book of the Year at the 2024 TikTok Book Awards, for *The Pumpkin Spice Café*[5](https://www.harperreach.com/authors/laurie-gilmore/) |
| Publisher | HarperCollins UK imprint One More Chapter; U.S. publication through Harper360[2](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/newsbrief/index.html?record=5851) |
| Second series | Maple Hollow, launched September 2026 with *Big Bad Wolf*[6](https://newbooksalert.com/author-releases/laurie-gilmore/) |
| Home base | Upstate New York[5](https://www.harperreach.com/authors/laurie-gilmore/) |
## Career
McTernan wrote under her real name for four or five years before the Gilmore books took off, publishing with smaller presses, self-publishing, and writing novellas. She then signed with One More Chapter, an imprint of HarperCollins UK, initially for her werewolf series Wolf Brothers; the publisher asked whether she would also write a small-town cozy romance, which became the Dream Harbor series.[4](https://www.tvinsider.com/swooon/1164497/LAURIE-GILMORE-CHRISTMAS-TREE-FARM-DREAM-HARBOR-SERIES/) Earlier works published under her birth name include *Secret Family Recipes for Love* and the paranormal romance *A Curse of Blood and Wolves*.[7](https://headlinesociety.com/2026/05/05/dream-harbor-author-laurie-gilmore-sees-romance-as-an-escape-we-need-a-gentle-place-to-go-exclusive/)
*The Pumpkin Spice Café* went viral on TikTok, a phenomenon the author has said she barely witnessed at first because she was not on the platform herself.[3](https://www.harperreach.com/?p=151539) • [4](https://www.tvinsider.com/swooon/1164497/LAURIE-GILMORE-CHRISTMAS-TREE-FARM-DREAM-HARBOR-SERIES/) The book won the TikTok Shop Book of the Year award in 2024.[5](https://www.harperreach.com/authors/laurie-gilmore/)
In May 2026, HarperCollins acquired four further novels from Gilmore, with world all-language rights handled by Charlotte Ledger and Jennie Rothwell of One More Chapter and U.S. publication through Harper360; the deal was brokered by Amy Tannenbaum of the Jane Rotrosen Agency. It scheduled *The Apple Pie Ice Cream Parlor*, a Dream Harbor novella, for global release in June 2027, followed by a new Dream Harbor romance in fall 2027.[2](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/newsbrief/index.html?record=5851)
## Dream Harbor series
The series is set in the fictional New England small town of Dream Harbor, a setting consciously inspired by [Stars Hollow](https://www.edgepedia.org/stars-hollow) from *Gilmore Girls*, with quirky townsfolk, cozy settings, and what the author's publisher calls swoon-worthy romance.[1](https://www.tropetrove.com/authors/laurie-gilmore) • [5](https://www.harperreach.com/authors/laurie-gilmore/) Gilmore has described the town as effectively the main character, and has said the books are deliberately not high-drama: the couples are two essentially good people looking for a partner, with banter and will-they-won't-they tension rather than betrayals or dark backstories, and with explicit content intact.[3](https://www.harperreach.com/?p=151539)
The six main novels, with publication years, are:
1. *The Pumpkin Spice Café* (2023)[8](https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/22097907.Laurie_Gilmore)
2. *The Cinnamon Bun Book Store* (2024)[8](https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/22097907.Laurie_Gilmore)
3. *The Christmas Tree Farm* (2024)[8](https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/22097907.Laurie_Gilmore)
4. *The Strawberry Patch Pancake House* (2025)[8](https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/22097907.Laurie_Gilmore)
5. *The Gingerbread Bakery* (2025)[8](https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/22097907.Laurie_Gilmore)
6. *The Daisy Chain Flower Shop* (2026)[8](https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/22097907.Laurie_Gilmore)
The series has also generated spin-off products, including coloring books for *The Pumpkin Spice Café*, *The Strawberry Patch Pancake House*, and *The Gingerbread Bakery*, and *The Official Pumpkin Spice Café Cookbook: 60 Delicious Dream Harbor Recipes*.[5](https://www.harperreach.com/authors/laurie-gilmore/) *The Cinnamon Bun Book Store* was nominated for the Goodreads Awards Best Romance in 2024.[9](https://www.booknotification.com/authors/laurie-gilmore/)
## Maple Hollow and other work
In 2026 Gilmore launched a second small-town series, Maple Hollow, beginning with *Big Bad Wolf* (September 8, 2026), followed by *Wild Wicked Mate* (October 20, 2026) and an untitled third book expected in 2027.[6](https://newbooksalert.com/author-releases/laurie-gilmore/) • [8](https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/22097907.Laurie_Gilmore) *Big Bad Wolf* is a rebranding of her earlier paranormal novel *A Curse of Blood and Wolves*, published under the Laurie Gilmore name; the author has said the series includes some non-human characters while remaining focused on the love story.[7](https://headlinesociety.com/2026/05/05/dream-harbor-author-laurie-gilmore-sees-romance-as-an-escape-we-need-a-gentle-place-to-go-exclusive/) • [10](https://friendsandfiction.substack.com/p/a-conversation-with-laurie-gilmore)
Under her real name, McTernan writes paranormal romance set in small towns with werewolves rather than high fantasy; she has described keeping the two personas as a way of not tiring of the profession, turning to Laurie for lighter stories and Melissa for darker ones.[4](https://www.tvinsider.com/swooon/1164497/LAURIE-GILMORE-CHRISTMAS-TREE-FARM-DREAM-HARBOR-SERIES/)
## Reception
On [Goodreads](https://www.edgepedia.org/goodreads), Gilmore's works carry more than 1.6 million ratings, with *The Pumpkin Spice Café* the most-rated title at about 649,000 ratings.[8](https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/22097907.Laurie_Gilmore) *The Daisy Chain Flower Shop* reached number 5 on the US Apple Books top paid books list in May 2026.[11](https://apnews.com/article/7c55dad79b6292a30438f9df043a33a9) Reviewers have placed the books in the cozy romance tradition; Publishers Weekly called *The Daisy Chain Flower Shop* "another gentle small-town romance with Hallmark movie vibes," and Booklist compared the setting's charm to *Gilmore Girls*' Stars Hollow.[10](https://friendsandfiction.substack.com/p/a-conversation-with-laurie-gilmore)
## References
1. [Laurie Gilmore | Author of the Dream Harbor Series, Trope Trove](https://www.tropetrove.com/authors/laurie-gilmore)
2. [HarperCollins Takes Four More from Laurie Gilmore, Publishers Weekly (May 5, 2026)](https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/newsbrief/index.html?record=5851)
3. [Laurie Gilmore on her bestselling Dream Harbor series, HarperReach (February 27, 2025)](https://www.harperreach.com/?p=151539)
4. [BookTok Fave Laurie Gilmore Talks Future of Dream Harbor Series, TV Insider (December 11, 2024)](https://www.tvinsider.com/swooon/1164497/LAURIE-GILMORE-CHRISTMAS-TREE-FARM-DREAM-HARBOR-SERIES/)
5. [Laurie Gilmore author page, HarperReach](https://www.harperreach.com/authors/laurie-gilmore/)
6. [Laurie Gilmore 2026/2027 Book Releases, NewBooksAlert](https://newbooksalert.com/author-releases/laurie-gilmore/)
7. ["Dream Harbor" Author Laurie Gilmore Sees Romance as an Escape, Headline Society (May 5, 2026)](https://headlinesociety.com/2026/05/05/dream-harbor-author-laurie-gilmore-sees-romance-as-an-escape-we-need-a-gentle-place-to-go-exclusive/)
8. [Books by Laurie Gilmore, Goodreads](https://www.goodreads.com/author/list/22097907.Laurie_Gilmore)
9. [Laurie Gilmore List of Books, Book Notification](https://www.booknotification.com/authors/laurie-gilmore/)
10. [A Conversation with Laurie Gilmore, Friends & Fiction (2026)](https://friendsandfiction.substack.com/p/a-conversation-with-laurie-gilmore)
11. [US-Apple-Books-Top-10, AP (May 12, 2026)](https://apnews.com/article/7c55dad79b6292a30438f9df043a33a9)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Literature and written works › Writers and literary biographies › Fiction writers: novelists and genre › Romance and popular fiction writers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license