My Love Letter to Fall and Romance: A Guest Post by Laurie Gilmore
If you’ve ever looked up in wonder at the changing leaves, read this book. If you love Gilmore Girls or small-town living, read this book. If you want a romance to swoon over and characters to daydream about, read this book. #BookTok sensation Laurie Gilmore has penned an exclusive essay on her bestselling novel, The Pumpkin Spice Café, down below. Can’t get enough of the fall feels? Pick up a copy of The Cinnamon Bun Book Store today.
Paperback $18.99
The Pumpkin Spice Café (Dream Harbor, Book 1)
The Pumpkin Spice Café (Dream Harbor, Book 1)
In Stock Online
Paperback $18.99
A romcom even more satisfying than the crunch of a crisp fall leaf, this is a swoony love story that’s guaranteed to keep you warm.
A romcom even more satisfying than the crunch of a crisp fall leaf, this is a swoony love story that’s guaranteed to keep you warm.
The Pumpkin Spice Cafe is my love letter to fall and romance novels (and really what better combination is there?). When I was working on this book, I wrote what makes me happy and what makes me giggle or squeal or swoon while reading a book. I wrote what I wanted to read. The fact that readers have connected with it so much has been incredible. It’s like discovering so many new friends that like the same things you do!
The series was influenced by my favorite fall comfort reads and cozy TV shows and films. What is it about a small town in the fall? The attraction to a main street with quaint shops and crunchy leaves underfoot is strong! I was excited to create my own cozy, small town. Add in a grumpy hero (always my favorite), a heroine just trying to get her footing (we love a fresh start) and plenty of quirky side characters to round out the cast (what’s a small town without them!) and I was good to go. I’m just glad so many readers have come along for the ride.
Having this book explode on BookTok has been truly life altering. Before The Pumpkin Spice Café came out, my mother, in all her motherly wisdom, told me that I just needed my books to go viral on BookTok. Simple. That, she told me after seeing a segment on a morning news show, was the way books got popular these days. Well, she was right. The reception on BookTok has been absolutely amazing. The readers and their enthusiasm for this book has been beyond anything I could have expected and I am so grateful to everyone for spreading the love!
To see people discovering the books in bookstores as well has been an author dream come true. There is no better feeling than walking into a bookstore and seeing your book baby just hanging out on a shelf next to your own favorite authors. It’s an out of body experience every time and while going viral has been awesome, there’s just something extra special about being a part of someone’s cozy Sunday afternoon at their favorite bookstore.
If you’ve read the book, you probably already know my fall essentials (plenty of hot drinks and a flannel wearing farmer to drink them with) but here are a few other fall must-haves that I don’t think made it into the books. I love being outdoors in the cooler weather so my ideal day would start with a hike to enjoy the changing leaves or a trip to pick apples (but let’s be real, what I actually mean is a trip to eat apple cider donuts). I also love cooking in the fall; it’s soup season for me! So, my perfect fall day would definitely involve cooking something comforting and warm (and maybe an apple pie to round out this day of eating). Then I would end the day under a cozy blanket with a cup of tea and a good book, of course!