Meet Lauren Hadley Kermode: Realtor Turned Storyteller
For over 20 years, Lauren Hadley Kermode thrived as a successful realtor, building a reputation for honesty, expertise, and a seamless approach to helping families find their perfect homes in Maryland and Delaware.
But Lauren’s greatest joy came not from closing deals, but from creating magical bedtime stories for her granddaughters. Those moments of imagination and connection sparked something special, and years later, her granddaughters’ vivid memories of her tales encouraged her to take a leap into writing.
Now, Lauren is proud to share her first children’s book, featuring Pepé the Coconut Palm and Daisy the Daisy. This whimsical flip-book is just the start of an exciting series of children’s stories, with more adventures in development. Lauren is also working on adult fiction and non-fiction titles, set to launch in 2025, further broadening her storytelling horizons.
Lauren’s mission is simple: to create stories that inspire, uplift, and remind readers of all ages of the magic in life’s everyday moments.
The Backstory
Two of her granddaughters, ages three and five at the time, asked Lauren to stop reading stories to them at bed and nap time. The little one said she wanted Lauren to make them up herself. “Tell us a story from your mouth,” she said. So, Lauren did.
Over that following year whenever they visited, Lauren would make something up on the spur of the moment.
But all good things come to an end. They started school, which limited the time they got to spend at their grandparents’ house.
About three years after the last story had been told Lauren said to them, “You know, it’s a shame we didn’t write those stories down.” They surprised her by saying they remembered them and each child named the title of several of the stories.
Lauren grabbed a pen and paper and wrote them down as they told them back to her three years after they’d heard them once.
So, here they are. The stories and the life lessons in each one that made enough of an impact on two little girls that they remembered them three years later.
Over the years Lauren has given a story or two to parents or grandparents to share with their children. They’ve gotten rave reviews from kids ages two to 10.