Terri DuLong Books In Order

Publication Order of Cedar Key Books

Publication Order of Lost Souls Books

Publication Order of Ormond Beach Books

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Anthologies

Terri DuLong is an acclaimed bestselling author that has been featured on USA Today, and the New York Times for her contemporary romance series of novels. DuLong is best known for the Cedar Key series of novels that she debuted with the 2009 published bestseller “Spinning Forward”. Terri was born in Witch City, Boston, and was an only child whose imaginary friends from her childhood make their way into her writing. DuLong was married young and got three children with her first husband who she divorced to go to college to become a legal secretary. Not satisfied with being a legal secretary she quit after her children were a little older and went back to school to become a Registered Nurse. In the meantime, she was still reading a lot of women’s fiction that she hoped she would one day write. The most writing she ever did during this time was keeping a journal and the occasional very long letter to a friend. After graduating from college she went into practice as a Registered Nurse working in Critical care, where the bug to write soon become stronger. She enrolled for a creative writing course at a local college and knuckled down in the hopes that she would soon publish a novel.

A few months after she embarked on her quest to become a published author, her husband was transferred to Tampa. She went part-time on her RN job, opting to attend more writer conferences where she would get a better understanding of the publishing world and hone her craft. She attended numerous conferences reading and networking and getting the inevitable rejections, but never losing hope. However, over time, she started noting that she no longer got generic rejection letters, but rather personalized correspondence, which meant the publishers, editors, and agents were at last taking notice of her work. With her husband’s retirement in 2004, the family moves to Cedar Key in Florida, a small town surrounded by nature and a friendly populace that instantly struck a chord with Terri. The small town of Cedar Key was full of quirky small town characters, who formed the setting for her most popular series, the Cedar Key series.

In 2007, she wrote a women’s fiction novel set in her hometown just before leaving for the year’s RWA conference. When she came back from the conference, she found the contact for Kensington books and sent in three chapters of the manuscript. She got the shock of her life when on December 11 2007 she got an email that was supposedly from one of the senior editors that wanted to see the manuscript in its entirety. She had her first book contract by February of the following year, and had her debut Spinning Forward published in October 2007. The novel has proved very popular among contemporary romance readers and critics alike. It has made the finals of the 2010 New England Readers Choice Bean Pot Awards where it was on the shortlist for the 2010’s Long Contemporary Novel. The novel was also bought by “Readers Digest”, which released it as Condensed Special Edition in its 2010 December Issue.

The novels in the Cedar Key series are novels about new beginnings. From Syd Webster who moves to an island after the death of her husband, to Grace Stone who is starting over in Cedar Key. The underlying message in the novels is that sometimes things will not work out as we expect them to, and we just have to adjust to them. As is the case with Syd, Grace, and Webster things go haywire in their lives, and they are forced to move to a new city or adopt to changing circumstances. They somehow manage to find their way into the new hobby of knitting either by opening a yarn shop or becoming part of a knitting club. Nonetheless, through the tribulations they find new friends, make a brand new life for themselves, and even manage to find romance and love. The characters learn to deal with disaster and triumph and the many challenges in life while living in the scenic small town of Cedar Key in Florida. These are intensely riveting novels with a magical touch of small town America that are more of life stories interspersed with romance subplots. DuLong writes in a rich style reminiscent of the likes of Catherine Coulter and Debbie Macomber, who put a lot of heart in their contemporary romances.

“Spinning Forward”, the first novel of the Cedar Key series of novels is a novel full of wit and warmth as Terri DuLong writes a narrative of lives forever bound, old friends and new beginnings. Sydney Webster is a born and bred New Englander, who suddenly finds herself starting a new life on Cedar Key, a small town on an island off the Florida coast. Her husband just died unexpectedly leaving her with a mountain of debt from his carefully hidden gambling habits. She has been forced to give up her comfortable life in the big city to move into the bed and breakfast of an old friend. In the midst of Cedar Key’s gentle rhythms and its whispering trees, she thinks that she may just turn her passion for knitting and spinning into more than a hobby. But her expertise in spinning soon draws attention, and she finds herself deep in the embrace of a community full of secrets, friendship, laughter, and love.

“Casting About” is an uplifting and beautifully crafted second novel of the Cedar Key series of novels. The lead in the novel is Monica Brooks, who moved to the lush Florida island of Cedar key looking for a quirky community, and relaxed atmosphere the island is known for. It has been four years since she moved to the island and in that time she has established a business that she loves, found a husband, and made a home. She has taken over her mother’s very successful knitting shop, which is quite a challenge in itself, even before she gets the unexpected news that will change her life. The ex-wife of her husband has been declared an unfit mother and now Clarissa, her eight year old daughter needs to come live with them. She goes straight from a delightful honeymoon to being a new mother. It is quite an experience for Monica, particularly in the light of the fact that she is not even sure if she wants to have children of her own. What she does not know is that in Cedar Key, nobody ever does such a momentous task alone. Together with relatives, friends and her husband Adam, maybe they could forge a close-knit family that will stand against all the challenges life throws at them.

One Response to “Terri DuLong”

1. Chris Connor: 1 year ago

   Will there be any more books in the Cedar Key series? I am reading “Farewell” now but I know I will miss all these great folks.

   Reply