Terri DuLong is a bestselling American author, well-known for her Cedar Key series of women's fiction novels. She is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, having been featured in these prestigious listings multiple times. DuLong was born in Salem, Massachusetts, often referred to as the Witch City, and was an only child who developed a love for books and imaginary friends in her childhood.
DuLong's journey to becoming an author was not straightforward. She married young and had three children, later divorcing and going to college to become a legal secretary. However, she was not content with this career and decided to pursue nursing instead. She became a Psychiatric RN, all the while continuing to read women's fiction. During her time as a nurse, DuLong only engaged in limited writing, such as keeping a journal and writing long letters to friends. It was only after she started working in Critical Care that her desire to write more seriously grew stronger, leading her to take a creative writing course at a local college.
DuLong's writing breakthrough came after she and her husband relocated to Cedar Key, an island off the west coast of Florida. Inspired by the quirky characters and the small-town atmosphere, DuLong wrote a women's novel set in Cedar Key. After attending the Romance Writers of America Conference in 2007, she sent a query to Kensington Books, which led to a two-book contract offer. DuLong's debut women's fiction novel, Spinning Forward, was released in October 2009 and became a finalist for the Long Contemporary Novel in the 2010 New England Reader's Choice Bean Pot Awards. She has since published several more books in the Cedar Key series, with her motto remaining "Believe in yourself and make great things happen."