The calendar might say that spring is a mere couple weeks away, but I'm sure those of you in the north are not feeling that. It's been a terrible winter for snow and cold. And although, no, we do not get snow here on Cedar Key, we've had some pretty chilly weather. Some overnight freezes and some days struggling to get to 60 degrees. So I'm also looking forward to some spring-like weather.

The year began with Ray and I celebrating 2013 in our beloved Paris. However, it wasn't quite the celebration we'd hoped for. He ended up in ICU for nine days with flu, pneumonia and a viral infection in his bronchial airways. Not fun! And it delayed us getting home by eight days. But all is well now, he's fully recovered and we did manage to enjoy some of Paris before he took sick.

Here's the gorgeous tree at Galleries Lafayette department store

And some delicious wine I enjoyed, along with some of the sights that make me know I'm truly in Paris

And a few weeks after we returned home, we got a new addition to our family. We now have Toulouse, our blue classic tabby with white Maine Coon cat.  Toulouse is now almost 5 months old and a complete delight! He's fit right into the family and is extremely playful, friendly and affectionate. He has also been mentioned in my book 5, coming out later this year.

Speaking of book 5, it has been completed and is in the hands of my editor.  I will be beginning work on book 6 soon but for right now, I'm taking a much-needed break. Which means I've been doing lots of knitting and reading.  And next month I'll be going to Stitches, the knitting convention in Atlanta with my good friend and personal assistant, Alice. We're looking forward to 5 days of girl time, fun and yarn, yarn, yarn! We've also signed up for two knitting classes, one of which is with Lily Chin, so I think that'll be fun.

June will find me and Ray in the Boston area because our granddaughter will be graduating from high school. It seems like yesterday that my Kaela was just a little girl and here she is a young woman already! And I'm so very proud of her. So another fun time ahead.

I guess it's no wonder my years seem to fly by. There's always something going on or someplace to go. And I can hardly believe that it was 8 years last month since we moved to Cedar Key! And so much has happened in these 8 years, both good and bad. 

I've stayed in touch with some of my previous blogger friends over at Facebook and some I still hear from now and again via email.  One blogger friend in particular I had the opportunity to get together with a few times during my recent trip to Paris. We had first met on my trip there back in 2007 and this time we got together for lunch at a tea salon (photo below) lunch another day and one evening while Ray was in the hospital, Pat invited me to her home for a wonderful Morrocan dinner. It was great getting to spend some quality time with her on this trip!

That brings you up to date for this time. So I'm wishing you a Happy Spring with all good things coming your way. See you here next time............

As most years are, this one has been bittersweet.  August marked the first anniversary of the death of my son, Shawn. I've lost many people in my life, but nothing compares to the loss of a child. Shawn would have turned 46 next month, so I feel him extra close to me right now.  Smokey, his dog, continues to do great! She is such a comfort to me, making me laugh with her antics, and giving Ray and I a lot of affection. It still amazes me how well she settled in our home and she's certainly etched a spot in our hearts. Smokey will turn 9 yr. old in March.

Some of you might remember my very handsome Maine coon cat, Marcel.  Unfortunately, we lost Marcel on Oct. 15, to liver cancer.  But he gave us 13 1/2 years of love and joy and although he is greatly missed, we have good kitty memories.

If you don't follow me on my Facebook page, then you might not know......I was offered another two book contract this year from Kensington, for books 5 and 6 in the Cedar Key Series.  I've been quite busy working away on book 5.  My deadline is February 1 and once again, I'm hoping to get the manuscript submitted to my editor by mid-January.  

In addition to my writing, I've managed to fit in time for both reading and knitting.  I not only mastered socks this year, but I recently taught myself how to make them on 2 circular needles, rather than double pointed needles.  The best part?  When I'm finished, I won't have that "second sock syndrome" because I'll be DONE and have a completed pair!  AND my friend, Alice, was down here visiting me for a week during my Cedar Key Series Knitting Retreat in September and taught me how to knit a scarf with beads, which is working up so pretty!

Speaking of my knitting retreat.....a crowd of my fans arrived in September for the retreat and we had a great two days together!  Knitting, discussing my books and characters and just plain having "girl time." It was such a huge success, that I'm pretty sure I'll be hosting another one next year.  If you think you might like to attend, drop me an email at:  dulongterri@gmail.com and let me know you're interested.  Details and info will follow after the first of the year.

With the year drawing to a close, that means that Ray and I will be leaving for our beloved Paris on December 27.  We're going over to celebrate his big 7-0 birthday and New Years Eve in our very favorite place.  Needless to say, I'm very much looking forward to our trip!

I think that brings you up to date and again, I apologize for not posting here at Island Writer as much as I used to.  But I do post daily over at Facebook on my personal page.  With being so busy, it's much easier for me to do brief daily posts there, plus it allows me to interact with all of you with comments back and forth.  So maybe I'll see you there.

I'm wishing you a wonderful holiday season! Good health, lots of laughter and make your dreams come true in the coming year! 

My first stop was The Yarn Cottage in Fairhope, Alabama.  This was my second time signing here and I must admit, I was overwhelmed with the huge turn-out of women! At one point, there was barely standing room only!  Here I am with Rhonda, the shop owner.  Thank you so much for your support, Rhonda.  You have a lovely shop and some extra special customers!

And then it was on to Opelika, Alabama and the Yarnhouse Studio.  This is a fairly new shop and my first time signing here.  What a great shop it is!  Run by Carrie and her mom, Ann, it's a dream place for not just knitters, but also spinners and weavers.  One room filled with yarn, another focusing on spinning and a back room where Ann does weaving classes.  

Back row: Carrie, Ann, Pat and Jacque sitting beside me.

We had such fun discussing my current novels, characters, why I'd chosen particular names for characters, my plans for future stories and I also got to learn a little bit about each of these ladies.

Again, thank you to everybody for making these two signings so successful!  

If you happen to live in the Beverly Hills area of Florida, I'll be speaking this Saturday at the Central Ridge Library.  And then I'll be on a bit of a hiatus with signings and speaking engagements until October and the release of Postcards from Cedar Key.  These next few months will find me very busy working on book 5, which will hit bookshelves October 2013.

But I'll be back here with updates as my writing schedule permits.  So enjoy your summer and I'll see you here next time.............

It's been a busy time since I was last here in March.  POSTCARDS FROM CEDAR KEY has now been returned to the copy editor and I was extremely grateful that once again, there were no revisions, only minor corrections.  So I was able to get that completed before Ray and I left on our trip to Scotland and England on May 21.  And what a great trip it was!

Three days in Edinburgh and the weather couldn't have been better.  A very pretty city, with lots of great restaurants and shopping.  And oh, yes.....I did return home with a stash of the Scottish Harris Tweed yarn. And another oh, yes......I DID try the Scottish haggis!  I have to say it was similar to scrambled sausage and I liked it very much.....along with the Single Malt Scotch.

Then on to Amersham in England for two nights and we got together with some very great friends.  Having champagne at their home on Sunday morning, before heading south.

But the highlight of my trip was meeting my cousin, Julia, in the south of England.  We only found out about each other eighteen months ago.  We spent a lovely four days with her and her two children, getting to know each other and discovered we had many similarities. (like liver and onions, haggis, various crafts, etc.)  We were even told by a shopkeeper that we very much resembled each other.  When it came time to say goodbye though, it was very emotional and difficult.  We certainly will never lose touch with one another and Ray and I are planning another trip back there next year.

And once I returned home, I had to play catch-up with book related things.  But I'm back on track now and have begun writing book 5.  I had originally said this would be Aunt Dora's story, but there's been a change.  Instead, it will be her daughter Marin's story.  At this point, I'm ready to begin Chapter 5 and I'm very pleased with the characters and story.  So I hope you will be too!  This will be released October of 2013.

If you're in the Alabama area, check out my appearances page on my author website because I'll be doing book signings there the end of this month.  

I have a feeling the last half of this year will go just as fast for me because I'm busy with plans right through December.  Book events, speaking engagements, flying to Boston, the knitting retreat that is confirmed for late September.............then the release of POSTCARDS FROM CEDAR KEY on October 30!  Which will be followed by more book signings in November and December.

And then.......Ray celebrates a milestone birthday on December 8, so we've made plans to return to our beloved Paris to celebrate that and New Years Eve.  We fly to Paris on December 27 for a week.  I've rented a cute one bedroom apartment in the Latin Quarter and oh, yes, I'm beyond excited to be returning to my favorite city!  After three years.......both of us are having terrible Paris withdrawal!

I wish you a very good summer with whatever makes you happy!  Be sure to take time out for a nice cold drink, a great book to read and a fun knitting project!  Don't forget to visit me on Facebook for daily updates and news at Terri DuLong.......you'll have to send a request to access my personal page.  Hope to see you there.

See you here next time.................

Where have I been, you ask?  Well, if you follow me on Facebook then you know.  You know that I post daily on Facebook with status updates and unfortunately, that social media has taken away much of my blogging time.  You also know that the past few months have found me here, there and everywhere doing book signings and book events.  You know that my daughter, Susan, came to visit in January.  You know I've been busy meeting fans that have come to visit Cedar Key.  And lets not forget my down time with knitting, reading and working on my own novels.

So I'm afraid time has gotten away from me and I apologize for missing in action here at Island Writer.  I could give up this blog, yes.  But I don't want to.  I know many of you still follow me.  And if you're not friended on my personal page at Facebook or if you don't stop by my fan pages there, then we have no other way to communicate.  So Island Writer will continue to go on and  I will make an effort to get here more often.

Book four has been completed and I made my deadline of Feb. 1 by submitting that manuscript in mid-January.  At the moment, I'm waiting to get it back from my copy editor to fix anything that needs fixing before it goes to press.  And the release date for book 4 is October 30.

I have begun working on book 5 and this will be Aunt Dora's story.  I have the first two chapters completed and I think my readers will be happy to learn about Dora and her sister, Sybile, when they were younger.

I've been on a knitting frenzy since the beginning of the year.  It was my personal goal to learn how to knit socks and I vowed before the year was over, I would do so.  I achieved my goal early January when I completed my first pair and gave them to my daughter.  I then made a pair for myself and I currently have a third pair in the works.  I love knitting socks!  I think its fair to say I became addicted.  But I also have a few other projects going as well.

I've also been doing lots of reading.  SO many great books out there!  

This time of year is always busy on the island.  So we've been partaking of a lot of events going on.  As you can see, never a dull moment and my days just zip on by until I suddenly realize time has gotten away from me!

Ray and I will be leaving on May 21 for ten days to Scotland and England.  We'll visit with some good friends outside of London and then head south to finally meet the cousin I never knew I had until last year!  Needless to say, I'm very excited about meeting Julia and her two children.  So I'll be busy getting things together for our trip.

And then in August, you'll find me up in the Boston area.  I'm flying back for my 48th high school reunion and will stay in Salem with my friend and personal assistant, Alice.  While there, I'm pretty sure I'll be doing a book signing.  Then on to spend a few days with my daughter and granddaughter at their summer beach house in Seabrook, NH.  And during that time I'll be at an alpaca farm/yarn shop in North Yamouth, Maine doing a book signing.  Details are all on my appearances page at my author website.

Here it is barely spring and my plans are taking me almost into fall!  I promise to get back here before then.  However, if you're on Facebook and would like more frequent updates, please send a friend request to Terri DuLong.

I hope all is going well in your life.  I'm wishing you a wonderful spring with lots of blooming flowers, birds chirping and always much laughter and love.

I'll see you back here again next time..................

I've been busy finishing up book 4, doing some cleaning, wrapping gifts and being late sending some of those gifts out.

Thank you to all of you that support my Cedar Key Series!

Ray and I are planning a quiet weekend, just the two of us with Duncan, Brie, Smokey and the cats.  But tomorrow I'll be making my traditional lasagna and pistachio cake for Christmas Eve dinner.

Whatever your plans are and wherever they take you........enjoy your Christmas!

I had a busy week last week when I did a book tour for my newest release, SUNRISE ON CEDAR KEY.  First stop was Barnes & Noble in Norcross, Georgia.  The Forum was decorated so pretty and I even got to get some Christmas shopping done while there.

But the weather left a lot to be desired.  The first morning in Norcross there was ice on the car and it was 30 degrees!  Ice that had to be scraped!  I honestly don't think I've seen that since I lived in the Boston area.  After 24 years in Florida, I have to say I don't miss it in the least!

And then it was on to Tuscaloosa, where I had a very successful signing at Serendipity Needleworks.  A huge thank you to Ellen, the owner, my readers and friends Dolores and Lois, and the new readers that I met.  And OF course, I walked out of there with YARN!  I try.....I really DO try to restrain myself.  But come on, if you're a knitter, you know what I'm sayin'.  It's darn near impossible to leave a yarn shop without a bag of yarn.  Photos will follow on Facebook, but I got the prettiest yarn called Christmas Holly and I've already started a scarf for myself.  

Friday was a travel day as I had to get from Tuscaloosa to Inman, South Carolina.  And on Saturday I had another very successful signing at North Woods Fiber Farm.  What a fun place that is!

Owned by Teri, she has eleven acres and over 60 gorgeous alpacas!  Also a wonderful yarn shop where the beautiful fiber is carded, cleaned,  and spun into skeins of yarn, in addition to many other types of yarn for sale.  Yeah, I walked out of there pretty well set with a yarn stash also.

And here I am with Teri, the owner, and her adorable little Jack Russell, Molly.

After the signing and on the recommendations of the ladies there, we found our way to the really cute little town of Landrum, about ten minutes away.  Lunch at the Hare and Hound was delicious and the town was all decorated for Christmas.  Lots of antique shops to browse and very picturesque.

I love it when I spy a cat sleeping in a shop window.  It just gives such a cozy feel to the place.

We sold a lot of books last week and I want to thank Ellen and Teri who hosted my signings and a very special thank you to my old readers who came and also all the new readers that I got to meet.  I think you know that next to the actual writing, my favorite time is when I'm "out" there meeting so many wonderful fans and readers!  

So today I'll be busy playing catch-up after being gone and tomorrow will find me back to work on book 4 to meet my February 1 deadline.  

See you here next time...................

The island celebrated a special milestone last evening when Mr. Jack was honored and surprised with a 90th birthday celebration.  The event was held at the Community Center and food was catered by Peter at Island Room.  Mr. Jack's significant other, Dr. Mary Ann, hosted the event and Jack thought he was going to her home for dinner with a small gathering of family and friends.  He arrived at the Community Center with his grandson and found out other plans had been in the works.  And by the smile on his face, not only was he surprised, I think he was mighty happy.

Guests took their turn to wish him well and here he is with Marjorie Hoy and Debbie Dye.

Here he is with Carole Flanders and yours truly, as Mary Ann looks on from the right.

And then it was time for the cake with a rousing rendition of Happy Birthday sung by the crowd.

From the smile on his face the entire time, I think Mr. Jack very much enjoyed the tribute that was paid to him by his friends and family.  Jack Tyson is a very special person so I'm glad that his special day was so successful.

See you here next time.................

I very seldom win anything, so when this book arrived in the mail I was thrilled!  For that reason, yes.  But also because she is one of my favorite authors!

I'd signed up to win an ARC of this novel, which isn't due out until January and lo and behold, I won a copy from Harper Collins!  And I've already finished it.

I can't even remember how I first discovered this author, but the first book I read by her was "The Space Between Us."  She's an Indian author, now living in Cleveland, Ohio and writes women's fiction about the Indian culture.  I devoured that first book and then went on to read all of her other's, including her memoir, "Darling of the Morning."  I'm never disappointed with one of her books, so you can see why I was so excited to receive the ARC for her latest release.

And again, I wasn't disappointed.  This story involves four Indian women who went to college together in Bombay.  Three remained in India, one came for post grad work to America.  She married, had a family and stayed here.  The four lost touch over thirty years.  But now....the one who moved here has been diagnosed with a terminal illness and wants the four of them to reunite here in America.

I thought it might be a sad story (and was hoping it wasn't) but although one is facing death, that wasn't really the story at all.  The author took this illness and used it as a vehicle to weave her plot, which I thought was very clever and extremely well done.

I always learn something about the Indian culture when I read Umrigar's novels and I love learning new things.  She has a way of getting to the core of a character's personality and that's because she's such a superb writer.  If you're looking for an excellent women's fiction novel (no romance, no suspense, just an honest to goodness women's fiction novel and all that the genre stands for) I can highly recommend this one when it's released.  Put it on your wish list or pre-order.  

I'm just so thrilled that I got to read it before it even hits the bookshelves!

See you here next time............