CASTING ABOUT: AUTHOR INTERVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

 GIVEAWAY ENDED
CASTING ABOUT
BY TERRI DULONG

 

ABOUT THE BOOK:

In this beautifully crafted and uplifting novel, the author of the acclaimed Spinning Forward welcomes readers back to the lush Florida island of Cedar Key, where the vibrant shades of hibiscus and azaleas are the perfect backdrop to a colorful, quirky community. 

In the four years since Monica Brooks moved to Cedar Key, she’s found a home, a husband, and now a business to love. Taking over her mother’s bustling knitting shop is a welcome challenge, but Monica’s exciting plans are waylaid by unexpected news. Her husband’s ex-wife has been deemed an unfit mother, and custody of their eight-year-old daughter, Clarissa, is to be transferred to Adam.

Going straight from honeymoon to motherhood--especially when she's unsure she wants children--leaves the normally even-keeled Monica doubting herself at every turn. Yet in a place like Cedar Key, nobody goes it alone. With help from friends and relatives, Monica, Clarissa, and Adam begin to forge a close-knit family of their own--one that will need to be strong enough to withstand all the surprises set to unravel.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Born and raised in north of Boston, Terri DuLong now resides with her husband, two dogs, and three cats on an island off the west coast of Florida. A retired Registered Nurse, she began her writing career as a contributing writer for Bonjour Paris, where she shared her travel experiences to France in over forty articles with a fictional canine narrator. Terri's love of knitting provides quiet time to develop her characters and plots for her future novels.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW:

1. Welcome, Terri Dulong. It is great to have one of your wonderful books back on my blog again. Before we move on, can you tell my readers if you have a website that they can look at to find out more about you?

Thank you and you may go to my author website at www.terridulong.com as well as my blog, "Island Writer", at www.islandwriter.net

2. Where did you get the inspiration or idea for this book?

This is book 2 in the Cedar Key Series. Readers of SPINNING FORWARD will recall that Monica is Sydney’s daughter and this is her story. The idea for the book actually was born when my own son was going through a difficult custody situation. I also wanted to focus on motherhood again and I knew I had to tell Monica’s story of becoming a step-mom, which would involve the self-doubt on her part.

3. How did the title of your book come about?

I’d love to say it was my creation, however, it wasn’t. I had a few other titles in mind, none of which were meaningful. Trying to stay with the knitting theme in the title isn’t easy! It was actually my editor that came up with the title and I loved it because it refers to Monica and how she’s “casting about” in her life.

4. Do you see yourself in your characters? Which characters are easiest or more difficult to write?

I don’t normally see myself in my characters situations. However, I do sometimes see myself in how they act or react to certain events or people. I’d have to say that none of my characters have been difficult to write. Once I decide on the theme or issue I want to focus on, the characters pretty much take over and I go with the flow.

5. What books would you say have made the biggest impression on you, especially starting out? What are you currently reading?

The women’s fiction novels of the 60’s and 70’s always made a huge impression on me as a reader. Barbara Taylor Bradford, Fern Michaels, Rona Jaffe, etc. Stories involving female characters that would grow in the story, enabling them to realize their destinies. I’m currently reading the new reprint of Fern Michaels novel, Sins of Omission, and I can’t put it down. Great characters and a plot that keeps me turning those pages!

6. What is the next or current book/project you are working on?

Well, I’m thrilled to say that I recently received another two book contract from Kensington for my Cedar Key Series and will be contracted with them through 2012. Right now I’m working on book 3, which will be released November 2011. This is Grace’s story, who readers will meet in CASTING ABOUT, as she is Monica’s best friend.

7. What is something about you that you would want people to know about you that we probably don’t know?

That I was recently contacted via email by a complete stranger in England—and come to find out, she is my British cousin. Due to a WWII romance in England that my father’s brother had and unbeknownst to the family, he had a daughter. So over sixty years later, she has found me and I now have the female cousin on my Dad’s side that I had always longed for. And yes….truth is definitely stranger than fiction!

8. What is your best advice to anyone, including young people, who want to be writers?

First and foremost, read! A lot! Especially in the genre that you hope to become published in. Second—write! A lot! Get your work critiqued by teachers, other writers, etc. Make sure you learn the craft of writing, such as character, plot, point of view, etc. and then—keep writing.

GIVEAWAY

THANKS TO TERRI AND 
KENSINGTON PUBLISHING,
I HAVE ONE COPY OF THIS DELIGHTFUL
BOOK TO GIVE AWAY TO ONE WINNER!
IF THERE ARE MORE THAN 100 COMMENTS,
I WILL FURNISH A SECOND COPY MYSELF! 

--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES
---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN CASE YOU WIN!
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO
COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!

HOW TO ENTER:
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ENTRIES ON WEDNESDAY, 10/27 

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ARE YOU ONE OF MY TOP MEMBERS WHO VISIT MY BLOG? ON JANUARY 9, 2011, BOOKIN' WITH BINGO WILL CELEBRATE MY 2ND BLOGOVERSARY WITH A LOT OF FUN THINGS GOING ON! ONE IS TO LOOK FOR THE TOP TEN VISITORS ON THAT LIST TO GIVE THEM A SPECIAL SURPRISE PRIZE! CAN YOU CATCH UP AND BE IN THE TOP 10?

GIVEAWAY ENDS AT
6 PM, EST, NOVEMBER 8!
 GOOD LUCK!