When Carley Fortune started writing her first novel during the violence of Covid-19 in 2020, she never expected it to be published. It didn’t end there Every Summer After find a place on New York Times The bestseller list was just published in 2022, but now, readers who love the characters of Fortune (and their love saga set in the lakeside town of Barry’s Bay) can see the story made into an Amazon Prime series, Every Year After. “When I was writing Every Summer Afterwe spent that summer in a small house near where I grew up on Barry’s Bay lake,” Fortune, who is currently in Toronto, told the Observer.
In the four years since the release of her first novel, Fortune has written four other best-selling books, all set in different beautiful locations in her native Canada. And while he notes that his writing process has changed, one thing that remains the same is letting space serve as his base. “I need to know where the action takes place before I can find out what that story is going to be,” he said. “And the settings so far are all places I know well, like Barry’s Bay, where I grew up, which is the setting for two of my books.”
In his latest book, Our Perfect StormFortune decided to revisit the coastal town of Tofino on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia. “I visited Tofino twice when I was in my 20s living on Vancouver Island, and I just fell in love with it,” he recalls. “There are ancient rainforests with trees that are about 300, 400 years old, and then the rainforest runs to the coast.
Much of the transporting quality of Fortune’s books comes from his descriptions of the sweet spot, a skill he honed over his 15-year career as a journalist. “I write everything down, I double-check everything I do; I pay attention to the smell and the way the light is,” said Fortune, who also returned to Tofino to do research. “Because I’m writing these steamy love stories, and my emotions are big, I think having these real places is fundamental and helps you feel like you’re there with the characters.” Because Our Perfect Stormthose characters came from an idea Fortune had while watching her children play in the background. “I watched them chase a rabbit, and the rabbit ducked under the fence around our yard, and I just had this picture of two kids meeting like this,” he said. “I thought about those kids for years, and finally they were George and Frankie.”
Fortune is already working on her sixth novel, due out next year, and this summer, filming begins on a Netflix series based on her third book, This Summer Will Be Different. “We’re broadcasting that now, and it’s going to be shot in Toronto and Prince Edward Island, where it’s set,” Fortune said. But for now, it’s all about Barry’s Bay. “Amazon also has rights One Golden Summer [Fortune’s fourth novel, an interconnected standalone that features characters from Every Summer After]so the purpose would be weaving One Golden Summer in the second season, but we are still holding hands.” With Every Year After is officially out on Amazon Prime, Carley Fortune spoke with the Observer about the book’s screen adaptation and her current priorities, including the must-see places in Tofino that inspired her latest book.
