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- [00:00]
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- [00:31]
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- [00:34]
Villain K
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Carly Fortune
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Podcast Host
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Villain K
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- [01:02]
Podcast Host
Welcome to the show.
- [01:03]
Villain K
Things are going to get weird. It's your fave Villain K. And you're listening to Barely Famous.
- [01:23]
Podcast Host
Welcome back to another episode of Barely Famous podcast. Today I'm sitting with the lovely author Carly Fortune. Welcome to Barely Famous podcast.
- [01:30]
Carly Fortune
Thank you.
- [01:31]
Podcast Host
I'm so excited you're here. I'm about two thirds of the way through One golden summer.
- [01:35]
Carly Fortune
Love it.
- [01:36]
Podcast Host
And I'm so excited because I. I go back to the lake in my hometown every single year and so I feel like this is right up my alley.
- [01:43]
Carly Fortune
You get it?
- [01:44]
Podcast Host
Yeah.
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Carly Fortune
You're a lake girl.
- [01:45]
Podcast Host
I love it. So congratulations on the. On the release of your new book.
- [01:48]
Carly Fortune
Thank you.
- [01:49]
Podcast Host
Are you excited?
- [01:50]
Carly Fortune
I am so excited. I think I'm most excited, like, more than any other book, this book I'm most excited about.
- [01:56]
Podcast Host
Why do you say that?
- [01:58]
Carly Fortune
I think it's because I like as this is my fourth book and I've become more confident with every book and also because readers have asked me for this book and ever since my first book came out, it's like a companion novel to that book. It has characters from that novel. And people have been asking me for this book for years and I finally felt like I was in a place where I could tackle it. Like I felt confident enough to tackle it. And so I'm just excited that it's out there and it's the beginning of, like, it's the beginning of May. So it feels like it's time for summer reading and some escapism. And a happy ending. Like, I feel like we need this kind of book right now.
- [02:36]
Podcast Host
What inspired this book? I know you said the readers were asking for it, but how do you. When. When readers are asking you for something, how do you actually bring it to fruition?
- [02:44]
Carly Fortune
Yeah, that's a good question. So they. The character. One of the characters in this book, his name is Charlie. He was a brother in. Every summer after. And after that book came out, people wanted more of the main characters, but they also wanted him to have a love story, a happy ending. And I had people approach me at book events. They had two women wait at the very end of the signing line for, like, an hour and a half. And they. They looked at me, and they said, we have a bone to pick with you. And I said, what? And they said, well, we've waited here all night to tell you, like, we need a happy ending for Charlie. Justice for Charlie. Justice for Charlie. And I would have pitches for who he should be with. People were, like, matching him with characters from my other books, and they were in my DMs all the time. And so I had hint. Like, I knew that I could write hint. I felt like I'd been thinking about him since I finished. Every summer after, like, even before I had an agent, even before I had a book deal, his voice was in my head, right? And back then, when I got my editor, we had talked about maybe a book for him, but I didn't really have an idea.
- [03:48]
Podcast Host
Okay.
- [03:49]
Carly Fortune
And then, you know, when I was thinking about what I wanted to do for my fourth book, I thought, you know, it's time. I've been thinking about Charlie. I feel like I can kind of put all the expectations of readers and opinions of which there were many aside and kind of tell the story that I wanted to tell. And every summer after is really about, like, my relationship with the lake where I grew. I grew up on the lake in Berry's Bay, the setting of the book. I lived in in the bush, down a dirt road. And cottagers would come in the summer. They would come to their lake houses in the summer, and the lake would kind of explode. And so that book is about my, like, teenage years, whereas this book is really about kind of what the lake means to me as an adult. And it was really a matter of figuring out who the protagonist would be, because I had Charlie, and I did not know who she would be. And all my books have started with settings. All of them have started with the heroines. And now I was like, I have to figure out who she is. And it was so hard to do.
- [04:49]
Podcast Host
I love Alice. I think you. I resonate with her a lot. I feel like I see myself in her. So I loved. I love her. Yeah. But so how do you come up with the names of your characters and stuff?
- [04:59]
Carly Fortune
Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So for the men, the male characters, they're usually names that my husband vetoed when we were naming our boys.
- [05:08]
Podcast Host
I love that, though.
- [05:09]
Carly Fortune
That's so creative.
- [05:10]
Podcast Host
You're like, I love this name, so I'm gonna use it somehow. It's like some people name their dogs after the children that they didn't get to use those names.
- [05:17]
Carly Fortune
Right.
- [05:17]
Podcast Host
So that's perfect.
- [05:18]
Carly Fortune
Yes. Yes.
- [05:19]
Podcast Host
I love it.
- [05:19]
Carly Fortune
Yes. And Charlie was a name that I really loved. Even when I was pregnant with my second. I was like, could I name them Charlie? I'm like, no, Carly. And Charlie is too close. It's too close. So that's where Charlie came from. And then Alice, like, the female characters are all a bit different, but Alice is a girl's name that. Like, one of my favorite girls names, and we don't have girls. So I gave. Gave it to Alice. And then I was trying to. I wasn't sure about her name because I wasn't sure it fit with Charlie. Alice and Charlie. But then when I came up with her last name, which is Everly. Alice Everly, I just loved how that sounded. And then I was like, oh, Charlie would say that in such a sexy way.
- [05:57]
Podcast Host
Yeah.
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Carly Fortune
So it fits.
- [05:58]
Podcast Host
And he does. Well, at least in my head when I'm reading it. And she goes. Heather calls her Ali, which I think is cute. I've never heard that nickname for Alice.
- [06:05]
Carly Fortune
Yes.
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Podcast Host
Which I think is cute. It's a nice little twist of names.
- [06:08]
Carly Fortune
Yeah.
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Podcast Host
Because I think. What is it called? Vintage. Vintage names are, like, coming back.
- [06:12]
Carly Fortune
Totally.
- [06:12]
Podcast Host
So I feel like that's perfect. It's like a modern spin on vintage name.
- [06:16]
Carly Fortune
Yes. That's so true.
- [06:18]
Podcast Host
So do you still go back to Barry's Bay?
- [06:20]
Carly Fortune
I do. My parents still live there.
- [06:22]
Podcast Host
Really?
- [06:23]
Carly Fortune
Yes. Yeah. So we had this house on the lake, and they sold it 15 years ago, and I. I hadn't got. They still live in town. They had an inn and a restaurant in which they sold, and now they have a house in town. And before, I wrote every summer after I visited our house on the lake for the first time since my parents had sold it. And it brought back a lot of feelings and nostalgia. And so I still go up there to visit my parents. And I also, every year, my husband and my sons And I stay at a cottage on a lake nearby. So, like, it's still. And it's where I start writing all of my books. Like, it's where I started to write One Golden Summer, and it's where I wrote every summer after. And I just, like, love being at the lake so much. It's where I feel like. I feel like I take a deep breath as soon as I, like, I step inside the cottage and I look at the water, and it's like the air smells different. The air smells because I'm so fresh.
- [07:16]
Podcast Host
Was telling you, like, I go back to my hometown. I'm actually going next month. And I. As soon as I hit, like, the. I guess the county line, it just smells different. It's so. It's like the nostalgia.
- [07:26]
Carly Fortune
Yeah, for sure. Yes.
- [07:27]
Podcast Host
I love that. But you're so. Your first book was a New York Times bestseller.
- [07:31]
Villain K
Okay.
- [07:32]
Carly Fortune
Had this, like, slow build, and then it made it. Then it made the list and was on for a while. Yeah. So.
- [07:37]
Podcast Host
And I would imagine that each one of your books is like a baby to you. Right. So how does it feel when you're like, okay, my first book made it. And then do you feel pressure or do you just. It's. Whatever happens, you're excited either way.
- [07:48]
Carly Fortune
No, I feel. You feel pressure. Yes. Yes. And when I. When I was writing my second book, Meet Me at the Lake Every Summer after, hadn't come out yet. It hadn't been. I didn't know that it would be a hit, but I still, like, at that point, I felt pressure because I wrote every summer after just for myself. I didn't intend to publish it when I started writing it. Yeah.
- [08:11]
Podcast Host
So what was the final push that you were like, okay, I'm going to publish this?
- [08:13]
Carly Fortune
When I started, like, I was about 14,000 words in, and I was like, it's starting to feel like a book, and I feel like I'm going to finish it. And then I sent the first few chapters to my best friend as I was still writing it, and she was like, you are going to be an author. And she was right. And she was so encouraging and just, like, she was certain. And she's a huge reader. My best friend. Oh, good.
- [08:41]
Podcast Host
So she.
- [08:41]
Villain K
Like a.
- [08:41]
Podcast Host
What do they call a beta reader?
- [08:43]
Villain K
Is it called a beta reader?
- [08:44]
Carly Fortune
She was a beta reader. She was one of the people that I sent the. When it was done, I sent her, her and three friends the manuscript.
- [08:51]
Podcast Host
I love that.
- [08:51]
Carly Fortune
Yeah.
- [08:52]
Podcast Host
That's so nice.
- [08:53]
Carly Fortune
Yeah.
- [08:53]
Podcast Host
So what were you doing before you started WR?
- [08:55]
Carly Fortune
I was a journalist for 16 years. But I wasn't writing, I was editing. So I was assigning the writers and, like, coming up with the ideas for packages. And in my last role, I was overseeing Refinery 29 Canada. So I launched that brand in Canada, hired the editorial team, oversaw that team, and it was so wonderful. Like, I was so proud of what we're doing. I loved the team, but it was so stressful. And in 2020, I got off a really stressful work call. Furious. And I was at this cottage at the lake. And I remember it so clearly because it has a landline. And I slammed down the landline, which is like the best feeling. And I was like, I'm gonna write a book. I've always wanted to write a book. It's 20. Like, in 2020, I need to do something for myself. I need to. I've. All my creativity has gone to my employers. I'm gonna write a book. I'm gonna finish it by the end of the year. And that. And that became Every Summer After. Yeah.
- [09:50]
Podcast Host
So then what was. Did you self publish that one or did you go look for an agent?
- [09:53]
Carly Fortune
No. So then I found an agent, and I was very lucky. I ended up signing with my dream agent, Taylor Haggerty, and then we sold the book after.
- [10:05]
Podcast Host
That's so exciting.
- [10:05]
Carly Fortune
Yeah, it happened very, very fast.
- [10:07]
Podcast Host
And did you already have kids when that happened? I know you don't talk about your personal life a super lot.
- [10:11]
Carly Fortune
Yeah, I'm happy to talk about my kids. Yeah. I had one boy, then I have two boys. Max is eight and Finn is four. And so Max. Max was. We had Max. And then I became pregnant when I was writing every summer after. So Finn was born right when we were, like, finishing the edits on Every Summer After.
- [10:32]
Podcast Host
So so much was going on.
- [10:34]
Carly Fortune
So much. And we moved houses at that time.
- [10:36]
Podcast Host
Oh, my gosh.
- [10:36]
Carly Fortune
And it was, like, so wild. Like, I got a book deal, moved homes, finished edits on the book, and had a baby within six weeks. And my husband was in quarantine in our house because it was like the pandemic. So he was. So I was like, super pregnant and, like, packing up our house.
- [10:55]
Villain K
And so it was just your world.
- [10:58]
Podcast Host
Sort of flipped upside down in a very short time.
- [11:01]
Carly Fortune
It did, yes.
- [11:02]
Podcast Host
But what is that trend on Tick Tock right now? It's like the butterfly effect. If you did not make one decision or you made one decision differently, your entire life would be different, but for the. For the better for you, right?
- [11:13]
Carly Fortune
Yes, absolutely.
- [11:15]
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- [13:05]
Podcast Host
Do you do journalism at all anymore?
- [13:07]
Carly Fortune
Just.
- [13:08]
Podcast Host
Just writing.
- [13:08]
Carly Fortune
No.
- [13:08]
Podcast Host
I love that.
- [13:09]
Carly Fortune
Yeah, I do too.
- [13:10]
Podcast Host
I love that for you.
- [13:11]
Carly Fortune
And it was. Thank. Thank you. Yes. Yeah.
- [13:17]
Podcast Host
I don't know how you guys do it with all the critique and criticism with books. Especially with Goodreads. I'm new to Goodreads like the last like year or so. Do you ever get on Goodreads and read?
- [13:28]
Carly Fortune
I'm much better than I used to be. Yeah, I used to be. When? Before. Every summer after came out. I read every single like early review and I remember a super negative review came in before the book had come out around. It was like Christmas Eve and I was at home in Barry's Bay with my family. And I was like. And it was, it was like. And it felt like a very professional sounding review too. And it was like, this is unimaginated, unimaginative. And this, that, and the other thing. And it was so devastating. I was like, oh, people are gonna hate this book. And. And I, I, you know, I've really struggled. I struggled with it. Like, I used to sometimes go on. Like, I have my second book. I had so much imposter syndrome writing, and I, with both births, have suffered with postpartum ocd. And so my anxiety is super bad. So is writing it in this, like, bad mental state. And I felt like I couldn't do it. Like, the first book had been a fluke and everything was going to blow up. And in, like, when I'm in that kind of bad place, I like to try to, like, prove to myself that things are not going to go well. Or, or it's like, if I can think of all the bad things that could happen, maybe like, it'll be okay. And I would, like, purposefully look at bad reviews.
- [14:47]
Podcast Host
Really. I do feel like that is a little bit relatable, though. Like, I, like some people will say I'm a pessimist. I think I'm more of a realist. Like, I like to think of, like, what could go wrong. So that way, when it goes well, or if it does go well, then I am, like, pleasantly surprised. So I feel like that's relatable.
- [15:02]
Carly Fortune
Yeah.
- [15:03]
Villain K
But it turned out well for you.
- [15:05]
Carly Fortune
It did. And I think stopped doing that. I've stopped doing that. I did not do that. With One Golden Summer. I don't seek out reviews. They come. They come to you like they're all in your. And I let you know right now, this is publication day for me. And there's. So there will be so many, like, happy, like, reviews and comments and it, and it's. And it's wonderful, but at the end of the day, it doesn't. It's not for you. They're like, these reviews are for the readers and for the community of readers. And it doesn't help you as an author either to have all these opinions in your mind. You have to be so, so focused when you write on just what you want to bring to the world.
- [15:42]
Podcast Host
For sure. Yeah, I, I don't like to leave bad reviews on books because if I don't like it, I always still tell people, like, it wasn't for me. But you should read the reviews. You should definitely check it out. Like, I don't. Because what's something that's not good to me might be so good to somebody else.
- [15:57]
Carly Fortune
It's so true.
- [15:58]
Podcast Host
And I don't want someone to. Especially now that I. We've done, like, the Chapter 7 Book Club on Barely Famous. I like, you know, I still want to give everyone a chance, and I love all the authors that I get to talk to. And so just. Because if there's ever a time where something isn't for me, it might be for someone else.
- [16:13]
Carly Fortune
It's so true. Yeah. My best friend and I, like, disagree on books all the time.
- [16:17]
Podcast Host
Yeah. So we were just having that. Alessandra and I were just having that conversation. She was like, I didn't love it, but we differ, so you might like it. And so I'm not gonna not recommend a book simply because I didn't love it.
- [16:28]
Carly Fortune
Yes.
- [16:29]
Podcast Host
But when you're writing your books and you have very realistic characters, how do you do that? Are you putting yourself in a setting? Are you picturing people that you. How does that work?
- [16:38]
Carly Fortune
Oh, that's a good question. So I can't see the characters very clearly. I try to describe them so that you can picture them, but I'm not envisioning an actor playing the role, but the setting, the spaces, I can see very, very well. It's almost like a movie set for me. And I do draw out the exteriors.
- [16:59]
Podcast Host
Did you do this?
- [17:01]
Carly Fortune
I didn't. The painting on the COVID is by Elizabeth Lenney, who's done all my covers. It's. Thank you. She's so talented. I'm so grateful for her. But, yeah, I draw, like, the buildings. I draw the shoreline. Like, I like to be able to move my characters through the spaces.
- [17:18]
Podcast Host
I love that.
- [17:19]
Carly Fortune
And that's kind of how I. How I do it.
- [17:22]
Podcast Host
Do you pull any inspo from yourself or people that you know in real life and put them into your characters ever?
- [17:27]
Carly Fortune
I think there's a lot of me in all the characters, and there are, like, bits and pieces of people I know for the characters. So in One Golden Summer, Nan, who is Alice's grandmother, she's inspired by my grandparents. My mom's parents died before I was born, but they had a cottage. When my mom grew up going to a cottage, and my grandmother would have the kids by herself during the week at the cottage with no car, no, like, you know, laundry machine. And her husband would come up on the weekend when he was done work. And there were these amazing photos of my grandmother at the lake and in her bathing suit and at. At this little cottage. And so Nan is really, like, my homage to my grandmother.
- [18:09]
Podcast Host
I love that.
- [18:10]
Carly Fortune
Yeah.
- [18:11]
Podcast Host
And she feels like everybody's grandma.
- [18:13]
Carly Fortune
Oh, I'm so glad you think so.
- [18:14]
Villain K
Like, you know, there's.
- [18:15]
Podcast Host
There's certain people that you meet in your lifetime, and you're not related to them, but they feel like your grandma, too. That's what man feels like.
- [18:22]
Carly Fortune
Yes. Oh, I'm so glad. Yeah, for sure.
- [18:24]
Podcast Host
And I also pictured because I was really close to my grandmother growing up, and I was like, if my grandmother was still alive, this would be the relationship that I have with her, you know? And I just love that it's so relatable and feels real.
- [18:34]
Carly Fortune
Yeah.
- [18:34]
Podcast Host
So I think that, you know, I did get to start reading it before it came out, but I think a lot of people will resonate with that because it really is the wholesome. I saw the collage that you posted or your team posted on your Instagram that it was so cute. And I was like, this really is the wholesome granddaughter, grandmother relationship everybody needs.
- [18:52]
Carly Fortune
Yes.
- [18:52]
Podcast Host
Truly.
- [18:52]
Carly Fortune
Yes. Yes.
- [18:53]
Podcast Host
I loved it so much.
- [18:54]
Carly Fortune
Yes.
- [18:55]
Podcast Host
And you write escapism novels, so can you explain for people that might be new to reading what that is?
- [19:01]
Carly Fortune
For me, it is a book that no matter where you're reading it, so maybe you're on the beach or maybe you're in your apartment, you feel like you're transported into the pages. And so I want you to feel like you're on the lake. You can, like, smell the pine trees. You can feel the breeze on your face and the sun on your skin and that you are with the characters. Like, you are watching these characters interact with each other. They feel really real to you. So you're, like, snooping on them, and you are just in that place. Like, you are immersed. Like, you are away from whatever your life may be, and you are in the pages of this book. And for me, like, my. My books all have happy endings. Like, there's. Hopefully, there's big emotions, and you're feeling a lot. You're. You're in your feels in lots of different ways. I want you to laugh and cry, and, like, there's steamy bits, and I want. Want it to run the gamut, but I also, like. Want, like, readers to feel safe at the end. Like, there's. There's. There's happy ending, and hopefully you walk away feeling better about humans and our ability to empathize with each other and relate to each other. And I think we really need that reminder right now. I agree. Yeah.
- [20:12]
Podcast Host
I'm where I'm at Right now. And I don't want to give any spoilers. I'm stressed out. Yeah, I'm stressed because I don't know where this is going.
- [20:19]
Carly Fortune
Okay. It'll be okay.
- [20:21]
Podcast Host
But I. Yeah, I love it so much and I'm like, I just. If this has a not happy ending.
- [20:29]
Carly Fortune
No, you're good.
- [20:30]
Podcast Host
Do you ever see any of your books coming to the big screens? Tv, Netflix, movies?
- [20:35]
Carly Fortune
Yeah. So every Summer after is being adapted by Amazon as a series and that's greenlit. The first season is shooting very soon.
- [20:47]
Podcast Host
Are you excited?
- [20:48]
Carly Fortune
I'm so excited.
- [20:49]
Podcast Host
What is that feeling like, though, if you. Do you get a say in characters that were casted? Do you get a say in production? Do you get any of that? Or do you sort of have to, like, sort of let go of the reins a little bit?
- [20:57]
Carly Fortune
I have, like, a bit of a say, but it's not my adaptation, so it's like, not the Carly Fortune version of this book. And because it's a series, it's not. It has to be bigger than the book. Right. The world, the characters develop. But it's pretty cool to see how it all comes together. So that's the furthest along. Meet Me at the Lake is been optioned by Archewell, which is Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's production company.
- [21:32]
Podcast Host
That's awesome.
- [21:33]
Carly Fortune
Yes. In conjunction with Netflix.
- [21:35]
Podcast Host
Okay.
- [21:36]
Carly Fortune
And that is in development. There is, like a beautiful script for it. And I'm so. I'm so excited about that. That was my toughest book to write. And there's a really important mental health story in that book. And I feel like from like, like the first conversation about this adaptation, it was going to be treated with such care and respect. And that's like, how I felt every step of the way, for sure. So I'm really, really excited about that. And then my third book, this summer will be different, has been optioned, but we haven't announced who. Who it's with yet.
- [22:13]
Podcast Host
That's so exciting.
- [22:14]
Carly Fortune
It's very exciting.
- [22:14]
Podcast Host
What does that feel like when you get these calls or these emails or your team tells you, hey, like, by the way, do you just freak out? Like, what do you. What does it feel like?
- [22:22]
Carly Fortune
Yeah, I mean, it's all. Seems like there's always, you know, this person might be interested in it or this person. It's like, oh, that's so fun. And I try not to get too excited about any because you know how it is. Like, there's a lot of talk and there's a lot of you know, possibilities. But until you are, you know, having that zoom call with a team or with a group of people and, like, seeing whether, like, they really are interested or you really connect with them and their vision with them, and then until everything signed and sealed, I try not to get like, too. But it's. It's been very surreal. Like, having, you know, four years ago, when my first book came out, I, like, had. No. I didn't even know I was going to have a book. Like, to have all of this happen, it's just, like, takes. It's taken a while for it to sink in.
- [23:14]
Podcast Host
I would. I would imagine so. But it's all happening so fast. I mean, we're talking about 2020-2025. All of this is happening, and you have. Have, I guess almost all your books are being optioned, essentially.
- [23:24]
Carly Fortune
Yeah. Yeah.
- [23:25]
Podcast Host
What is that? How does your family feel? Do they feel like you are like you went from being mom and a wife to celebrity overnight?
- [23:33]
Carly Fortune
I think. Well, my kids don't.
- [23:35]
Podcast Host
They don't get.
- [23:35]
Carly Fortune
They don't get it. They don't know, which is great. And my son, my oldest son kind of is starting to get it, but. And he just wants to act in everything. He's like, can I be. Can I be in this?
- [23:49]
Podcast Host
If you need an extra, I'm here. Let me know.
- [23:51]
Carly Fortune
Okay? And. But for Marco, it's been like. I think the first thing for him was how I started writing every summer, after which was I wrote every single day. Like, I would get up at 5am and write before I started work. And sometimes after Max went to sleep, I'd write or on the weekend. And, like, I had just transformed and I finished it in four months. And he was like, what is going on?
- [24:14]
Podcast Host
And it was started as, like, a passion project.
- [24:15]
Carly Fortune
It was a passion project.
- [24:17]
Podcast Host
So when it became. You got a book deal for it, what was his reaction to that?
- [24:21]
Carly Fortune
He was so excited. And he, like, he has been like, of course. Like, of course. Like, it makes so much sense. But it had, like, sometimes, I think it was like, last summer, maybe the summer before. Sometimes we just look at each other, like, what is going on? Like, this is so wild.
- [24:38]
Podcast Host
Like, feels surreal, surreal.
- [24:41]
Villain K
That is so cool, though.
- [24:42]
Podcast Host
Like, I cannot imagine what it would be like to see a book come to fruit, like, on the big screen and see it all come to life.
- [24:48]
Carly Fortune
Yeah.
- [24:48]
Podcast Host
That's so cool.
- [24:49]
Carly Fortune
It is.
- [24:49]
Podcast Host
And it's.
- [24:51]
Carly Fortune
So.
- [24:51]
Villain K
When I first started this podcast, it seemed like I had to figure everything out on my own. The script, setup, filming schedule, logos, and it was super, super overwhelming. But then I was introduced to Shopify. Shopify is the commerce platform behind millions of businesses around the world and 10 of all E commerce in the United States. From household names like Mattel and Gymshark to brands just getting started like mine at the time. You can get started with your own design studio. With hundreds of ready to use templates. Shopify helps you build a beautiful online store to match your brand sty which I love. You can accelerate your content creation and Shopify is packed with helpful AI tools that help write product descriptions, page headlines and even enhance your product photography. I don't know what I would do without Shopify. You guys can get the word out like you have a marketing team behind you and you can easily create email and social media campaigns wherever your customers are scrolling or strolling. And best yet, Shopify is your commerce expert with world class expertise in everything from managing inventory to international shipping, to processing returns and beyond. So if you're ready to sell, then you're ready for Shopify. Turn your big business idea into.
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Podcast Host
Sign.
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Villain K
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- [26:57]
Carly Fortune
Different?
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Villain K
It's the number one dermatologist recommended hair growth supplement brand. It's trusted by over one and a half million people and is clinically tested to deliver real results in just three to six months. So if you're anything like me, you have three to six months, right? Like we can do this. We can get our hair where we want it to be and adding neutrophil to your routine is easy. No prescription is needed. You can order online with free shipping and automated deliveries, which is really nice. I get everything sent to my door every single month. Subscribe to save up to 20 and enjoy perks like one on one naturopathic consults and free Headspace membership to support your hair growth journey, which is really nice. This summer you can stop worrying about your hair and start making memories. For a limited time, Neutropul is offering my listeners $10 off your first month subscription and free shipping. When you go to neutrful.com and enter the promo code famous Find out why Neutrful is the bestselling hair growth supplement brand@nutrafol.com spelled n u t r a f o l.com promo code famous that's neutrophil.com promo code famous miss do you.
- [27:58]
Podcast Host
Think that Book Talk has had an influence on you know, your books or your readers or even maybe your book be your books being adapted?
- [28:06]
Carly Fortune
Oh like I have no doubt that like Book Talk has an enormous influence. I like I'm not on it. So that is, I don't. It's everywhere I see everywhere. And I think it's so wonderful like I having been in journalism and worked in magazines and newspapers and really like wanting to connect with an audience and and sometimes publishing really wonderful stories that nobody like was reading and so having like all this passion on booktok with people like readers, connecting other readers with stories and showing you know. And I think what I love about romance and romantasy readers on booktok is there's no, no shame about what they love. And I think that's so wonderful. And yeah, and I like I was on book, I was on TikTok as a journalist and then it was still on when every summer after came out and it was so fun to watch it start to explode. And then at one point there was a video that was like it just is like slams down the book and it's like worst romance book ever. And it had 64,000 likes. And I was like oh this place is not for me.
- [29:21]
Podcast Host
It wasn't yours though, was it?
- [29:22]
Carly Fortune
It, it was mine and I was and it was like, like for one it's kind of amazing. Like I have, I have created this book that people feel so, so many people have opinions on. But it was, it was a real moment where I was like okay Carly, you are going to delete this and this is not a place for you anymore.
- [29:41]
Podcast Host
But was that maybe a moment of like at least the book was getting out There.
- [29:45]
Carly Fortune
Yeah. Oh, yeah, for sure. Yes, absolutely.
- [29:50]
Podcast Host
I mean, to be fair, I have never read a bad review about any of your books. So I don't know.
- [29:54]
Carly Fortune
I mean, thank you.
- [29:56]
Podcast Host
I'm not seeing them, so they don't exist.
- [29:59]
Carly Fortune
I love that for you.
- [30:02]
Podcast Host
How do you balance your home life and writing books? Especially when you're talking about getting up early in the morning or maybe when they go, the kids go to bed and stuff. How do you balance that?
- [30:10]
Carly Fortune
I'm really lucky. My husband has pulled away from his work and so he is able. And I write at home, so my office, offices at home. But he is able to like do the drop off and pick up in the morning. He does lunches, he does dinners. And so I'm able to just like go like after the kids leave in the morning, I go to my office and I write all day. I break for like exercise and then I stop when, when the kids come home at 4:30. Sometimes I work a little bit longer, but that's. That's it. And because, you know, because he's home, because I don't have to worry about food. I don't have to worry about laundry. I don't have to worry pick up. If the kids are sick, he will like take them to the doctor. It's become so much more manageable. I wrote my third book with like the kids being. Marco was still working and the kids were sick all the time and I was sick all the time. And I think we had three weeks of good health between like September and March.
- [31:13]
Podcast Host
Oh no.
- [31:13]
Carly Fortune
And by the time I was. That's kind of my writing period. By the time we got to spring, I was. I just had a full breakdown. I was like, I can't. Can't do this work as a mom looking after these kids. Like, I can't write with sick kids at home and I'm sick all the time. And that's when Marco stepped back from his job.
- [31:31]
Podcast Host
But I love the place that we're in right now in terms of like the no gender roles or, you know, I feel like looking back at like my grandparents and stuff. It was a very different dynamic where today, like men are more willing and able and it's not really, really super frowned upon for men to step up and let women do what they want to do in their career. So that's amazing that you have that support.
- [31:52]
Carly Fortune
Yeah, I am. I'm so glad.
- [31:54]
Podcast Host
Like, that's really cool.
- [31:55]
Carly Fortune
I couldn't do it without him.
- [31:56]
Podcast Host
And you're putting Canada on the map. I think this is the only book that I've read so far. I mean, I can't remember any other books that are based out of Canada.
- [32:05]
Carly Fortune
Yeah.
- [32:05]
Podcast Host
Which is kind of cool because we hear about, like, celebrities and pop stars that come from Canada, but, like, putting Canada on the map. So did. Was that important to you that you wanted to talk about. About Barry's Bay?
- [32:15]
Carly Fortune
Yeah, When I started writing the book, like, I wanted to write about where I grew up and how I grew up, and that was Barry's Bay. And. Because it was just for me. But then when I started thinking about publishing the book, Canadian writers historically have been told that, like, I cared about getting an audience. Like, I wanted the book to. If I was going to publish something, I wanted people to read it.
- [32:34]
Podcast Host
Yeah.
- [32:35]
Carly Fortune
And Canadian authors have been told that Americans are not interested in books set in Canada. So a lot. Lot of the time you'll see authors setting their books in the States and. Or. And so when I was out to agents, I asked everyone, like, is it okay that my book is set in Canada? And I had varying opinions about that.
- [32:58]
Podcast Host
What was that? I don't understand that.
- [33:00]
Carly Fortune
Well, outside of America, the kind of, like, take is that Americans aren't interested in anything other than America.
- [33:07]
Podcast Host
I read. Have you. Have you heard of Lid. Liz Nugent?
- [33:10]
Carly Fortune
No.
- [33:10]
Podcast Host
She wrote Strange Sally Diamond.
- [33:12]
Carly Fortune
Yeah.
- [33:13]
Podcast Host
And then Alice Feeney. They write in Scotland. Ireland. Obsessed.
- [33:17]
Carly Fortune
I love it.
- [33:17]
Villain K
I mean, literally obsessed.
- [33:19]
Carly Fortune
I like when I went out, when I went and spoke to readers about every summer after and relayed that, like, they're so offended by this notion.
- [33:26]
Podcast Host
Literally.
- [33:28]
Carly Fortune
But I had also talked to authors who had said, yeah, my book that was set in Canada didn't sell as well as my book set in the States. And it's just this long. Like, Canada is so bombarded with American media. And there's like, you know, Canadian musicians have a hard time breaking in. And there's just this, like, historically, there was this idea that if you want to break in to that market, you have to, like, talk to that market. Market more. Like, the book shouldn't be super Canadian. And so I was not Will. I had an agent tell me, a Canadian agent tell me that I should set the book in, like, a coastal east coast town in the States. And I was like, I've never been there. I can't.
- [34:10]
Podcast Host
Like, you can't?
- [34:11]
Carly Fortune
I cannot. Like, I can't. I won't. I guess it could be like, Barry's Bay nowhere, but I like that.
- [34:18]
Podcast Host
It's like, it's a real place.
- [34:19]
Carly Fortune
It's a real place.
- [34:21]
Podcast Host
I freak out when I, like, read a book and I hear a place. Like, right now I'm listening to an audiobook that is set near where I'm from.
- [34:29]
Carly Fortune
Yeah.
- [34:29]
Podcast Host
And it's just so cool to. So cool to have that. And so I think it's really cool that. I mean, I'm not from Canada, but I think that's really awesome that people that go to Barry's Bay or grew up on Barry's Bay, like, they will be able to connect to this in a different way.
- [34:41]
Carly Fortune
Yes.
- [34:42]
Podcast Host
You know what I mean?
- [34:42]
Carly Fortune
And I think, like, for audiences outside of Canada, it adds to the escapism because you've never been there. And what I found, like, when I signed with my agent, Taylor, she's based in Los Angeles, and she's like, I love the setting.
- [34:55]
Podcast Host
Yeah.
- [34:55]
Carly Fortune
And when we found my editor, Amanda, she's based in New York, she's like, I love the setting. And I was like, great. Like, I'm so happy to hear that. And then, you know, in hindsight, I was like, oh, the setting is like the character or like, one of the main characters of that book. And I'm so glad that they had the, like, strength to be like, no, this is fine. Like, this is going to really work with our readers. Like, we don't see a problem here.
- [35:18]
Podcast Host
No, absolutely. I mean, I want to go there.
- [35:20]
Carly Fortune
Yeah.
- [35:20]
Podcast Host
Like, if this is a real place.
- [35:21]
Villain K
Let'S take a vacation.
- [35:22]
Podcast Host
I'll take my whole killer network over there. Like, everyone have a passport. I love it. So do you ever integrate your thoughts and feelings from your own situations.
- [35:35]
Carly Fortune
Yeah.
- [35:36]
Podcast Host
Into your book?
- [35:37]
Carly Fortune
For sure. For sure. And sometimes they often find their way in without me really realizing it. So with this book, Alice, she's a photographer, and she is a freelance photographer. So she's really been hustling to get to a spot where she has a list of clients who love her. She's always making her clients happy. She's always saying yes. She's always, like, delivering. And she's realizing that, wait a sec. Like, what am I getting out of this? Like, what? Like, creatively. Creatively fulfills me. And that is something that I really relate to. Related to as a journalist. And she's kind of stepping back and trying to figure out, like, you know, what is work for me now and what do I want? And I think, you know, I'm somebody who. I can have trouble figuring out what I want. It's like, I am, like, a very hard worker. I like to say, yes guests. I like to stay busy. But then when Things get quiet, are quieter. It's like, wait a second. What do like, is this what I want? Yeah, what do I want? And so that like, that felt really personal to me and Alice's story and so little like things like that just tend to like. I didn't know what her career journey would be right when I started writing, but that like felt like right.
- [36:53]
Podcast Host
I liked when she, she does the shoot for the mat. I think it was Swish magazine.
- [36:57]
Carly Fortune
Yes.
- [36:58]
Podcast Host
And she decides that she's gonna send the pictures that were sitting right in her own heart. Yeah, she's gonna send those. And she wasn't gonna do what the editor asked or what she wanted. And I was like, I can resonate with that because I'm in a place at 33 years old where I'm trying to tell people no, not to hurt people's feelings, but because this is what feels right to me.
- [37:17]
Carly Fortune
Yeah.
- [37:17]
Podcast Host
And I don't want to be a yes man or a people pleaser. And so I resonate with.
- [37:21]
Carly Fortune
That's really hard to do.
- [37:22]
Podcast Host
So hard.
- [37:22]
Carly Fortune
It's really hard to do. Especially when we want, want. We want people to be happy with our work and we want to excel. But like you have to like, how do you. So how do you do that while like maintaining your, your dignity and like what you value? It's hard. It's hard. It is hard.
- [37:40]
Podcast Host
But I love that you incorporate that in your books because that's so real to real life. So we're escaping, but also maybe finding inspiration in the characters and we can use it in real life.
- [37:50]
Carly Fortune
I hope so. I feel like I worked as a in women's media for the last part of my, my career and a lot of the stories that I would like want to assign as an editor about like our relationships to money or our, our jobs or to our family are like that kind of comes into the books. So it's right there is this central romance, but there's also. Also looking at like our relationship to so many other aspects.
- [38:15]
Villain K
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- [39:33]
Podcast Host
Have you ever written a scene in your own book and cried?
- [39:35]
Carly Fortune
Yes.
- [39:36]
Podcast Host
Which ones?
- [39:38]
Carly Fortune
Basically, I cry every book that I write, for sure. I cried at one. The scene where everything kind of falls apart between Charlie and Alice. I cried with this book. Readers have been crying throughout the entire end, which I just don't. I didn't anticipate that. The same with every summer after. I remember when that book came out, people were. And my editor, when she first read it, she was sobbing for like the last hundred pages of the book. And I didn't. I cried when I wrote the epilogue to that book, but not through the whole ending.
- [40:14]
Villain K
And you just never know how people react, I guess.
- [40:16]
Carly Fortune
Yeah, yeah. There's always, like, my editor always wants to cry.
- [40:20]
Podcast Host
Well, if I cry in a book, it's automatic five star stars. Oh, I love automatic five stars. Because if you can like, evoke. Is that the right word? Evoke that type of reaction from me? Yeah, automatic five stars.
- [40:31]
Carly Fortune
That's how I feel like if I physically respond to a book that is like, that book is 100.
- [40:36]
Podcast Host
If I can laugh, cry. I mean, I've chuckled so many times at this and I'm like, I see myself here. Do you know what I mean? And I. I just love that.
- [40:44]
Carly Fortune
But thank you.
- [40:45]
Podcast Host
So if you had a dream cast for this book, who would you pick?
- [40:49]
Carly Fortune
I. You know what? I'm like, keeping my mouth shut because we're casting right now. Oh, okay.
- [40:55]
Podcast Host
Fair.
- [40:56]
Carly Fortune
Yeah.
- [40:56]
Podcast Host
Okay.
- [40:56]
Carly Fortune
Yeah.
- [40:57]
Podcast Host
I feel like. Can I say who I think would be?
- [41:00]
Carly Fortune
Of course. I'd love to hear.
- [41:03]
Podcast Host
Rachel McAdams could be a good character.
- [41:06]
Carly Fortune
Yeah.
- [41:06]
Podcast Host
I don't know if she would be Percy or if she would be Alice, because I think they're Both sort of. They have cool personalities.
- [41:14]
Carly Fortune
Yeah. Yeah.
- [41:16]
Podcast Host
Maybe Scarlett Johansson.
- [41:18]
Carly Fortune
Oh. Ooh.
- [41:19]
Podcast Host
I'm trying to think of people who haven't been in adaptations yet, because I think Amanda Seyfried is really good, but she is doing. She's in Long Bright river, which is an adaptation. I really like her. For men, I can see Chad Michael Murray as Charlie maybe.
- [41:37]
Carly Fortune
Yeah, I can see that.
- [41:39]
Podcast Host
But for Harrison, I don't know who I would pick for Harrison. Who is the guy that played. No, he's been in two adaptations already. They just casted him for one of Colleen Hoover's. He was in. He was Atlas in It Ends with Us.
- [41:55]
Carly Fortune
Oh, yeah.
- [41:55]
Podcast Host
But they just casted him for something else. I think he. But Harrison has dark hair. Right. And we describe him with dark hair. I'll have to think about that one. So what was the process for you to find Charlie's love interest? What was that like?
- [42:08]
Carly Fortune
So this was really hard. I've never done and created the protagonist after I had the hero. And because I knew Charlie really, really well from having written every summer after and also having thought about him for, like, many years, I auditioned characters like it was the Bachelor. I created over a dozen characters. I think I counted 18 women with different names, different job titles, different personalities, different ways that they intersected with Charlie, whether they had known him in the past or not known him. And then I was trying to figure out, like, both a character whose story I wanted to follow and then how she paired up with Charlie.
- [42:51]
Podcast Host
Okay.
- [42:52]
Carly Fortune
I wrote 11,000 words of a book with a different character that I threw away.
- [42:57]
Villain K
Are you serious?
- [42:58]
Carly Fortune
Yeah.
- [42:58]
Podcast Host
Will you use any of those characters in a future book?
- [43:01]
Carly Fortune
I don't know. I don't think so.
- [43:03]
Podcast Host
No.
- [43:04]
Carly Fortune
No. I think that poor woman is done. She's dead.
- [43:10]
Podcast Host
Alice is great, and I don't know how it ends. So I hope it's with Alice. This, but no spoilers.
- [43:16]
Carly Fortune
You know how it ends.
- [43:17]
Podcast Host
I hope I do.
- [43:18]
Carly Fortune
Yeah. You know.
- [43:18]
Podcast Host
Okay. I'll circle back after. We'll circle back in book club.
- [43:24]
Villain K
Okay. Let's talk about Haya for a second. I'm obsessed with these vitamins. My kids love them. They come in these little yellow jars that you can decorate with stickers. They come right to your door. And we're obsessed. These are kids vitamins. And typical children's vitamins are basically candy in disguise. So they're filled with two teaspoons of sugar, unhealthy chemicals, and other gummy jars, junk that growing kids should never eat. But that's why Haya was created. These are pediatrician approved superpower chewable vitamins. While most children's vitamins are filled with 5 grams of sugar and can contribute to a variety of health issues, Haya is actually made with zero sugar and zero gummy junk. But it tastes so good so it's even great for picky eaters like my own. Haya fills the most common gaps in modern children's diets to provide the full body nourishment that kids need to grow. And they're formulated with the help of nutritional excellence experts. Haya is pressed with a blend of 12 organic fruits and vegetables and then supercharged with 15 essential vitamins and minerals. These include vitamin D, B12C, zinc, folate and many others to support immunity, energy, brain function, mood, concentration, teeth, bones and more. But I love that these are non gmo, vegan, dairy free, allergy free, gluten free, nut free and everything else that you can imagine. Haya is designed for kids two and up and they're sent straight to your door so parents have one less thing to worry about when they're going to the grocery store or they're doing their click list. And like I said, my, my kids absolutely love them. They loved the entire experience from start to finish. And I've worked out a special deal with Haya for their best selling children's vitamins. You guys can receive 50% off your first order. To claim this deal you must go to ha.comfamous this deal is not available on their regular website. So go to H I Y A H E a l t h.com famous to get your kids the full body nourishment they need to grow into healthy adults.
- [45:08]
Podcast Host
Adults. What is your writing process? So you get up before the kids, you sometimes continue throughout, you know, the day and, and when they get home sometimes. But do you give yourself deadlines? Do you, you're like I'm going to write from this time to this time and then I, I need to have the final like first manuscript I guess for my editor on, you know, four months from now. Like how does that, what does that look like?
- [45:31]
Carly Fortune
Yeah, so we've kind of changed the process, my editor and I, so that we have, I have more time, time with my first draft before I send it to her. So I, I give myself about four months to finish the first draft and like from, until I get to the end and I don't revise as I'm going along. Okay. And I keep a little graph of how many words I've done. So like once I've got 10,000 words done. I color it in. Every 10,000 words I color it in.
- [45:58]
Podcast Host
That's kind of cute, though.
- [45:59]
Carly Fortune
It's really fun. Yeah, I like it. I like getting a gold star and it feels like getting a gold star.
- [46:03]
Podcast Host
Well, it's sort of like. And I really appreciate short chapters, so thank you for doing that. And that's something that we talk about in the book. Like, the reader community is like, I don't want to read chapters that are 35 pages long, 45 pages long. And so every time you get to a new chapter, it just feels like sort of like what you're talking about with coloring and. Yeah, like we're making progress. I love that. So then do you have a goal, I guess, for the amount of. Of books that you. Are you doing like one a year at this point?
- [46:30]
Carly Fortune
One a year. One a year. Um, and that is like plenty because I spend. Yeah, I spend four months drafting and then I step away from it for a couple weeks and then I start revising by my, like, on my own.
- [46:41]
Podcast Host
Sure.
- [46:42]
Carly Fortune
And that takes like a good chunk of time before I. So I just turned in the first draft of my fifth book to my editor.
- [46:50]
Podcast Host
So would you have a release date for like 2026?
- [46:54]
Carly Fortune
Yes, yes, that's right.
- [46:55]
Podcast Host
That's so exciting.
- [46:56]
Carly Fortune
You don't have a day yet, but yes. Yes, that's the. That's the plan. Oh, I love that.
- [47:00]
Podcast Host
That's so exciting. Yeah, I don't know how you guys do it. I think would. I told you, I started writing a novel in 20. I think it was 2019, maybe never finished it. It's still sitting undone and I just like, it's so nerve wracking and I just don't know like, what the process is. So if anyone else that is listening to this podcast wants to become a writer or, you know, look for a literary agent, what do you suggest? Where do you suggest they start?
- [47:25]
Carly Fortune
I think in your case, I would tell myself that nobody is ever going.
- [47:30]
Villain K
To read it for me specifically or.
- [47:33]
Carly Fortune
Just any of the listeners. Anyone. But like, I think for you as.
- [47:37]
Podcast Host
A passion project first.
- [47:38]
Carly Fortune
Yeah, just write. Just write. Assuming nobody's gonna read it. Just write it as like the thing that you. The story you want to tell without all. You can edit anything. Right. You need the words first.
- [47:49]
Podcast Host
Right.
- [47:49]
Carly Fortune
You can make adjustments, you can improve it, but you need to have a first draft done. And so whatever you need to do to like, give yourself permission to do that and space and confidence to do it, whether that's like, I am going to like give myself an hour, twice a week to work on it or I'm going to give myself a word count. Goal for me. I like, I was like, I'm going to finish it by the end of year. And I figured out that in order to get an 80,000 word manuscript done by the end of the year, I needed to write 388 words a day.
- [48:21]
Villain K
Oh, wow.
- [48:21]
Carly Fortune
So that's what I did. I just wrote 388 words a day.
- [48:24]
Podcast Host
Sure.
- [48:24]
Carly Fortune
And it got done. And then I think having it is, it is so lovely to write with like no anticipation of anybody reading it and then read a lot, like read widely what you do. And, and I found, I found writing my book, I felt so, like, I felt so rebellious about it because it wasn't for my job and it wasn't for my family. It was just for me. And I think somet it can feel really hard to do things that are just for us. And so we need to kind of like the first step is figuring out how to like claw out some of that time and like the permission just to have fun and do it.
- [49:11]
Podcast Host
I think that's good advice. It's so hard. I mean, people will always ask me as a mom and you know, as a mom, people are like, well, where do you find time for yourself? And this for you, I guess started as that. It was for you to have time for yourself.
- [49:22]
Carly Fortune
That's. That's right.
- [49:23]
Podcast Host
That's right. I love that. Okay, so that's good advice for anyone listening. If you want to write a book, just do it for yourself and then see where it goes.
- [49:30]
Carly Fortune
Yeah, yeah.
- [49:31]
Podcast Host
Do you have a favorite author that you love to read?
- [49:35]
Carly Fortune
Oh, that's a good question. I feel like I have so many favorite authors and all my, like, my favorite romance authors are all coming out with like new books right now.
- [49:44]
Podcast Host
Yeah.
- [49:45]
Carly Fortune
Tia Williams has a new book that's out today, which is a YA novel that's a spin off of my favorite romance novel, Seven Days in June. And this book is about the character's daughter and her romance. So I'm really excited about that. I love Tia Williams. I love Emily Henry. I love Annabelle Monaghan. I just read this book called Sandwich by Kathryn Newman.
- [50:12]
Podcast Host
I've seen it. Does it have the beach cover? Yes, I know exactly which one you're talking about.
- [50:16]
Carly Fortune
I think this book is a book every single woman needs to read.
- [50:18]
Podcast Host
Okay, I'll add it.
- [50:19]
Carly Fortune
It is, is so beautifully done. It's very short. The writing is incredible. And it's about this family going Going to this beach house they go every year. And the. The. The mother, she's about 50, and she is really going through the, like, the hormones, and she is like. It just feels so relatable. And it's about grief, and it's about marriage, and it's about parenting. And I felt like I was, like, in conversation with. With, like, womanhood reading it. And it's a fast read. Like, it's so good, and it's funny.
- [50:51]
Podcast Host
Perfect. So I'm gonna have to get that. I. I think it's probably on my TBR on Goodreads, but I did. I remember a book talker, speaking of book talk, talking about it last summer because it's been out for a little bit.
- [51:01]
Carly Fortune
Right?
- [51:02]
Villain K
Yeah.
- [51:02]
Podcast Host
Okay. I think I know. And it's like sort of like a muted.
- [51:05]
Carly Fortune
Yes. It's like, kind of yellowy.
- [51:07]
Podcast Host
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I remember that. Okay, so I will definitely be reading that this summer then. And do you have a favorite author, just in general?
- [51:13]
Carly Fortune
General. No. No, I just couldn't.
- [51:16]
Podcast Host
Do you read other genres besides romance, or do you.
- [51:19]
Carly Fortune
I read a lot of, like, women's fiction. I'll read, like, a couple of thrillers every. Every now and then, depending on what they are. And I. Yeah, I do read outside of romance.
- [51:28]
Podcast Host
Okay.
- [51:28]
Carly Fortune
Quite a bit. So sometimes, like, I love. I want to have that comfort, and sometimes I want to read something completely different from what I do.
- [51:35]
Podcast Host
I'm more. I'm new to the romance category, the romance genre, because I was so worried that they would all be so cliche.
- [51:43]
Carly Fortune
Yeah.
- [51:43]
Podcast Host
And I don't know why I thought that, because they' all so different and so relatable in so many ways that I actually love that. Do you read historical fiction at all?
- [51:51]
Carly Fortune
I don't. I haven't been on a historical fiction kick yet, but I feel like I need to because I love history.
- [51:57]
Podcast Host
I cannot stop recommending the Nightingale.
- [52:00]
Carly Fortune
Okay.
- [52:01]
Podcast Host
By Kristen Hannah. And the women is really good, too.
- [52:03]
Carly Fortune
Yes.
- [52:04]
Podcast Host
Yes, love. And if you want something that's, like, not a thriller, and I don't. What genre is Strange? Sally Diamond?
- [52:10]
Villain K
Strange.
- [52:11]
Podcast Host
Sally diamond does not fit into any category. And is Strange just. I just love that book so much, so I would highly suggest that as well.
- [52:19]
Carly Fortune
Thank you. Yeah, I'm gonna look that up for sure.
- [52:21]
Podcast Host
Yeah. It's quirky characters, like, just something you could have never imagined. Like, I truly have no idea where she came up with this story.
- [52:28]
Carly Fortune
Oh, my gosh.
- [52:29]
Podcast Host
So if you're into something that's. I mean, there's a little bit of Romance in it? Kind of. Yeah. It's just like. It's a good one.
- [52:38]
Carly Fortune
Did you read the Husbands last year?
- [52:40]
Podcast Host
Seven Husbands of Emily?
- [52:41]
Carly Fortune
No. The Husbands by Holly Grazio. I feel like you would like it. It's woman. It's British, and so it has that wonderful British voice. And it's about this woman who comes home drunk from the pub, and there's a man in her. Her flat. And she realizes, like, she's looking at her phone that they're. And her hand, they're married. It's her husband. And she's freaking out. And then he goes up to the attic to find something, and down comes another man. And what is happening is her attic is sending her different husbands. And if she wants to change the husband, she sends. Sends him back up to the attic and another guy comes down. And with each husband, her life is slightly different.
- [53:24]
Podcast Host
So it's like the butterfly effect.
- [53:25]
Carly Fortune
Yes. Yes. Except it's like it's a comment on dating. It's like, it's so.
- [53:31]
Podcast Host
I need to read this.
- [53:32]
Carly Fortune
You have to read it. And it's so good.
- [53:34]
Podcast Host
Okay.
- [53:34]
Carly Fortune
And it's like. It's a mystery. It's a thriller. There's like. Like, it's everything. Like, I just feel like you would love it.
- [53:41]
Podcast Host
I would probably love it. I. I am surprising myself when I step out of my comfort zone a little bit with the book. So I feel like that's right up my alley.
- [53:48]
Carly Fortune
Yes, actually.
- [53:49]
Podcast Host
Yeah. Okay, cool. You guys can get one Golden Summer anywhere. You can buy books, Barnes and Noble, Amazon, your indie bookstores, and anything you want to plug. Also, what is your. Where can people follow you on social media?
- [54:01]
Carly Fortune
I'm on Instagram at Carly Fortune and my website is carly fortune.com. thank you so much for having me.
- [54:08]
Podcast Host
Thank you. And as always, we run an online book club called Chapter 7 Book Club, and you can find that on KLA.
- [54:57]
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