A Canadian author has had her life changed by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex after the pair reportedly snapped up the rights to her new book with a £3 million deal to produce it for Netflix.
Carley Fortune, who is also an award-winning journalist and former newspaper editor, found success with her first romance novel, Every Summer After, which was released in 2022 and went on to become a New York Times bestseller. But it’s her sophomore book, Meet Me At The Lake, which has proven to be a hit with Harry and Meghan, who have reportedly purchased the rights to produce a televised adaptation. A source said:“The themes of the book gripped the couple and it was chosen for their first adaptation with Netflix.”
Meet Me At The Lake follows a love story between two adults who meet just twice in their lives, “when they need each other most”. Fortune also describes the novel as a “love letter to Toronto”, a city which Markle holds dear, having lived there for seven years during the filming of Suits. The book also features a key character’s mother dying in a car crash, which bears similarities to Prince Harry’s loss of Princess Diana.
The news of the deal comes after the collapse of the Duke and Duchess’ partnership with Spotify, worth a reported £18 million, after just one series of Markle’s “diva”-themed podcast Archetypes.
It’ll be welcome news to Fortune, who is an already-established fan of the royal couple, as revealed by old tweets where she live-reacted to their wedding coverage (which she watched from Canada at 4am) and expressed her love for Markle’s role in Suits.
Fortune also lives in Toronto with her husband and two sons, and she was raised primarily in Ontario, Canada, as well as in a suburban town on the outskirts of Sydney, Australia. After obtaining her Bachelor of Journalism from Toronto Metropolitan University, Fortune went on to work at a series of popular Canadian publications, such as The Globe and Mail and Chatelaine, a Canadian women’s magazine.
While at Chatelaine, Fortune would occasionally write about Markle, including a piece on her wedding hair-do, titled “Meghan Markle Can’t Stop Won’t Stop With The Messy Bun, Even For Her Wedding.” Along with these titles, Fortune also worked as Executive Editor of the Canadian arm of the online women’s publication Refinery29.
During her time as Executive Editor of Refinery29 Canada, Fortune oversaw the publication of articles such as “How The ‘Meghan Markle Effect’ Has Transformed Canadian Fashion” and “Meghan Markle’s Favourite Canadian Fashion Brands,” as well as a piece titled “How Will Prince Harry & Meghan Markle Make Money Now?” following the pair’s acrimonious split from the royal family in early 2020.
As it turns out, Fortune and the Sussexes will be making money together, turning her successful second novel into a series. The adaptation will be Harry and Meghan’s first foray into fictional television, though their partnership with Netflix is already well-forged thanks to the bombshell documentary they released via the streaming service earlier this year.
