Sezane blouse
Zara jeans (similar)
Jimmy Choo heels
Celine necklace
Linjer ring (c/o) (similar)
Mejuri earrings (similar)
We Were Always Outlaws by C. Fardoe
Before the World Opened by C. Fardoe
After the Shots by C. Fardoe
Location: Osborne Village – Winnipeg, Manitoba
There was a time in my life when all I wanted to do was write novels, and release them into the world to be read. It was, perhaps, an unrealistic dream, but not an impossible one.
…there was also a time in my life, after I studied writing for four years at university, when I gave that dream up entirely. It was, I was so convinced, never going to happen that I shouldn’t even bother to waste effort on trying.
Life is a wild ride, my friends, truly. I published After the Shots on a lark, back in 2014. The book was a labour of not just love but of a decade of my life by that point and I was curious what might happen if I finally let it out into the world. What actually did happen, the warmth with which people embraced characters that I’d long loved, the rate at which they enthusiastically bought copies and passed them along to friends, was beyond my most ambitious imaginings. After the Shots was a bestseller, albeit (very) briefly.
It was out of those events that one novel became a series. I released Before the World Opened in four years later, in 2018. At that point, I was, admittedly already two years into working on the first draft of the final book in what is now known as the Saint-Antoine trilogy, which I’m absolutely thrilled to be able to tell you finally launched last week: We Were Always Outlaws.
This launch, and all the ensuing fun, like Instagram live chats, events and further releases, is just beginning. But it’s the end of a journey for me, personally. We Were Always Outlaws marks the completion of a project that I, somewhat unwittingly, started when I was still in high school. When I submitted the final manuscript for its last revision, it was with a certain finality. It was my dream to be a novelist for such a long time, and although I suffered some pretty significant setbacks, not to mention more than one serious crisis of confidence along the way, I made it happen.
I didn’t make it happen on my own, though – writers get most of the (generally limited) glory that comes from publishing a book, but it takes a whole group of people to make that book come together. I’m so grateful to every single person who has pitched in over the years, reading early drafts, providing feedback, or even just tolerating me while I talked through different possible plot ideas. And to my very talented friend Bria of Soul Rush Co. for continuing to partner with me to make my books, and We Were Always Outlaws in particular, beautiful enough to be judged by their covers.
I’m equally grateful to every single one of you who has supported me on this journey by buying copies of these books, reviewing them, and sharing snapshots of them on social media. It isn’t easy to compete with other books for attention, never mind every social media app. Everything you’ve done has helped, and continues to help. Thank you for following along, and cheering for me, all this way.
If this is the end of a journey, the natural question is: what comes next? It’s one that I’ve teased a bit, I admit. But the honest answer is, I don’t exactly know. I have a lot of ideas, some of which I’ll probably start to share soon enough. For now, though, I just want to bask in the glow of having completed and published three books. This accomplishment was never impossible, but it was improbable and, mostly through sheer stubbornness, I made it happen, anyway. And that, I think deserves a toast – or at least a good chat. I hope you’ll all join me for one this Saturday, March 4th, at 11 am CST, on Instagram live.
In the meantime, happy reading!
