Fortune spent 15 years advancing through journalism, culminating as editor-in-chief of Refinery29 Canada, but experienced severe professional frustration during the pandemic after Vice Media Group acquired her publication. Seeking an outlet beyond her corporate responsibilities, she made an impulsive decision to write a novel purely for personal fulfillment, committing to complete it within a year.

Fortune finished her manuscript in four months through dedicated early-morning writing sessions before her family woke, drawing inspiration from adolescent journals and her childhood experiences at a Canadian lake community. Her self-directed project unexpectedly became a commercial success, with Amazon securing adaptation rights in 2022 and subsequently developing the Prime Video series 'Every Year After,' with Fortune actively involved to ensure the Canadian setting and emotional authenticity of the original story were maintained through production.