Before the pandemic, a very common question was “Do people still read anymore?” Now, Victoria author Susan Sanford Blades aims to blow that question right out of the water with her debut novel, Fake It So Real.
Fake It So Real is an engaging read from a debut author. It serves as an interesting discussion about love and identity that will get readers pumped for whatever Blades writes next.
“The premise of the book is, basically, a girl goes to a punk show and falls for the lead singer of a punk band,” says Blades. “They have two daughters together and the book follows this woman and her daughters as they grow up without the man, after he leaves them. So it’s really about everyday life and women’s lives.”
Blades—who is currently working on her next novel—says Fake It So Real is about “love, heartbreak, divorce, motherhood, coming of age, and learning how to live an authentic life without hurting anyone”
“[I conveyed those themes] in a really raw and honest and darkly funny way,” she says, adding that the delivery of the writing is sort of a “punk rock Alice Munro.”
“It’s about those everyday things,” she says, “but it’s deeper than that… It’s also about trying to live an authentic life, and how it’s impossible to live an authentic life and not hurt anyone who you love. We’re constantly making choices about whether to do what’s best for us and possibly hurt someone or to hold back from doing the right thing for us so that we don’t hurt others.”
Blades is holding a book launch event at the Victoria Event Centre on Wednesday. The launch will feature music bingo and will, of course, have COVID-19 protocols.
“Basically, it’ll be like you’re going to eat out at a restaurant,” she says. “When you arrive, you will be taken to your table by the host and you will not be able to leave your table unless you have to go to the bathroom or if you want to come to the table where I’ll be selling books and T-shirts. I’ve had masks made and I’ll be giving everyone a mask so that any time they do get up from the table, they need to wear the mask. People won’t be able to mingle or talk between tables or anything like that.”
Blades says that writing means everything to her and is something that she, basically, has to do.
“Writing, for me, is a way to make sense of the world and to connect with others,” she says. “With this book, what I really hope is that people will read it and connect with it and feel less alone in the world. It’s a very emotional thing for me. It’s about connection.”
Fake It So Real book launch
7 pm Wednesday, November 4
Free, Victoria Event Centre
Tickets and RSVP mandatory, at susansanfordblades.com