My name is Chloé Archambault and I am a lawyer, a writer and an amateur photographer.I live in Montréal, the city of my birth. A place unlike any other, unique in too many ways to count. Friendly and eclectic. And disorganized. And lively. Steaming hot in the summer and bone-chillingly cold in the winter. I wouldn’t live anywhere else.
I practised law for more than two decades in big firms before eventually calling it quits. It was fast-paced, challenging and very demanding, also rewarding. And it paid the bills. But it left almost no time for pursuits other than those related to the office. And I really wanted to try my hand at writing fiction. So I started to plan for an exit.
I registered for writing workshops and tried to fit them into my schedule. I would show up there straight from work, out of breath with my suit and briefcase. Later, I would catch up on the emails at home. I discovered I could write for hours and never get tired of it. One thing led to another and I started writing novels. Photography was added to the mix when I quit the firm and became a sole practitioner.
A friend of mine recently sent me a photograph of Agnès Varda, the great film director, with one of her famous quotes: “This is all you need in life: a computer, a camera, and a cat.”
I couldn’t agree more.