Allow me to introduce myself
Plus an index of every Lagoon post, organized by category
First, welcome to my Lagoon!
I’m Charlotte Dune, the author of The Psychedelic Love Series, including the novels Cactus Friends: A Psychedelic Love Story and Mushroom Honeymoon, and the author of the dystopian holiday novel, Acid Christmas.
✍️ I also write this weekly variety substack, which I keep very open-ended because I’m the type of person who loves many things, and the idea of narrowing my focus to one or two makes me feel trapped. So, there is no niche, but if you’re looking for a place to start, here is The Lagoon Index, a list of over 150 essays, short stories, poems, and interviews by me, organized by category.
Dive in! 🐬
This is currently my most viewed post of all time on Substack:
When the mundane feels dated
Hi, I want to share something with you that happened to me yesterday. It really got me thinking about how resistant consumer culture is to change, and how this resistance doesn’t really benefit the consumer. I’m sure someone will unsubscribe after reading this email, so I’ll say goodbye to you now, but for those who stay with me, I thank you. This is a personal glimpse into my daily
Most of my Lagoon posts are free, but some are paid. 100% of the paid proceeds go back into making this Substack better and hiring human artists to work on projects like my MABAM book medallion system.
I post on average, 4x per month.
Keep reading to learn more about me.
More about me
I’m 43 years old, an ENTP, and I live in South Florida, but I’m originally from rural western Virginia. My genetic breakdown is (in order of most to least): Irish, Ashkenazi Jew, Austrian, German, and Lebanese.
I’m a divorced single mother with a neurodivergent/Grandin State teenager, so I have some hardcore parenting responsibilities, and I’ve dealt with addiction in my own life and in the lives of those I loved. I do have a boyfriend now, which is nice, and he writes books too sometimes.
I’ve also lived in:
Richmond, Virginia
Berkely, CA
Washington D.C.
Kampala, Uganda
Yaoundé, Cameroon
Johannesburg, South Africa
Toronto, Canada
I have an undergraduate degree in Gender Studies and International Relations, a post-grad certificate in Sub-Saharan Africa Studies and Public Relations, and an MFA in Documentary Media Studies.
I speak French decently, but not fluently, and I’ve traveled to many places in Africa and Europe, as well as to the U.A.E., central America, and to Japan. I’m currently learning Spanish in my free time.
Finally, I served as a U.S. Diplomat for a decade before leaving the State Department to pursue more creative endeavors.
The Next Book
I’m currently working on a new novel—the third installment in The Psychedelic Love Series. It’s untitled, and I go back and forth between calling it Ayahuasca Star Child or Under the Maloca. Which name do you like better?
I’m a “pantser,” a discovery writer and lifer, someone who writes as I go and doesn’t outline or plot in advance, the opposite of a “plotter” as they say in the writing community, so I can’t always name novels until they reach their final form.
The story follows Thelma and Saman, the same characters from Cactus Friends and Mushroom Honeymoon, as they settle into their new jobs on the Big Island of Hawaii, working to document and produce content for an eccentric, extremely wealthy entrepreneur named Bāne Kama who is running a psychedelic resort on the island, amongst his other wild projects. As they’re absorbed deeper into Bāne’s plant medicine island community, they realize all is not what it seems, and especially Thelma begins to struggle with the role she’s playing in supporting Bāne’s disruptive presence on the island.
Like my other books, the novel is a blend of contemporary fiction, metaphysical fiction, and magical realism, and it explores personal transformations, psychedelic experiences, and psi-powers, but it also introduces new themes, including polyamory, land conflicts, and ethical issues related to Ayahuasca tourism.
If you have personal experience with these topics or see interesting articles/podcasts about any of these subjects, please send them my way! I like to incorporate real-world research into my books.
Other Writing
In addition to this Substack, I’ve also written or been featured in various publications in the past, including The Temper, POV Magazine, NOW Magazine, The Huffington Post, and the Liminal Journal.
Hostess with the Mostess
In addition to writing, I host two Airbnbs, a house in Toronto’s Junction/High Park neighborhood, and a dome retreat in the Shenandoah Valley, and I occasionally run events and workshops, mostly about creative expression and entheogenic practices.
If you’d like to book the dome of the house in Toronto’s High Park, reach out to me by email or in my Substack Dms. I’m happy to offer a discount for Lagoon subscribers.
The dome is in the top 1% of all Airbnb properties in terms of five-star reviews and has won the Airbnb Favorite Award. I’ve also been ranked as a Superhost for seven years in a row.
The Writers’ Support Group
I also co-host a weekly free Zoom support group for writers with bestselling author Lainey Cameron. The Writers’ Support Group is free and open to all serious writers across genres. We meet weekly on Zoom at 8 pm EST. To register for the group, and receive the zoom link, please complete this form.
Now for a rapid-fire round
Who am I…
a writer
I’m most proud of…
just surviving, tbh, I’ve been through a lot
My creations often begin with this...
A big-picture idea
My Morning routine…
I’m so Silicone Valley—it’s literally coffee, nicotine gum, and Ritalin. Don’t judge me.
My flow-state soundtrack…
I check whatever
is recommending, and I always love it.My style and dress…
Targét, baby
My workflow…
I’m a digital hoarder, and I collect tidbits like a hungry squirrel, then slowly put them all together. Ideas and scraps go to Trello or Notion, then get moved to Substack Drafts for short work, or Scrivener for novels, sometimes Google Sheets or Excel if I’m feeling really confused and need to sort things in a more systematic manner. Then I use ProWriting Aide for proofing. I use Canva, ChatGPT4o, or Grok2 to make images and collages.
My dream home…
Beachhouse. I know, so basic.
A few of my favorite things…
Luxurious skincare, weightlifting, yoga, dancing, beautiful interior design objects—like lighting fixtures or home sculptures, Inuit art, large paintings, art films, fancy restaurants, choir music, rap, all things Japan, raccoons, schnauzers, and jazz greats.
Movies and TV shows that inspire me…
Twin Peaks, everything David Lynch has ever done, the work of Harmony Korine, every Kubrick movie, Lars Von Trier films, Wem Wenders movies, Werner Herzog films.
Art and artists I love…
Marina Abramović, Jeff Koons, Matthew Barney, Joseph Beuys, Martha Rosler, Inuit Artists working with natural stone harvested from the cold arctic ground.
Podcast, newsletter, or blog that I tell everyone about…
Daniel Pinchbeck’s Substack is my favorite newsletter. Joe Rogan is the podcast I’ve listened to the most.
A memorable trip…
Morocco
Advice that lives in my head rent-free…
Destroy resistance. — Stephen Pressfield.
If I wasn’t me, I’d be…
A tall straight handsome white man would be great.
Tech I can’t live without…
Bluetooth
Books I can’t live without…
Three Body Problem series
An addiction…
Bread
I’m in a complicated relationship with…
Bread
A favorite poem or quote…
Love is anterior to life, posterior to death, initial of creation, and the exponent of breath.— Emily Dickinson
One last thing…
Always floss your teeth.
A few favorites from my camera roll, meme bank, or mood board….
That’s all folks!
Now You
Feel free to introduce yourself, ask questions, or answer anything from my rapid-fire round!
If you’d like to use my rapid-fire round questions and answer them on your own Substack/blog/social/diary, you can use my Notion template to grab just the questions/prompts.
What a fascinating and variety-filled life you lead! I, too, am in a complicated relationship with Bread.
If I'm not mistaken, didn't we discover we both love Grimes? I seem to remember we both fan-geeked a little when she made her appearance here.