Carley Fortune has masterfully carved out her place as the undisputed queen of the summer romance. Her best-selling novels, which have graced the New York Times’s top charts, are beloved for their rich, emotional depth and captivating settings, often centered around serene lakes and breathtaking natural landscapes. While her stories are famous for making readers swoon over dreamy characters and picturesque locales, they are also praised for their honest exploration of mental health, family dynamics, and grief. In an exclusive conversation, Fortune, a former journalist herself, reveals the intricate ways her personal self-care journey, writing process, and approach to beauty are all connected. From her essential lakeside skincare to the unexpected habits that protect her mental health, she offers a glimpse into the thoughtful, healing philosophy that informs her life and her work.
Crafting Character and Confidence
For Carley Fortune, beauty is far more than a superficial detail; it is a crucial tool for developing the characters in her novels. She considers a character’s relationship with her hair and makeup to be a fundamental part of understanding who she is and how she sees herself. In her debut novel, Every Summer After, the protagonist, Percy, grapples with her hair throughout the story, a struggle that mirrors the author’s own observations of a friend who is “constantly in a state of having bangs, growing out her bangs, or thinking about getting bangs.” This relatable obsession with her hair reflects a deeper inner turmoil and search for identity. For other characters, like Alice in One Golden Summer, beauty is an active choice used to project a specific image.
Alice, a photographer who is more comfortable behind the lens than in the spotlight, has a beautiful but “big, loud, red curly hair” that she feels takes up too much space. She spends countless hours straightening and pulling it back to appear more professional, in an attempt to make herself smaller. However, over the course of the book, her relationship with her hair changes, and she realizes that there is nothing wrong with having a bold, natural look. Through this journey, Alice’s growing confidence and self-acceptance are beautifully intertwined with her decision to embrace her true self, including her vibrant, untamed curls. This thoughtful approach shows that for Fortune, a character’s beauty routine is never just about aesthetics—it’s a powerful reflection of their internal journey and their evolving sense of self.
The Lakeside Writing Sanctuary
Carley Fortune’s writing process is deeply connected to the natural world, particularly the tranquil lakes of her childhood. She considers her ideal writing setup to be at the lake, where she wrote most of Every Summer After and where she has started each of her subsequent books. Growing up “in the bush, down a dirt road” on the water, she learned to appreciate the isolated and quiet environment. To this day, she and her husband rent a place there every summer, and she makes it a point to take at least one week alone to write. She explains that she feels most tapped into her creativity when she is by the water, where the lack of Wi-Fi and the minimal distractions allow her to simply “sit with her mind and work as much as she wants to.”
When she isn’t at the lake, Fortune approaches her work with the disciplined rigor of a 9-to-5 job. She writes from her home office, taking a break for exercise and stopping when her children come home from school. However, when a tight deadline looms, she will wake up very early to start writing. This balance between structured, daily work and a sacred, isolated writing space by the water is what allows her to be so prolific. The lakeside retreat serves as her creative wellspring, a place where she can disconnect from the demands of daily life and fully immerse herself in her stories, ensuring that her novels are not only emotionally rich but also infused with the natural beauty she loves.
From Desk to Destination: Her Essential Beauty Kit
Given her lifestyle, Carley Fortune’s beauty routine is both practical and luxurious, focusing on hydration and sun protection. Since having a child, she has developed melasma, a common skin condition that is exacerbated by the sun and heat, making sun safety her top priority. Her go-to is the SkinCeuticals Physical Fusion UV Defense SPF 50, which she applies religiously. She also always wears a hat, whether it’s a baseball cap or a wide-brim straw hat, to provide extra protection. For a writer who is often on tour, battling dry airports, planes, and hotel rooms is a constant challenge. To combat this, she relies on the Dr. Jart Vital Hydra Solution PRO Glow Face Mask, which she says instantly hydrates and plumps her skin, making it look healthy.
In addition to her hydrating masks, Fortune uses a few other key products that she can’t live without. She has used SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic drops religiously for years and was recently introduced to a new skincare line that she now trusts implicitly. After a facial with a Toronto-based expert, she discovered Holistic Vanity’s Barrier Balm, a rosehip-based oil that miraculously took away all the redness from her sensitive skin. Her facialist also introduced her to the luxurious and expensive moisturizers and eye creams from Cellcosmet, which she admits are worth the price. For a quick refresh throughout the day, she keeps a bottle of Caudalie Beauty Elixir on her desk, which she says provides a burst of energy due to its refreshing minty scent. Her hair also has a simple routine while at the lake, where she lets its natural waves flourish with no styling products at all.
The Power of Scent and Senses
Carley Fortune’s relationship with scent is a deeply personal one, shaped by her susceptibility to migraines. This has made her incredibly picky about perfumes and candles. For years, she searched for a fragrance that she loved and that wouldn’t trigger a headache. Her journey led her to a French company called Nose, which sends curated samples based on your preferences. Through this process, she discovered and fell in love with BDK Gris Charnel, a fragrance she describes as a rare and beloved find. She notes that she is so discerning about scents that she will always compliment someone who smells good. For candles, she prefers woodsy scents, with Diptyque Feu de Bois being a personal favorite.
Beyond her favorite scents, Fortune has also adopted a number of other sensory self-care practices. She has recently rediscovered dry brushing, a habit her best friend introduced her to, which involves brushing the skin before showering to exfoliate and improve circulation. She also takes an Epsom salt bath after her monthly massage therapy sessions. For her hair, she uses a full line of Kevin Murphy products, from a leave-in mask to the Young Again oil, loving their scent and their ability to keep her naturally dry hair moisturized. She also loves to use a a spray that contains gold flecks to add extra shine. For her, these small, sensory rituals provide moments of peace and calm that are essential for balancing her busy schedule.
A Holistic Approach to Mental and Physical Health
Above all, Carley Fortune views exercise as the number one thing she does to protect her mental health and stay creative. When she’s feeling stuck at work, she goes for a walk, and she even has a small walking pad in her office for a quick burst of movement before she returns to writing. She sees a trainer three times a week for strength training to maintain bone density, which runs in her family. She also runs at least once a week, admitting that while it doesn’t come naturally, it is the one time she can get out of her head. This intentional focus on physical activity is a core component of her self-care and writing practice.
Fortune is remarkably open about her own struggles, including her postpartum experience, and she emphasizes the importance of making self a priority, even when it feels difficult. She believes that the word “self-care” has become so common that we forget what it truly means: to pause and listen to what our body and mind are telling us. She openly shares that she has a therapist and takes anxiety medication, highlighting the importance of having a strong support network. Her advice to others is to build these practices and support systems during good times so that you have them in place when things get tough. She stresses the importance of sharing when you’re not doing well with someone you trust, as this was a turning point for her during her postpartum journey.
