NORTHAVEN, MN — Where grief and absurdity occupy the room at the same time. Set along the freezing, wind-scoured shores of Lake Superior, The Northaven Trilogy is a very dark, atmospheric queer procedural rooted in the insular dread of a fictional northern shipping port.
In the isolated harbor city of Northaven, Minnesota, cold water, unrelenting fog, and gray skies keep every small-town secret close to the surface. When beloved queer patriarch and LGBTQ+ youth sanctuary founder Gabriel Larkin is found dead in a staged crime scene the morning after his 50th birthday gala, retired Minneapolis homicide investigator Julian Whitlock is pulled from his quiet shoreline isolation.
Accompanied by his expressive companion dog, Cookie Crumb Whitlock—with her brown and black masked face and floppy asymmetrical ears—and allied with his widowed childhood friend Mara Sloan, a blunt local watercolor painter and studio craftsperson, Julian steps back into a fractured community where every truth carries permanent scar tissue. Along the outer stone breakwater, every harbor answer exacts an unbearable toll.
The debut novel introduces a town anchored by civic rivalries, deep family lineage, and silent harbor slips, pulling Julian out of his solitary kitchen refuge back into forensic reality.
Book One • Launching 2027
Julian Whitlock and The Death of The Fifty-Year-Old Twink
The staged gala murder of sanctuary founder Gabriel Larkin exposes decades of Lake County secrets, pulling Julian Whitlock back into service.
Book Two • In Development
Julian Whitlock and The Killer Sesquicentennial
Northaven's 150-year celebration collides with historical land transfers, lake drownings, and long-buried municipal records.
Book Three • Series Climax
Julian Whitlock and the City of Unlucky Murder Math
The final reckoning on the basalt breakwater, confronting the multi-generational predator folklore known as the Breakwater Ghost.
The Independent Mission: Northaven Provisions crafts artisan European-style drinking chocolates and pantry goods not only to bring the sensory atmosphere of the harbor to life, but to directly and independently fund the self-published release and printing of The Northaven Trilogy.
✦ COMING SOON • ARTISAN DRINKING CHOCOLATES & PANTRY GOODS ✦
First small-batch jar run in production for Colorado local distribution
Drinking Chocolate
Julian’s Classic Velvety Dark
Authentic European drinking chocolate. Shaved organic 60–70% dark chocolate couverture, rich Dutch-process cocoa, unrefined cane sugar, arrowroot, fine sea salt, and ground vanilla bean.
Crafted to be prepared with cow, almond, or oat milk.
8 oz Jar (2 Servings)
Batch Release
16 oz Jar (4 Servings)
Batch Release
Drinking Chocolate
Breakwater Spiced Chile Cocoa
A warming adult evening ritual. Shaved 70% dark chocolate, Dutch cocoa, coconut sugar/panela, Ceylon cinnamon, earthy ancho chile, and a sharp pinch of cayenne finished with sea salt.
Crafted to be prepared with cow, almond, or oat milk.
8 oz Jar (2 Servings)
Batch Release
16 oz Jar (4 Servings)
Batch Release
Drinking Chocolate
Harborview Salted Maple Cocoa
Cozy northern harbor profile. Shaved semi-sweet dark flakes (55%), Dutch cocoa, 100% pure organic granulated maple sugar, and crunchy Maldon flaky sea salt.
Crafted to be prepared with cow, almond, or oat milk.
8 oz Jar (2 Servings)
Batch Release
16 oz Jar (4 Servings)
Batch Release
Dry Jar Mix
Julian’s Midnight Double Chocolate Cookie Mix
Layered dry drop-cookie mix assembled with unbleached flour, dark Dutch cocoa, dense dark chocolate chunks, and organic brown sugar. Bakes one dozen rich drop cookies.
16 oz Glass Jar
Batch Release
In Development
Wild Blackberry & Minnesota Birch Syrup Preserves
Slow-simmered wild high-bush blackberries paired with reduced northern Minnesota birch syrup sap for an earthy, tart-caramel sweetness. Currently in formulation while birch syrup sourcing is finalized from northern harvesters.
Small-Batch Preserve
Coming Soon
Mandatory Colorado Cottage Licensing Notice
Northaven Provisions operates under the Colorado Cottage Foods Act (C.R.S. § 25-4-1614). Handcrafted goods are offered directly to consumers exclusively within Colorado through scheduled neighborhood pick-ups, select local markets, and Uber courier delivery.
"This product was produced in a home kitchen that is not subject to state licensure or inspection and that may also process common food allergens such as tree nuts, peanuts, eggs, soy, wheat, milk, fish, and crustacean shellfish."
Postal / Online Shipping Restriction: Northaven Provisions is not sold or shipped through mail-order storefronts at this time.
About Wilson Dern & The Northaven Universe
Created and written by Wilson Dern, The Northaven Trilogy explores the brittle seams where grief, dry absurdism, and quiet queer solidarity intersect against the imposing chill of Lake Superior. Dern grew up in northern Minnesota and relocated to Denver in 2021. Only a few weeks after moving to Denver, he survived a sexual assault; after working through the aftermath with his care and support team, he began channeling this trilogy as a deliberate, creative avenue to release and reckon with that trauma and many other personal tragedies.
The companion culinary line, Northaven Provisions, was created to make the fictional world tangible—translating coastal isolation into comforting, small-batch artisan pantry goods while directly and independently funding the self-published release, professional editing, and printing of The Northaven Trilogy.