by Jenni Hodges
Central College professor of chemistry Catherine Haustein releases her first novel May 11. “Natural Attraction,” a historical romantic comedy, follows a young woman trying to prove herself as a scientist in 1871. Forced to disguise herself as a man, she sneaks onto a prospecting expedition, then finds herself falling for the expedition’s attractive preacher.
Haustein said romance and science naturally complement each other. “Science is filled with passion, curiosity and the unknown — just like romance,” she said.
The novel takes place at a time when new scientific ideas, like the theory of evolution and discovery of sperm and egg cells, were raising challenges to traditional views of gender.
“I chose to set Natural Attraction in 1871 because it was a time of great social change,” said Haustein. “Setting it in the past hints at what has changed for women over the past 150 years and what hasn’t.” The book is published with Penner Publishing, which is run exclusively by women and publishes books with female protagonists.
Along with Haustein’s science background, she has a MFA in creative writing from the University of Iowa and is a graduate of Iowa Writer’s Workshop. Haustein rejoined the Workshop last summer, working to perfect “Natural Attraction.
At Central College, Haustein also combines science and literature in her classes. Shannon Snyder, a senior biology major from Saint Marys, said a course with Haustein showed her science and literature aren’t opposing worlds; both are used to understand the world better.
Snyder’s short story “The Tragedy of the Species,” written for the Science Fiction and Empire class, was recently chosen for publication — thanks to Haustein’s encouragement, she said. This story of a family surviving alien invasion appeared in “Bewildering Stories,” an online science fiction magazine, and “Pure Fantasy and Sci-Fi.”
Haustein said she has plans for more novels. “I’d like to dive into chemistry,” she said, “the only science where the percentage of female scientists is increasing — and then perhaps take requests from readers.”
Natural Attraction will be available from Penner Publishing, Amazon, iBooks, Barnes & Noble, IndieBound and other major booksellers. Readers can also purchase copies in the Central College bookstore.
