Thanks for the interview Scifi Romance Brigade.
Category: Uncategorized
Poke!
I live in a very old house and there are strange things in my yard. Do you know what this is? It’s not ripe yet and I’m not going to let it live. Pokeweed (Phytolacca) has been called “useful but dangerous” because the berries were used for ink by pioneers. It’s said that the leaves are edible if boiled in two changes of water. That’s the useful part of it. This plant shouldn’t be messed with–stems, seeds, roots and leaves are poisonous. Pokeweed can even kill large animals! Other animals such as doves and opossums love those berries. I like doves and opossums but sorry pokeweed. You have to go.
Multiverse
I blast off into the scifi blogging word with LizaO! I certainly believe in other universes. Maybe that explains politics today. Enjoy the post and leave her a comment if you dare!
Monarch Update
We’re headed for the 4th generation of monarchs in the garden this summer. This next batch will be the ones to fly away to Mexico. The eggs have been laid by now and caterpillars across the state are hatching on what is left of our milkweed plants. By what’s left, I mean that which has escaped the Roundup, a decrease of approximately 58% since 1999. Half of all overwintering monarchs are Midwesterners, making the loss of their primary food source a crisis
There are 74 species of milkweed and 17 in Iowa.No doubt about it, these things could be called weeds. Once you get them going, they spread like the dickens from their roots. They’re poisonous too. (But the blooms smell wonderful!) The milk or latex holds cardenolides (cardiac glycosides), toxic chemicals, which make the monarchs taste bad to predators. Handle milkweed with care! However, like many natural products found in plants, these chemicals could be potential medicines both for heart failure and cancer. That’s what natural products chemistry is all about–finding things in nature that can benefit humanity. It also brings up WHY scientists dislike species loss. Besides being a tragedy from a biological standpoint and an aesthetic standpoint, it could be a tragedy from a natural products standpoint. More than butterflies will be wiped out if milkweed plants are lost forever.
An Unruly Woman
I’m going to have a story in an anthology. It’ll be out November 1 and you can pre-order it here.
To quote from the website
“The Female Complaint:Tales of Unruly Women
ISBN 978-0-9913555-5-6, paperback, 329 pp., $24.95, November 1, 2015
The thirty-six stories in this anthology, all by women authors, center around female characters who follow their own paths and tell the powers-that-be what they don’t want to hear, women who stand up for themselves, for each other, for their beliefs.”
I know you’re all fans of unruly women so check it out!
Sci-Fi Romance
Did you know that Sci-Fi Romance is a genre? It is! I’d like to thank
for designing my header.
Back At It
Thanks for all who voted in that last poll. It looks like Tesla is the man to beat or should I say date? And I do want one of those Tesla cars!
We’re back in lab this week and kind of glad to be back at it. It might surprise people to know that working in a lab is both social and peaceful. The data is what it is and nature takes quite a lot out of your hands. It’s a place where you can control the variables. I can’t say that I enjoy the safety eye-wear but of course, it’s important that a lab be totally safe as well. We got some nice results too.
Poll: who would you go on a date with?
I’ve written two stories where people go on dates with fictional scientists. If you could date a scientist, real or fictional, who would you chose?
Update: read the result here.
Science and Creativity
I’m honored to have been interviewed by author Amy Sue Nation. She wondered when I decided to combine science and fiction. Here’s my response. I also touch on a worry of mine, that with all this STEM emphasis, the right side of our brains and our empathy will shrivel.
Hello!
Thank you for your interest in my titles! I appreciate you stopping by to take a look. I have a variety of novels with a whimsical and scientific twist along with a dash of romance.
Most of my novels can be found at this site, which supports local bookstores. But shop around. There are plenty of places to find them.
What do I have to offer?
My latest–Snakes in the Class.
At Manster College, monster professors guide students in the fine art of fitting into human society—easier said than done.
Professor Gormley Grimn didn’t choose the Gorgon life—the Gorgon life chose her…sort of. When she was cursed by the jealous fiancée of her study partner, Gormley fled, leaving those she loved behind to become a professor of chemistry at Manster College.
It’s a safely secluded life, devoid of sex—until she falls into a lusty affair with Dean Ormr Snaakemon, a half smooth-skinned man, half smooth-scaled snake, and one hundred percent hottie. Life as a cursed Gorgon finally doesn’t seem so bad. But Gormley’s a lover, not a killer.
When the local Purity League vows to stamp out all monsters, she’s pushed to a decision. Should she and her students stick with her no-killing principles, or join forces with the anti-Purity League Knobbers—a group of demigods, including the woman who cursed her?
When all you need is love and a college education, does anything make fighting worth it?
Snakes in the Class is a monster romance novel featuring steamy snakes and a touching HEA. It is the first book in the Monster College Chronicles series.
Here’s the link.
You can buy Snakes in the Class at the following bookstores:
My dystopian satire series, Unstable States, follows three scientists in an agriculturally based authoritarian regime.
Mixed In, a novel where chemistry meets condoms in a place in the near future where technology rules but all fun is banned can be found here:
Lost in Waste: when the only thing standing between you and true love is a sewage lagoon filled with agricultural waste. Here is a universal link.
The final book in the Trilogy Is Wrinkles in Spacetime. When the only thing standing between you and authoritarianism is alchemy. Here’s a link.
Here is a link for Wrinkles in Spacetime.
Here’s an interview about Wrinkles in Spacetime.
Here is a Universal Link for Mixed In.
Here is a Universal Link for Lost in Waste.
Live near Des Moines? Head to Beaverdale Books to find all of my titles.
You can find them at Pella Books in Pella.
Or stop by the City Owl Press Website. Here it is!
Wolves and Deer: A tale based on fact, a regency romance with a twist, can be purchased here.
Questions? Want to talk more? Fill out my Contact form or subscribe for updates and news with a twist.
Catherine Haustein 