Lost in Waste

Book 2: Unstable States

by Catherine Haustein

Genres: Humor & Satire; Dystopian; Hard Science Fiction; friends to lovers

Synopsis

Being a chemist has never been too exciting for Cali Van Winkle, but in the independent city-state Cochtonia, it comes with unique challenges...

Cali and genetically modified "Icon" Eve Whitehead compete as Team Beautiful and Damned for the opportunity of easier lives in their tightly controlled society, but their assignment is garbage—literally.

The women must find practical uses for Cochtonia's putrid sewage lagoon, the WasteBin, a remote area where garbage and hog waste overruns everything. It's a disgusting task until Cali and Eve discover something very rare living near the WasteBin: virile males.

Suddenly their assignment isn't so rancid, and the very thought of experiencing true love becomes their motivation, but there's far more to CrispEr males, Remmer and Layal, than they're willing to admit.

After all, the males are genetically modified erotic escorts.

When the men and women are separated by a strange chain of events, the women must focus on winning the competition and gaining the status that will allow them to be with their men—if they can find them.

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If you like Megan Lynch, Jack Hunt, Robert J. Crane, James D. Prescott, and Grace Hamilton, you'll love this unique and fun dystopian adventure!

“The author introduces an entertaining cast of characters, while warning us of what could be. - Author Lee Joanne Collins

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What reviewers are saying:

★★★★★ “A fantastic, sexy read, and the main character's struggles are very relatable for all women. Would definitely recommend!”

★★★★★ “Hilarious, life-affirming, politically provocative . . . I loved seeing the world from the viewpoint of a chemist! A page-turner plot and clever writing.”

★★★★★ “A unique love story that will suck you in, take you on a wild ride, and spit you back out on the other side with a smile.”

★★★★★ “Keeping the reader interested from start to finish.”

★★★★★ “The author introduces an entertaining cast of characters, while warning us of what could be.”

Release date: February 18, 2020

Publisher: City Owl Press

Print pages: 323

Content advisory: naughty words and situations

Sample

"We need to come up with a way to make this a destination. There aren’t any destinations in Cochtonia beyond the Harvest Festival, Corn Days, Cochton Enterprise’s New Year’s Eve party, and Cochtonville Days.”

            “What’s going on with the cabin?  Do more people live out here?”

            Three geese flew over, honking asthmatically.

Eve said, “Maybe it’s a hunting cabin and this could be a hunting range. Shoot your goose and we will cook it to order. We can develop the shack into a restaurant. Your goose is cooked—to perfection.”

            A goose landed on the lagoon, cracking the frothy surface of the water. The bird honked in alarm, and fell over with a brown and white wing jutting up.

            “Or maybe not,” I said.

            “Tragic. This could be a resort for people who hate birds.”

             The gas detector alarmed.

            “The bird cracked the crust and released the gases,” I cried as a rotten egg smell burned my nose.

            We stumbled into the shack. Eve bent over, holding her stomach. “Why would people come here? I’d say we should go home, but I don’t want a husband.”

            “We can’t give up so soon.” I held up the binoculars and looked out the window. “The crust has healed itself already. We can go back out.”

I wondered if I’d been mentally affected by the gas release. Figures darted between two piles of garbage. My dad had told me tales of abominable snowmen who lurked in the desolation of the Himalayas. Why wouldn’t there be such creatures here in this abominable place? “We’re not alone. Things are out there on the other side of the pond, upright things on two legs.”

            “Somebody else is beating us to the punch! Damn it. No.”

            The binoculars shook in my hands. Two stocky men, shirtless, walked down on the gravelly slope to the water’s edge. They wore tiny shorts and hiking boots. They had nice muscles and flat abs. One was a redhead with a shock of tangled hair; the taller one had dark curls cascading down his neck. The men stood in the sun gawking at the bags of trash strewn about.

            “You-you have got to s-see this.” I handed Eve the binoculars.

            “What am I looking at?”

            “Next to the water line.”

            “It’s-it’s men. Non-dad men,” she gasped.

            “Who are they?” said I said. “Are these the residents?”

            “I hope so. Those are men, and boy

are they. The residents are men!”