Recently released young adult novel, The Catalyst, features Chapel Hill landmarks

The Lantern, Rumors boutique, Talullas and many other Chapel Hill landmarks set the scene for author Nat Bickel's recently released young adult novel,  "The Catalyst."The novel is a complex love story, set throughout North Carolina's varied landscapes. It has been years in the making and follows Kelynn Sanders' adventures, from working at La Vita Dolce to traveling through the Blue Ridge Mountains. 

Bickel has written everything from articles published in the Los Angeles Times to children’s story books. While she spends much of her time as a PR specialist, she said she loves young adult novels.

“Sometimes I'll read adult fiction. I'm like, man, I got to watch Friends or something," she said. 

Bickel said that she uses writing as a way to think more critically about the everyday moments that define her life. For her, being a writer is less of a job and more a lens through which she views the world.

Driving to visit family in Tybee Island in Georgia, Bickel passes through the Blue Ridge Mountains. On these drives she is particularly drawn to the blue shapes of the mountains in the distance. When choosing a setting for her story with characters keen on hiking, the Blue Ridge Mountains came to mind for Bickel. She said that she chose to base some part of the story in Chapel Hill because of its close proximity to the mountains and the beach. 

Bickel said that she was drawn to Chapel Hill’s resemblance to her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky, noting that the diversity of its people made it a special place. 

Bickel said that the story is in part inspired by the beginning of her relationship with her now-husband. 

“I really just wanted readers to feel every raw and vulnerable emotion that comes with falling in love and wrestle through the tension of staying true to who you are and being independent, while also letting love in and letting deep relationships into your life," she said. 

Although Natalie is constantly inspired by her environment, she compared the long process of writing "The Catalyst" to running a marathon: setting a disciplined goal of writing a thousand words, three to five days every week, until it was finished.

At the end of the six-year-long revision process, Bickel decided she wanted to self-publish. She originally thought agents and publishers were the only way to make her story valid, but she no longer believes this. 

However, without the financial resources of a publisher, many self-published authors struggle to get readership in a competitive young adult fiction market. Jamie Kovacs, a local bookseller at Chapel Hill’s FlyLeaf books, said that the bookstore does not currently carry "The Catalyst." Because the store purchases many of its books through catalogues from publishers, many self-published authors can be overlooked unless a customer specifically requests their books. 

"Independently published books typically don't pop up on our radar unless we're alerted to them, but we try to keep an eye on local authors and local publishing," she said. 

Sofia Cook, a first-year journalism major, read the book and said that she related to the main character's outlook on life. She also appreciated the setting and the characters' experiences on Franklin Street, which many UNC students frequent. 

"It was really cool knowing that I'm living in the same setting as her, and it made me feel even more connected to the characters of the story, because I could kind of envision myself in the same places that they were in," she said. 

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