Andrew Kirschner's Blog

Five years ago today, the book that was possessing me, the story that seemingly forced me to write it, finally got it's way once and for all. Bonnie Boring/Ms. Infinity, the character who went from a strange idea I thought about but never talked about to the obsessive project that wouldn't leave me alone, was finally set free.

The world has... barely noticed. But my life has never been the same. Bonnie now lives with me, more even than she did before. She's a comfort, but also an unrelenting wiseass, a flight of fancy, but also a slap in the face from someone who will tell me exactly what she thinks without a second's hesitation.

This is also the book that I have the greatest attachment to. Without a doubt, my skills as a writer have grown. Where Infinity Begins and Infinite Moon both show better craftsmanship. But Earth's Greatest Hero is the most personal statement.

This is Ms. Infinity with a vengeance. This book is the one that abandons all caution just like Ms. Infinity herself when Misery gets her mad. This is Bonnie accidentally transforming into Ms. Infinity right in front of Hal Holstein, then thinking "What the hell!" and bringing him along on an interstellar journey in her impossible Starship Infinity. This is where she displays powers so broad and varied that it seems like anything might happen.

And yet it also finds restraint, in Bonnie's flaws and her vulnerability, and in her Earthbound life and the subplot at her retail job staring her bestie Lisa Lin.

Writing this book was a ride, an experience like no other. I hope that reading it will bring the same excitement I experienced in writing it.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
#superheronovel #superhero #superheroine #femalesuperhero #originalsuperheroine #originalsuperhero #girlpower #superpowers #fantasy #superherofiction #feministsuperhero #strongheroine #powerfulwoman #flightoffancy #positiverolemodel #sciencefiction #scifi #amwritingscifi #amwritingfantasy #amwritingsuperheroes #msinfinityseries #msinfinity #earthsgreatesthero

Tomorrow, the third Ms. Infinity book is out at last!

Bonnie Boring/Ms. Infinity goes up against a werewolf named Ellen Wahia. Here's the link followed by the blurb:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08...

The mega-powered Ms. Infinity has never met a villain she couldn't beat, until today.

In her day job as Bonnie Boring, she meets a cashier who changes into a horrifying werewolf, and it’s a job for Ms. Infinity! But the superhero is in over her head. Before she knows it, the werewolf has turned her own power against her, and Earth’s Greatest Hero has become the lycan’s super-powered slave.

Presenting an update of classic superheroes. The third Ms. Infinity adventure is full of thrills, action and humor, and the most unforgettable villain yet!

I can now report that I have been hard at work at the third Ms. Infinity book, titled Infinite Moon. I expect to have it out in the summer. The newest addition to Ms. Infinity's rogues gallery is a werewolf named Ellen Wahia. Expect to hear more about it in the weeks to come!

One day, early last year, I sat down and wrote. I thought I would just write a quick little story about the superhero I had been gradually developing in my mind, just for my own sake. I thought, ten pages, maybe twenty. Thirty tops. I really didn't believe I'd be writing anything professional. But then I just kept writing. Every day I added more and more, and then one day, I was stuck in the middle of writing a novel!

By then end, I was overwhelmed by how big a story Ms. Infinity was. The part about The Dwelling (for you lucky souls who have read it) was one of the last ideas I had, and I think it was particularly "epic." Once that section was complete, I was beside myself. How was this the same thing that started as a goofy little exercise?

Why am I telling you this? Because in a sense, it's happening again. My current project was also supposed to be small. It was conceived as a short introduction to the characters, to be given away for free, Effectively it was to be an advertisement for the other book. But, once I got to writing these characters again, I just couldn't stop. And before I knew it, I was writing the second Ms. Infinity book.

So I have been making numerous changes and expansions to Where Infinity Begins. When will it be out? I don't know. A few months. That's the advantage of being an independent self publisher. There's no deadline except the self-imposed kind. It is important to me, though. I'm all over it. And when it does come out, it will rock!

Thank you! Stay tuned!

So, as I stated with the last post, I will soon be publishing a short prequel to Ms. Infinity called Where Infinity Begins. I don't have a definite date yet. (Work is ongoing.) However there are some things I can reveal.

The book takes place two years before the events of Ms. Infinity. It concerns Bonnie's first adventures as Ms. Infinity. The primary villain is a bigoted businessman-turned-politician. There is also a ruthless reporter who is determined to discover Ms. Infinity's true identity. In the midst of her battles, Bonnie struggles to justify her superhero career to her mother, and faces the unexpected tensions her new identity causes with her best friend, Lisa Lin.

If you have not read Ms. Infinity, then this will be an excellent introduction to the characters. For those who already have read it, this is a look deeper into the mythos. It takes many of the past events that are mentioned in Ms. Infinity and explores them more fully. It also expands on some small details, such as the greeting at The Big Box. In fact, if you read both books, you may find an Easter egg or two.

See you there!

I am excited to announce that Ms. Infinity is soon to be just the first of a series. Coming soon, the second Ms. Infinity book, Where Infinity Begins.

As the title suggests, it is a prequel. It will detail Bonnie's first adventures as Ms. Infinity.

Stay tuned!

Ms. Infinity now has a new cover!

So the last time, I wrote about Bonnie Boring and her personal relationships. All of that's important, this being a character driven book. However, it would be a shame if it came off like that was all this story had going for it. After all, it's a superhero story! It has action! This thing is fun!!!

Bonnie became Ms. Infinity for a reason. She has superpowers--lots of them! If superpowers were a car wash, she got the $200 package! Besides the usual superstrength/speed/flight package, she also can shape shift, create and transform objects, manipulate time and space, and create illusions.

Ms. Infinity has many thrilling scenes where Bonnie demonstrates her powers. And sometimes she is pushed to the limit. She stops an asteroid that is seconds from hitting the Earth. She saves Hal Holstein from his kidnapper. She reroutes an entire meteor shower. And there is an epic confrontation with Misery, her enemy from her native world who threatens the Earth. This barely scratches the surface!

And then there is Starship Infinity, another product of our hero's powers, and her restless ambition. When Hal Holstein first encounters it, it is like no spacecraft he has ever seen or even imagined. It seems more like a mansion than a spaceship. And yet, he has seen nothing. As the adventure with Ms. Infinity unfolds, we are gradually introduced to this most extraordinary spacecraft. I won't give much away, but let's just say you have never heard of spaceship quite like this one.

And this isn't even the only storyline! I haven't even told you about Lisa Lin and her confrontation with Denny, the boss at the Big Box.

See you there!

So by way of an introduction, I am Andrew Kirschner. I am the creator of Ms. Infinity, the superhero who stars in the eponymously titled novel. You can get the Kindle version here:

http://www.amazon.com/Ms-Infinity-And...

And the Nook version here:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/ms-in...

Ms. Infinity is Earth's greatest hero. She comes from a far away world, and possesses many superhuman powers. She goes on many thrilling adventures where she protects her city and even the Earth itself. Yet behind the hero is a young woman named Bonnie Boring. She lives in Woodside, Queens with her mother, and works the customer service desk in a big box store with her best friend. For all of her superhuman qualities, she is still a person with needs, desires, and flaws like the rest of us.

Sometimes it seems to me that the few female superheroes seem a little too "precious" in their portrayal. It's by no means always true, but often superheroines seem to carry the weight of a feminine ideal that isn't so far removed from that attributed to more traditional female characters. The "good" women of the superhero world are often portrayed as naive, guileless, and generally just too "good" to be real. Alternately we also have the "bad girl" fantasy, characters who are predictably aggressive.

For Bonnie, I felt it was important that you sense her blood pumping. Of course as the hero, she's a wonderful person with a good heart and genuinely noble motives. However she isn't particularly naive for someone her age. She has seen many things in her life, and her experiences help to lend her wisdom. She also has human flaws--even mundane flaws. She's a slob. She has a short temper. She interrupts people. She's rude to her mother. These are things that make her real, and more accessible.

Bonnie's relationships also break the traditional modes. Her romance with Hal Holstein challenges the expectations of gender roles across the board, from power structure down to division of labor. There is love, conflict, anxiety, and surprise. I daresay that this relationship is also quite romantic. Meanwhile, Bonnie's friendship with Lisa Lin explores the consequences of a superhero trying to carry on normal friendships while keeping a dual identity. There are strains in their friendship. They struggle to be "equal" even in the face of some cruel realities. However if anything Lisa is a step ahead of Bonnie rather than the other way around.

Finally there is Bonnie relationship with her mother, Betty Boring. Aliens they may be, but in their mother-daughter relationship they are unmistakably human. They argue. Bonnie gives her mother attitude. Betty struggles to control her daughter. Yet behind it all is a deep and abiding love and respect that underpins the entire story. Betty Boring's loving example is the heart of Ms. Infinity and her work as Earth's Greatest Hero.

And what is Ms. Infinity about? Above all she represents empowerment. In her own life, she escaped a cruel world where she was persecuted for her own abilities. Now safe and free on Earth, she vows to remember to the power and importance of the people around her. Her superheroic feats only go so far unless she also helps others to see the heroes they have within. As she herself says in her tag line: "Never forget the power you have inside you!"