Ms. Infinity

Hello all. I am Andrew Kirschner. I am the proud author of the novel Ms. Infinity, and as such, the creator of the character Ms. Infinity/Bonnie Boring.  Here is the Kindle version. And here is the Nook version.

There is a lot to say about this work. As a superhero novel there is natural a lot of action. Yet I believe its greatest strength lies with the characters.

So to introduce the character to the uninitiated: Ms. Infinity is Earth's Greatest Hero, an extremely powerful superhero from a distant world. In her alter-ego, she is Bonnie Boring of Woodside, Queens, a customer service associate from The Big Box, a (fictional) superstore.

So how powerful is Ms. Infinity? Besides the usual super strength/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 she demonstrates her powers. And sometimes she is pushed to the limit. She stops an asteroid that is seconds from hitting the Earth. She saves her boyfriend, 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. 

But there is much more to the book than action. Behind the hero is the woman herself, Bonnie Boring, a refugee from another world. And she brings with her an excellent supporting cast: her mother Betty Boring, her best friend Lisa Lin, and her boyfriend Hal Holstein.

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. With it all comes romance.

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!"