We were lucky to catch up with Andrew Kirschner recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Andrew thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?

Ms. Infinity is a very powerful superhero who works a low-paying retail job in her secret identity, Bonnie Boring of Queens. The character had a long birthing process.

I always loved Wonder Woman, but I was frustrated with the direction that the comic book was taking. I started to consider the question to myself, “How would I do it?” That slowly transitioned into the idea of creating a superhero from scratch. One issue I always wanted to address was that even superhero day jobs were too glamorous in my mind.

Then I had a major career disappointment. I achieved a Masters in Urban Planning, but I couldn’t get a job. I ended up as a cashier at a local grocery store. That’s when the idea came to me of a very powerful superwoman with a job in retail in her secret identity.

This percolated for a long time. I never really thought I would actually act on the idea. I never thought of myself as a novelist. But as time went on, the concept took up more and more of my mind.

One day, I decided to sit down and just bang out a few of these ideas, as I thought. It was just for my own amusement. I approached it like a fanfiction, but of my original character. I figured it was just a quick little thing. But then I just kept writing, day after day. Next thing I knew, I was sixty pages into this thing, and not even halfway through the story! Suddenly I was writing a novel!

As the character of Bonnie Boring developed, I was more and more influenced by the woman I knew best, my wife Liz. Like her, Bonnie is outspoken, with a strong sense of justice. She’s very good-hearted, a little impatient and occasionally hot-tempered. It’s always been important to me that Bonnie be realistic in that way. She may be a fantastic superhero, but you should always sense her blood pumping.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I never expected to be a novelist. I still only do it part-time. I had a story in me that I just started writing one day, and I just couldn’t stop. I still feel like the first Ms. Infinity book forced me to write it.

Be that as it may, I’m proud of her. There is a mix of extreme fantasy and realism here. On the one hand, Ms. Infinity has godlike powers. In addition to her extreme super strength, speed, and flight, she can change her form, bend time and space, create and transform objects, and more. On the other hand, Bonnie Boring still faces the same struggles as anyone. She is stuck in a dead end job, and for all her abilities, she can’t find her place in the real world.

There is also a very conscious rejection of gender stereotypes. Bonnie is a woman with godlike powers in love with a man with devastating good looks. I also reject other stereotypes. Her boyfriend Hal is Jewish and her best friend Lisa is Chinese American. Both are lower middle class, a deliberate stab at the myths of Jewish wealth and the “model minority.” of course, both characters are much more than that. Together with her mother Betty, they are the main supporting cast.

The setting is Queens, specifically the real-life neighborhood of Woodside, She lives right off the 7 train. I take advantage of New York’s diversity. The cast includes people from African American, Latino, Indian, and Italian backgrounds, among others.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I really needed to meet other writers. It wasn’t until I was deep into the second book that I found a community. That was when I joined a writing group. Writers need each other, to bounce ideas off of, and for moral support.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

Very simply, anything is possible. I created a superheroine with powers off the charts, and I don’t even need a special effects budget.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.andrewkirschner.net
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/andrew.kirschner.author
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Ms.Infinity1/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Ms_Infinity1

Image Credits
All drawings by Andrew Kirschner