Shannon McKenna | Top Five Reasons β¦ That a Bio-Engineered Boyfriend is Better!
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I hate to limit myself to only five reasons. That constraint squeezes my brain
like a pair of spike-heeled pumps three sizes too small.
I struggle against my own limits! I want to be slim, fit, strong, smartβbut I'm
crazy about chocolate, and I'm afflicted with an overwhelming love of naps. And
it's so hard to figure out how to set the clock on my microwave. Fantasizing
about people with fewer limitations gives me sweet relief from my own
frustration with myself.
Enter, the fabulous fugitive super-soldier characters from the Obsidian Files
stories. My tailor-made compensation. Here are the five top good things that
came out of their awful sojourn with the sadistic Midland researchers back in
the day. All that torment had to be good for something.
Super strength. The convenience of it. Need to move a refrigerator?
No problem. A grand piano needs to be taken down five flights of stairs? He
won't even break a sweat. Need to push a van? Uphill? He's your guy. And he'll
never, ever throw his back out. That's pure gold. A couple years ago, I read an
online article about gene-splicing in mice for muscle strength, and it blew my
mind. These things are real, and they're happening right now. And who knows how
far they've gone. I like to extrapolate β¦ wildly! But I have a sneaking
suspicion that my extrapolations don't even begin to cover how far science may
have actually gone. Which is scary, and yet it geeks me out no end.
A steel-trap photographic memory. These dudes will never forget your
birthday or anniversary, nor will they absentmindedly give you the same gift for
the occasion twice. Hell, a guy like that would be able to remember the exact
proportion of powdered sugar to lemon juice in your favorite cake glazeβforever.
And he'll retain any password, for any device, for any online account ever
generated. Wait. Actually, that's kind of creepy. Let's not focus on that.
Cybernetic implants that allow him to interface directly with
computers and insta-hack any database. He can upload a language in the blink of
an eye. He can drive a car remotely with his eyes closed. Or hack into a
satellite and stare down through its eyes in real time. The possibilities are
infinite. But don't worry. He's a good guy. He can handle the crushing
responsibility of his omniscience.
Sexual prowess. Not to put too fine a point on it β¦ but in my
imaginary world, all that sensory augmentation and brain stimulation translates
into exquisite sensibility, control, technique and stamina. Add in a massive
dose of the magic ingredient, true and passionate love, and all that power is
put at the heroine's service. Oh, yes, yes. And let's not forget the gorgeous
sculpted muscles and the intense, smoldering gaze. I definitely would rank this
quality in the top five in terms of mutant boyfriend perks.
Combat readiness: Let's face it---the word is freaking scary these
days. Bullets are flying in every direction, war and terrorism left and right,
violent storms raging, wildfires blazing, earthquakes rumbling, volcanoes
exploding. Having an indomitable berserker warrior super-soldier ready to kick
ass for you if ever you needed it would be, well β¦ comforting, to say the
least.
Aside from all the science-fiction/bio-tech-freak stuff, the real issue is
power. My heroes have so much of it, they have to hide their abilities so as not
to terrify the world, to say nothing of revealing their identities to their
archnemesis, Obsidian. Their power resides at that perfect balancing point
between dark and light. Ass-kicking warrior aggression can be a dangerous and
destructive forceβunless it's wielded by a true hero with unshakeable principles
and absolute self-control.
I'm talking about a guy who could hold a butterfly in his fist, punch that fist
through a cinderblock wall, and then let the unharmed butterfly flutter away.
Power tempered by valor, heroism and love. Vast power, but in the service of
life, and the future. What a fantasy.
Most of you probably saw that viral video that came from Paris recently, the
young immigrant guy from Mali who scrambled four flights up the face of an
apartment building in less than a minute to save a little kid dangling from a
balcony. I watched that clip over and over because it thrilled and heartened me
so much. Cruelty and indifference is all around us, but so is selfless valor and
heroism. Even if it's usually hidden from our sight.
It can't hurt, to imagine vast power in the service of love and life. So let's
all dream bigger.
Shannon McKenna is the NYT bestselling author of seventeen action packed,
turbocharged romantic thrillers, among which are the stories of the wildly
popular McCloud series and the brand new romantic suspense series, The Obsidian
Files. She loves tough and heroic alpha males, heroines with the brains and guts
to match them, villains who challenge them to their utmost, adventure, scorching
sensuality, and most of all, the redemptive power of true love. Since she was
small she has loved abandoning herself to the magic of a good book, and her fond
childhood fantasy was that writing would be just like that, but with the added
benefit of being able to take credit for the story at the end. Alas, the alchemy
of writing turned out to be messier than she'd ever dreamed. But what the hell,
she loves it anyway, and hopes that readers enjoy the results of her alchemical
experiments. She loves to hear from her readers.
My fave book boyfriend is most definitely Rourke from JD Robb's In Death series (Colleen Conklin 12:46pm June 26, 2018)
My favorite? Honestly I can't pick. I haven't had the pleasure of reading your series yet, but I am sure they will be right up my alley. (Catherine Wolverton 5:19pm June 30, 2018)
Love the idea of a Bio-Engineered Boyfriend. If you find one, ship over to me! :D Looking forward to reading this, but I think my mum would get to it first! (Ian Hughes 6:30pm June 30, 2018)
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