"SKIN" Novel Experiments at the Fringe of Genetic Engineering

Online, September 22, 2010 (Newswire.com) - "SKIN" tells an audacious tale about hermaphroditism, a Himalayan harem, bio-engineered "mini-Minions," and the genetically altered brainchildren of a sociopathic twin whose experiments prove both salaciously amoral and outrageously macabre. Set in the United States, New Zealand, Bhutan, France, and the United Arab Emirates, SKIN is multinational, unconventional, and guaranteed to make the reader's epidermis positively crawl. (http://amzn.com/1441405348)

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SKIN" envisions a near future wherein Mankind both suffers and enjoys the consequences of biological engineering as conducted by willful individuals unconcerned about institutional ethics. When asked if the genetic engineering forecast in "SKIN" would ever become a reality, the author replied, "Parents will lead subsequent generations into genetic manipulation as soon as it can be demonstrated that a tweak here, an alteration there, will give their children an edge. Parents who resist this eventuality will watch their children fall hopelessly behind."

r. muir's novel focuses on the creation and maturation of a 'specimen' named Nana Wolffmuller. Originally synthesized as a transplantable skin sample, Nana's cells are allowed to develop. Born with a sexual anomaly that renders her 'orphan' status all the more exploitable, Nana is purchased by a wealthy Sheik, trained to gratify unusual appetites, and secreted off to a harem in the Himalayan Mountains.

To say Nana was bred for pleasure is not exactly accurate. A paramour she, indeed, became, but hers was an altruistic genesis (in a prototypical sense), a tool for tissue regeneration, a renewable stem cell resource for graft-quality skin. But, like so many donor drones engineered in the early days of Synthegenetics, some tampering had occurred, creating a non-fatal exception, in Nana's case, which ordinarily never would have come to term. Yet, due to a phenomenon dubbed "spontaneous parturition" whereby material deemed appropriate for a single characteristic abruptly takes on many, Nana's altered cells proceeded to divide. Left unchecked (and given a suitable habitat) the end result was a viable human being-embryo onto foetus onto bouncing baby boy. Or girl. Or Nana Wolffmuller-whose gender classification was logged as "ambiguous" because, anatomically speaking, her genitalia proved... unique. Sold in lots, like chattel, these laboratory orphans conveniently disappeared. Decades passed before their trafficking was stanched by international prosecution.

The debate over institutional ethics in biotechnology rages on. Stem cell research remains controversial. Religious sentiments continue to sway governments responsible for enacting laws. But regardless the safeguards and protocols that may or may not be put into place, daring individuals will work outside cultural restraints...because they can. And what human beings are capable of creating they inevitably create. "SKIN" poses challenging questions and raises deep-seated moral concerns while telling a tale that would seem preposterous in any previous era but that now, already a decade into the 21st Century, is chillingly plausible.

While many r. muir titles are available in bookstores worldwide, the author's sci-fi geek-friendly novel SKIN is uniquely available in three formats: an interactive edition at www.currydoglit.com, a paperback edition at amazon.com, and a digital edition for mobile devices also at amazon.com. "SKIN" is also the first r. muir novel to be featured in a video book trailer.

"SKIN" is available in both paperback and kindle format via Amazon.com:
Permalink: http://amzn.com/1441405348
Twitter: Skin by r. muir http://t.co/ipsE2Lc via @amazon
Video trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4oVXPUScEA

About r. muir

Author, Civil Liberties Counselor, Test Center Administrator, Croupier, and Little League Umpire, r. muir's current job titles rival the author's literary titles for contrast and diversity. Unconventional styles, controversial topics, and international settings are the hallmarks of an output that includes, to date, 14 novels, 12 short stories, 4 children's books, 1 screenplay, and a 'poem-o-graphic.' Published by St. Martin's Press, NY, USA, Snowbooks, London, UK, and CreateSpace (through Author Central) at Amazon.com, muir is also accessible on the world-wide-web @ currydoglit.com.