Take 5 with Warren Kensington III

Matt: We've already interviewed his son...now we welcome Warren Kensington III to the blog for Take 5.

Warren III: Thanks for having me, but I'm in uniform.

Matt: You want me to call you the Crusading Comet?

Warren III: Please.

Matt: We talked about this. You know what you have to do.

Warren III: (grunts) Do I have to?

Matt: I can call you "Trip" or "Trey" if you like, Mister Kensington.

Warren III: (defeated sigh) I'm Batman.

Matt: (claps) Thank you. The Crusading Comet joins me today. First question. Where do you get those wonderful toys?

Crusading Comet: I don't think I like the direction of this interview.

Matt: What about those toys?

Crusading Comet: I don't have toys. I have tools. Gadgets. Weapons. Not toys. Most of them are assembled in-house with supplies appropriated from different markets. Mortimer is my acquisitions expert.

Matt: What about the acronyms? Why CIGAR (Comet Intrusion Glider for Aerial Reconnaissance)? Why the Comet Aerobic Recreational Drilling and Intensive Athletic Center (CARDIAC)?

Crusading Comet: It's our way of putting our mark on our tools.

Matt: You could just...stamp them with a Crusading Comet logo.

Crusading Comet: We do.

Matt: You mentioned Mortimer P. Willoughby just a minute ago. A charming man, for sure. What role does he play?

Crusading Comet: The question really is "what role doesn't he play?" Mortimer is everything you could ever ask for. Mentor. Confidant. Chauffeur. Pilot. Craftsman. He was like a father to me...and like a father to Warren.

Matt: Let's delve into your relationship with your son, who will one day take up the mantle of the Crusading Comet. How would you describe your relationship with him?

Crusading Comet: Warren has a lot to live up to. His father is a superhero. His grandfather was a superhero. His great-grandfather was a superhero. For better or worse, it's part of being a Kensington man. It isn't always easy. While other trust fund kids were going on expensive trips and getting designer clothes, my son was learning hand-to-hand combat and working on his computer skills. Leading a double life is hard enough when it's just one of you. Bringing a son into it...complicates things.

Matt: I imagine that's where Morty is a big help.

Crusading Comet: He doesn't like being called "Morty." But, yes, Mortimer is the unofficial teacher and trainer of future Crusading Comets. My responsibilities often keep me out of the penthouse. Mortimer always picked up the slack. I can't imagine what we'd do if he left.

Matt: Shifting gears a bit here, but what can you say about Colonel Chaos?

Crusading Comet: Chaos is a super-powerful, super-intelligent man. I think, if the world were ever in danger, he's the person I'd want in charge. He's fair-minded and sees the big picture. That's a actually a hard thing to admit. We haven't always seen eye-to-eye...my family had dealings with him before he became a good guy. Chaos could've plunged our world into an abyss we'd never be able to claw our way out of. He's changed. Our mutual distaste subsided during a crisis in the Heroic Legion.

Matt: You're talking about the Trial of Demonspawn.

Crusading Comet: That's correct. Some of our prominent heroes, mostly Samson Knight and Great Alexander, wanted a summary judgment. Chaos felt a fair trial was in order. I agreed. It was one of the few times we found common ground on anything. Subsequently, our views began to align.

Matt: That's all we have time for today. Thank you for joining us.

Crusading Comet: This was...better...than I thought it would be.

Matt: Glad to hear it. You can learn more about the Crusading Comet and his world in I, Crimsonstreak, available from these fine retailers in a variety of formats:

Candlemark & Gleam Website
Amazon Paperback
Amazon Kindle Edition
Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble NOOK Book

GO TO CRIMSONSTREAK CENTRAL!

Take 5 with Warren Kensington IV

Matt: Another Take 5 to share with you today. Joining me on the blog, Warren Kensington IV. Thanks for being here.

Warren IV: Whatever.

Matt: You're sometimes referred to as the "Once and Future Crusading Comet." What does that mean?

Warren IV: You tell me. It's a stupid epithet. What does it mean...that I'm King Arthur? It doesn't make any sense.

Matt: I hear you're quite the technological marvel. Show me something that will wow me.

Warren IV: (takes phone from pocket, makes a series of quick button presses) Check out your Twitter stream.

Matt: (pulls out phone, checks Twitter) "I'm a Nancy boy who loves the Patriots and that one Selena Gomez song." That's very mature.

Note: The following Twitter mini-war then erupted:

Matt: You promise you'll stop with the Twitter hacking?

Warren IV: If you'll stop calling me the "Once and Future Crusading Comet."

Matt: You haven't read the sequel, have you? (Warren shakes his head) Sure. I'll stop calling you that.

Warren IV: Next question.

Matt: When did this turn into a Drew Rosenhaus press conference?

Warren IV: What?

Matt: Never mind. Third question. What can you tell me about Mortimer P. Willoughby?

Warren IV: Mortimer's been like a second father to me. Well, maybe a first father; it's hard to say. Dad says Mortimer's been with me since the day I was born. It certainly feels like it, anyway. He's a great teacher and mentor, although sometimes I can't stand to be around him. He gets all...uptight sometimes. He's always talking about rules and etiquette and protocol. Like a living Threepio...with sarcasm.

Matt: You just compared your father figure to a droid from Star Wars. What are you, kid? Like fifteen?

Warren IV: I'm seventeen years old.

Matt: That's pretty young.

Warren IV: You keep up this interview style, I'll outlive you.

Matt: Point...taken. We've touched on Morty and your knack for computer wizardry. Let's talk a little bit about Crimsonstreak. You guys didn't get off to a good start, did you?

Warren IV: Hmmmm...let's see. The guy left my father at the Clermont Institution for the Criminally Insane. His father took over the world and started a war on superheroes. My father never thought too highly of him and neither did Mortimer. I was skeptical of his motives and his methods, but a funny thing happened on the way to saving the world. It turned out he was one of the good guys after all.

Matt: It seems like you guys eventually became friends, which is pretty cool. Last question. What was it like going through the Comet Accelerator?

Warren IV: (Smiles...yes, actually smiles) Oh, man. That was one wild, righteous ride. It was like being squeezed through a tube while simultaneously being wrapped in a warm blanket of your memories. I saw kids I hadn't seen since kindergarten, communed with cartoon characters, and re-watched every movie I'd ever seen. The experience lasted an eternity, but it was no more than a blink of an eye.

Matt: Thanks for joining me today, Warren. Do you want to wrap up with the book plug?

Warren IV: Why would I want to do that?

Matt: Mortimer did it. So did Colonel Chaos.

Warren IV: I'm not them.

Matt: All righty, then. I, Crimsonstreak is available in a variety of formats from these fine retailers:

Candlemark & Gleam Website
Amazon Paperback
Amazon Kindle Edition
Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble NOOK Book

BACK TO CRIMSONSTREAK CENTRAL!

ABC's of Crimsonstreak: Letter W

W is for Warren Kensington. All of them.

Warren Kensington is a New Yorker who created a cleaning solvent called Comet-Sparkle. After making a fortune from his invention, he decided the next logical step was to don a fedora and trench coat so he could patrol the streets at night as the Crusading Comet.

Then, he figured he should train his son to fight crime. Thus, a family tradition was born.

Three Warren Kensingtons have taken up the mantle of the Crusading Comet: Warren Senior, Warren Junior, and Warren III. Two of them have died in the line of duty. A fourth, Warren Kensington IV, waits in the wings.

BACK TO CRIMSONSTREAK CENTRAL!

I, Crimsonstreak: The Primer

On May 15, Candlemark & Gleam unleashes my debut novel, I, Crimsonstreak, onto the world. The book is a labor of love; a tribute to bright, splashy comic book stories and superheroes, pop culture, and science fiction. It's a unique book in many regards, but the appendices in the back of the book make it stand out. Nearly 100 pages are devoted to newspaper articles, journal entries, magazine features, and character dossiers.

So let's get familiar with our main characters.

Chris Fairborne/Crimsonstreak: The son of prominent superheroes Colonel Chaos and Miss Lightspeed, Chris feels like a disappointment. His dad can fly. His mom can fly. He can't. He did, however, inherit his mother's super-speed, and is considered the world's preeminent super-speedster. The story is told through Chris' perspective; be warned that he's never met a pop culture reference he didn't like. Our adventure starts with Chris imprisoned inside the Clermont Institution for the Criminally Insane, where he's confined to a straitjacket after being convicted of a crime he didn't commit. Oh, by the way, his father's responsible for his imprisonment.

Colonel Chaos: Born William Avery Fairborne, Colonel Chaos is a reformed supervillain who perpetuated several different crimes against the world--things like antimatter rays and holding the world for ransom. He reformed and eventually became one of Earth's greatest defenders, marrying Miss Lightspeed and joining the Heroic Legion. After his wife's death, Chaos descended into madness and forged a one-world government called the New World Common Wealth. He also threw his son in prison, which kind of soured their father-son relationship. His powers include superstrength, flight, and genius-level intellect.

Miss Lightspeed: Born Karen Jo Watson, Miss Lightspeed emerged as one of the world's leading heroes and is responsible for stopping Colonel Chaos' rampage of terror and destruction. In an unlikely twist, Lightspeed and Chaos fell in love and eventually got married. Their union produced a son, Chris, who took the superhero name Crimsonstreak. Lightspeed died over the skies of Iowa in April 2000 during a battle with the villainous Zeus Caesar, yet she's somehow mysteriously returned to life. Her powers include flight, superstrength, and super-speed.

Crusading Comet: Not every hero has superpowers. The Crusading Comet is one of the world's longest-serving guardians, but he's not immortal. He is, in fact, a collection of men named Warren Kensington. Warren Senior, Warren Junior, Warren III, and Warren IV have all taken up the mantle of the Comet. Warren Senior and Junior died in the line of duty; Warren III--the current Comet--fights a disorganized resistance against Chaos' New World Common Wealth, and Warren IV is anxiously (not eagerly) awaiting the day in which he'll don the cape & cowl. As the New World Common Wealth takes hold, Crimsonstreak has few allies...but he can count on the Crusading Comet's heroic legacy.

Mortimer P. Willoughby: Mortimer, sometimes called "Morty" (he HATES that!), is the manservant for the Kensington family, having served under each of the reigning Crusading Comets. He has been entrusted with the education and upbringing of Warren Junior, Warren III, and Warren IV. Morty has a certain skill for electronics and subterfuge, and often runs operations for the Crusading Comet's various missions. That's all, of course, in addition to his roles as tutor, mentor, chauffeur, cook, and feather-duster. For unexplained reasons, Morty has a certain distaste for Crimsonstreak.

Jaci Graves: Former college girlfriend of one Chris Fairborne, Jaci serves the New World Common Wealth as an Enforcer. She and Chris drifted apart soon after the death of Miss Lightspeed and eventually went their separate ways. After her parents died during a counter-offensive against alien invaders, Jaci joined the New World Common Wealth, although she quickly began to doubt Colonel Chaos' leadership. Her powers include flight, which she augments with rocket-powered boots. Before the New World Common Wealth, she served as the superhero Boost.

Zeus Caesar: A super-powered titan of a man, Zeus Caesar stands 6'7" and can bench press a Mack truck. Combine this with sheer lunacy and the ability to generate/manipulate lightning, and you've got the recipe for disaster. Caesar and his Legionnaires Army marched across the Midwest in April 2000 in an attempt to mold the U.S. into another Roman Empire. Their reign of terror continued until they ran into Miss Lightspeed, who fought Caesar to a standstill before the villain jolted her with electricity. Colonel Chaos arrived too late to save his wife. Broken, he captured Caesar and transported him to the Clermont Institution for the Criminally Insane, where the supervillain remains.

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I, Crimsonstreak: Crusading Comet Timeline

August 17, 1921 – Warren Kensington (Warren Sr.) is born in Schenectady, New York.

July 21, 1933 – Mortimer P. Willoughby is born in Leeds, England.

1939-1945 – Warren Sr. joins the Army and serves with distinction in the U.S. effort during World War II. He marries shortly before departing for Europe.

1946 – Warren Sr.’s first and only son, Warren Kensington, Junior (Warren Jr.) is born. The family settles in New York City.

1955 – Warren Sr. develops an interest in chemistry and develops a revolutionary cleaner called Comet-Sparkle.

1956 – Wow Corporation buys rights to Comet-Sparkle, a move that makes Warren Sr. very wealthy. Warren Sr. hires 23-year-old Mortimer P. Willoughby to tutor his son and help run the household.

1958 – Upset by rising street crime, Warren Sr. creates an alternative persona called the Crusading Comet. The Comet makes his first appearance by saving a young lady from a group of thugs. Warren Sr. is 36 years old.

1964 – Warren Jr. marries.

July 1966 – Warren Kensington III (Warren III) is born. Warren Sr. and other heroes form the Heroic Legion.

April 1969 – Warren Sr. dies during a fight with a notorious arms dealer. Warren Jr. takes up the mantle of the Crusading Comet, entrusting the upbringing & education of Warren III to 35-year-old Mortimer P. Willoughby.

June 1969 – Warren Jr. makes first public appearance as the Crusading Comet, unveiling new crime-fighting armor designed to counter firearms.

1969-1986 – Warren Jr. serves with distinction as the second Crusading Comet. He is eventually elected leader of the Heroic Legion.

April 1986 – Warren Jr. killed. Warren III takes up mantle of the Crusading Comet. He is 19 years old.

November 1992 – Warren Kensington IV (Warren IV) born. As is now family tradition, Mortimer P. Willoughby is entrusted with the boy’s education & upbringing. He is 59 years old.

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