Matt: I'd like to welcome another guest to the blog today. We're still Crimsonstreaking...and today Colonel Chaos joins us. Thank you for your time.
Colonel Chaos: Enemies of the Common Wealth must die!
Matt: Um...good day to you, too, sir.
Colonel Chaos: That was a joke, Matt. I'm not that one.
Matt: That's kind of a spoiler.
Colonel Chaos: I think you're losing some people here. We'd better get on with it.
Matt: Right. So, you established the New World Common Wealth. Where did you get that idea?
Colonel Chaos: Nice opening salvo. I thought this was going to be about promoting the book.
Matt: It is. Just...tell us a little bit about the New World Common Wealth.
Colonel Chaos: A few years ago, my wife, Miss Lightspeed passed away. Murdered, actually, by Zeus Caesar. There was so much death and violence in the world, so many different squabbles among countries. I wanted to find a way to make everyone play "nice." I sketched out an idea for a new world...one where the people of Earth would join together as one. It was a John Lennon thing, I suppose. "Imagine all the people living life in peace." A noble idea.
Matt: That's not how it played out, unfortunately.
Colonel Chaos: We're not really going to talk about this, are we?
Matt: I suppose it's best for the Heroic Legion tribunal to hash this out. We'll move on, then. Tell me about your relationship with your son.
Colonel Chaos: I can divide this into two distinct periods, Matt. When Chris was growing up, before he went to college, we were close. He was a bit of a mama's boy at first, but as he entered junior high, we became closer. Chris understood what life was like for a superhero family, and we bonded. We were best friends, watching sports together and playing a lot of catch. After Karen [Chaos' wife and Chris' mom, Miss Lightspeed] died, we grew apart. My son will tell you that it was all my fault, and I can't argue. I worked tirelessly to find a way to bring Karen back, and I neglected him. It's something I'm not proud of. We had a falling out, both going our separate ways.
Matt: Did you try to reconcile?
Colonel Chaos: (shakes his head) I wish we had. Sadly, though, I was completely engrossed in finding ways to bring back Chris' mother. I tried everything--lookalikes, shape shifters, clones. Nothing could replace her. Chris, well, he went his own way. Being the son of two great heroes--two famous heroes--is a burden no child should bear, yet he went out to make a name for himself.
Matt: Anyone who's read the Dawn Magazine article knows that you coined your son's superhero name, but not everyone has heard the story. How did "Crimsonstreak" come to mind?
Colonel Chaos: The son of some two-bit villain of the week invaded our home seeking revenge. He got the drop on us, and nearly escaped. Chris went chasing after him...moving in this red blur. He was wearing an Indiana University sweatshirt...and I said something to the effect of "he was like a cream and crimson streak." It was just an off-the-cuff remark, but Chris loved it. I was surprised when he adopted it as his superhero name. I thought he'd go for something flashier.
Matt: All right, you've survived so far. Last question here, Colonel.
Colonel Chaos: You know that's not a real rank, right?
Matt: I had my suspicions, but "Mr. Chaos" sounds stupid. Agreed?
Colonel Chaos: Agreed.
Matt: Last question, and this one backtracks a bit, and for that I apologize. Do you get tired of the villains from "the old days?" The ones who think you're "still in the game?"
Colonel Chaos: (scratches his head) Oh, man. Those guys. Wow. Some of them haven't accepted that I turned my back on that life. They keep coming up with grandiose plans that just happen to need a device or gadget that only I can make. One guy--Fourth-Reich Rich--is absolutely obsessed with the idea of turning everyone into Nazi zombies. I don't even know what that means. For the most part, it's amusing...and most of my former colleagues are locked inside the Clermont Institution for the Criminally Insane. Out of sight, out of mind, I hope.
Matt: Thanks for joining us, Colonel.
Colonel Chaos: Can I do the plug?
Matt: Excuse me?
Colonel Chaos: Willoughby got to do the plug at the end. You know, for the book.
Matt: Go for it.
Colonel Chaos: 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
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