I've done it with Writing. I've done it with Star Wars. Most recently, I did it with superheroes. Now, I'm at it again with my debut novel, I, Crimsonstreak.
The ABC's series returns for a hearty round of superhero-y goodness.
I'll commence with the fun in a moment, but first I'd like to tell you a little about the book.
I, Crimsonstreak from Candlemark & Gleam is my first book. I wrote the first draft back in 2007 when I didn't know much about writing. I worked to hone the manuscript and made incremental improvements. When I thought I was finished, I queried several agents, but I was brash and stupid. Everyone passed.
In 2011, I heard about Candlemark & Gleam, a small press spec fic publisher out of Vermont. Turns out, they liked the book enough to acquire it. You can find out more about the process of getting this book from first draft to acceptance here.
The official blurb:
Framed by his father, “reformed” supervillain Colonel Chaos, super-speedster Chris Fairborne, AKA Crimsonstreak, is sent to the Clermont Institute for the Criminally Insane. A hero surrounded by dastardly inmates and heartless guards, Chris struggles to keep his wits about him, until the arrival of some unexpected new “guests” at the facility provides him with a means for escape. Once out, though, he discovers that the world he knew is gone, replaced by a fascist, supposedly utopian state run by none other than Colonel Chaos himself.For the next five weeks, I'm going to teach you everything you need to know about the world of I, Crimsonstreak as I take you on a magical journey through time and space (well, actually, it's not magical and by "time and space" I mean "the alphabet").
With the heroes of the world locked away or fighting in a disorganized resistance, Crimsonstreak teams up with a snarky British butler and a teenage superhero-to-be. Together, the unlikely (and bickering) allies must take down Crimsonstreak’s dad and set the world right. Not easy when your only powers are super-speed and looking good in spandex. But hey, someone’s got to save the world.
I, Crimsonstreak is a first-person superhero novel brimming with parallel universes, stuffy British butlers, crafty supervillains, cloning, gadgets, a fascist police state disguised as a utopian society, and enough geeky pop culture references to stun a Wookie.
Have at thee!
We start, duh, with the letter A.
A is for the Amazing Merrick.
The Amazing Merrick is the letter A by default because there's really no one else out there whose name starts with that letter. He's a minor character in the novel, a member of the Heroic Legion (cough *Justice League* cough) who's imprisoned alongside our hero Crimsonstreak inside the Clermont Institution for the Criminally Insane.
The Amazing Merrick usually wears a top hat and a jacket with tails. Basically, he dresses like a symphony conductor and uses a variety of incantations to cast spells. A leading member of the Heroic Legion Leadership Council, the Amazing Merrick is a stalwart defender of justice, freedom, and pulling a rabbit out of a hat.
BACK TO CRIMSONSTREAK CENTRAL!
