We chat with debut author Collin Armstrong about Polybius, which is a chilling novel based on the terrifying urban legend about a video game created by the government for psychological warfare, think Stranger Things meets The Walking Dead.
Hi, Collin! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
I’m a first-time novelist, but I’ve been working as a writer in film, TV, and branded content for over a decade. I’ve loved horror and sci-fi since I was very young; some of my earliest memories are watching re-runs of Tom Baker-era Dr. Who on PBS, and my dad bringing home a VCR with a copy of Star Wars. I’m an avid gamer (although it’s harder to find the time now that I’m a father trying to manage my kids’ screentime), baker, woodworker, and circuit-bender.
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
It’s hard to put it into a precise timeline, but as soon as I knew how to read and write, I was writing stories. I’d write papers on topics that interested me for fun, and whenever I was able to choose my approach to a class project I’d write a story or create a video.
From a young age, I wanted to be involved in storytelling in film and TV. Initially I wanted to work in special effects, but as I learned more about how movies and shows were made, I gravitated toward writing.
I was writing feature scripts in high school. I’m pretty sure the first script I ever finished was about a haunted supermarket and it was terrible, but by the time I graduated, my path was set. I knew I wanted to be a writer.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: Bunnicula by Deborah and James Howe
- The one that made you want to become an author: All The President’s Men by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Open Your Eyes by Clay McLeod Chapman
Your debut novel, Polybius, is out April 29th! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Conspiracy-fueled retro horror suspense!
What can readers expect?
Conspiracy-fueled retro horror suspense! In all seriousness, you will get all of that in spades, but it’s really a dark coming of age story about two young people on the cusp of adulthood, facing monstrously exaggerated versions of some of the challenges and realities they’ll encounter as they grow older.
The story follows a cross-section of characters who find life in their small hometown spiraling out of control after the arrival of a mysterious game, Polybius, at the local arcade. Andi, who works at the arcade and is counting the days until she graduates high school and can skip town, is the first to notice the game’s strange effects. Backing into an investigation she’s joined by Ro, a regular at the arcade who’s been working up the nerve to ask her out for nearly a year, while Ro’s father – the sheriff – and Andi’s mother, the town doctor – are running parallel investigations that slowly start to converge. With Polybius destabilizing everyone and everything around them, they race to find out where the game came from – how it works – and whether it can be stopped, before it’s too late.
I always thought of the concept as something you’d find in a lost mass-market paperback from the ‘80s, the sort you’d take a chance on at a used bookshop that woud leave you feeling – hopefully! – totally surprised. It’s an homage to those classic, high-concept character-driven thrillers, with parallels to some of the social challenges we’ve faced over the last few years and the technological ones we’re facing now.
Where did the inspiration for Polybius come from?
Polybius was inspired by the urban legend of the same name. Growing up I loved books like Carrie and Creature, and films like River’s Edge and Stand By Me, and wanted to find an interesting venue for telling that kind of horror-tinged coming of age story.
When I first heard of the legend back in the late ‘00s, it clicked right away – kids, arcades, a mystery game causing violence; this was the perfect mix of elements for that kind of story. But it would take a number of years, failures, and false starts to crack the right take.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
The central villain in the story is, really, the game; it impacts everyone. But I felt like I needed to channel its effects into one of the character more explicitly, to try personify the danger it posed – that character became Mal, owner of the arcade in the small town where the story’s set.
As soon as I figured Mal out – that he was a wannabe gangster with this dangerous image of himself in his mind’s eye, that the game helps him to unlock – he became extremely interesting to write. There were a lot of additional beats with him that didn’t make the final draft, as I kept finding my way back to him.
You don’t have to – probably shouldn’t! – like Mal, but hopefully you’ll care about what he does and what happens to him; he’s deeply woven into the story’s world.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
At the time I was relatively new to this style of writing, having spent over a decade trying to make my way as a screenwriter, so the entire process was filled with questions and doubts. I was very lucky to have people around me who supported what I was doing – not just with the manuscript, but in life, at home and with friends.
We tend to think of writing as a solitary profession and while it can be, I wouldn’t be able to chase after it without a lot of wonderful people empowering me to do so.
This is your debut novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?
I have files on Polybius going back to the ‘00s, when I first started thinking about it as a film concept. Later, I started working on it as a manuscript, then an online epistolary, but nothing ever quite came together the way I wanted it to.
I lost a promising TV writing job as a result of the COVID lockdowns in 2020, and found my way back to Polybius. The idea of the game’s effects spreading virus-like around this small town and of a screen turning people against one another resonated. I made it half-way through a draft before going back to work, and didn’t return to the manuscript until over a year later. I felt like maybe it had been a lark, a way for me to express myself and my fears during a dark, confusing moment in time. But in re-reading the pages I was excited, and decided to see it through.
The completed manuscript went out to publishers in late 2022, sold to Gallery in early 2023, and was edited throughout 2024.
What’s next for you?
I have multiple proposals for new books in the horror space that are making their way out into the world. I’m also revising an action-thriller feature script for a producer and director. Of course none of that may to come pass, so the truth is you never know, but I hope to be back with another book soon!
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up this year?
I’m about to start The Buffalo Hunter Hunter, and am really looking forward to the continuation of Richard and W.H. Chizmar’s Widow’s Point: The Final Haunting. It’s such a great time to be a reader, there are so many interesting new books – across a range of genres – every month, accessible in so many different ways.
