“I’ve been known to improve pretty rapidly at most things that I’ve tried before, so the books I write will only get better from here!”
-Colin Searle
Editor’s Note: This interview touches on themes of mental health, addiction, and societal control, which some readers may find intense or triggering. Reader discretion is advised.
Colin, thank you for joining us. To start off, can you introduce yourself in your own words—who you are, what you do, and what drives your work?
Hi there, thanks for the opportunity to share some background on myself and the book! Your review was excellent and thought-provoking, and touched on some deeper themes within the book that even I hadn’t thought that much about.
I’ll keep this answer specific to my creative ventures, rather than my whole life story:
For several years, I’ve been working as a professional artist in the animation, games, film, and entertainment fields. For longer than that, I’ve been telling my own stories, since I was little. That’s a common origin for authors and creators—but it’s true for me, too. The story that became The Call of Abaddon has been rattling around in my head since at least high school, delivered there by the muses and influenced by countless other works of fiction in the SFF genre and beyond, plus non-fiction like real history, current events, and some fun science topics too.
There were a lot of paths I could have taken, but becoming a writer always felt inevitable. I planned from the start to use my art career as a way to train both my visual skills and storytelling sensibilities, learning from mentors and colleagues alike for almost 10 years. When the pandemic ended and the industry downturn began, I knew it was time to pull the trigger on transitioning into a solo creative role, starting the final version of the book that would become Abaddon.
Your novel The Call of Abaddon recently received the BREW Seal of Excellence and was shortlisted for the BREW Readers’ Choice Award. Can you walk us through what this recognition means to you—and how it fits into your broader journey as a creator?
Getting any kind of award right off the bat for a debut novel is pretty surreal! Early reviews have all been positive, but accolades are on another level entirely. It validates all the work I’ve done on the book for the past two and a half years, and for the time before that on the broader series development. It tells me that this radical new direction for my career is one I should absolutely keep pursuing.
I’ve been known to improve pretty rapidly at most things that I’ve tried before (being a workaholic will do that), so the books I write will only get better from here!
I appreciate the thorough look that the reviewers at Chrysalis BREW gave my book, and your decision to commend it in a way that I never thought would be possible for my creative work.
Where did the initial idea for The Call of Abaddon come from, and how did it evolve into a full story? Was there a particular moment or question that sparked the narrative?
The story has been through countless iterations over the years before I settled on today’s version. To trace the initial spark for it would require going back through years of drafts, under different titles and written during different stages of my life. I worked on it throughout my education (i.e., creating an entire animated short film at Sheridan to develop Anne Oakfield’s character, and designing UEF, Imperial, and Confederate hardware during a vehicle design class in the years afterward). I also developed a lot of other potential stories and series to explore in the future, but Abaddon was the one I kept coming back to again and again.
The true genesis spark goes way back to before high school, when I was 13, sitting on a bus during a swim meet trip to Baltimore. I learned from a friend of mine on that trip that he was “writing a book.” I think what he was doing turned out to be fanfiction, but I still took it as a sign that I could write an original story too. Jason (as a character) emerged soon afterward, and a dream about a magnificent artificial habitat in the sky was the beginning of Colossus Station.
I’ve got old drawings of Colossus going back to early high school. The psychic powers came about soon after that, as did Sam and David in their earlier forms. I was watching a lot of movies, reading a lot of classic sci-fi/fantasy, and playing a lot of video games at the time, so those all had massive influences on the story as it developed. Over time, ideas came and went—but the final pieces, like the obelisk as a mythic embodiment of evil, arrived much later and gave the story the anchor it needed.
Science fiction can be a powerful mirror for real-world concerns. What are some of the social or personal themes you hoped to explore in your book, and why do you think they matter today?
If this book had come out years ago, some of the social aspects that mirror our world (the UEF’s theocratic social compliance mandates, and the tyrannical, murderous infection control of the Empire, etc.), would’ve probably been more heavy-handed. A lot of writers like to get on soapboxes and make broad political statements in their works of entertainment. While that can be noble, it’s often misguided. My beliefs have been all over the map, but I’ve come to realize that my role as a storyteller isn’t to tell people what to think, or even how to think. It’s simply to write cool stuff, ask questions, encourage the act of thinking itself, and then let go, allowing readers to come to their own conclusions. Storytellers are entertainers, not propagandists.
Speculative fiction or science fiction is the perfect genre to ask questions about our world (hence the name, ‘speculative’). Really good SF authors won’t try to force their personal beliefs down the throats of their audience – because if you’re being truly ideologically honest, your beliefs will change over your life. If they don’t … that’s odd, and a bit suspicious. To closely hold any belief, you must be willing to betray it. Taking one side or another is sometimes necessary, but creators should be wary of exercising that instinct in their works.
Rather than take sides in today’s polarized political discussions, I became the mirror, constructing my story, characters, and world based on my observations about the human race, rather than proclaiming any conclusions that I’ve drawn at this time. All readers of Abaddon are invited to place themselves in the shoes of my characters, experience reality through their eyes, and ask: how did the world become this way? The malign influence and technology of the Abaddon obelisk are the only truly SF elements of the story – the rest is the tale of humanity, and how we deal with the problem of a supremely evil intelligence worming its way into our society, bodies, and our souls.
As both a writer and an artist, how do your visual practices influence your writing, and vice versa? Do you find that one discipline helps you unlock ideas in the other?
I’m sure there are plenty of other writers out there who are also artists – but we’re a rare breed overall. Even within the art field, I’m a generalist. No medium or tool has ever been a barrier for me (after I got over my reluctance toward painting and 3D in art school), and I continue to explore as much as possible. That creative freedom and generalist mindset was always bound to spill over into a new career as a writer – provided that I was able to develop writing skills that were up to the same level as my art chops. It took 2.5 years to go from never having written a book to finishing one I think might actually be pretty good. My art skills also continued to develop in tandem with the book. I’m far better at both now than if I’d only focused on one at a time. That’s the power of being a generalist – it takes you longer to get to mastery, but when you finally get close, you’ve mastered MANY things at once, and all of those skills cross-pollinate in a way that specialists can’t hope to match.
Being a visual thinker definitely influences how you write. When you can write a script and then literally storyboard it scene-by-scene too (either in your head or by actually drawing it), you think about your scenes differently than a pure writer or pure artist would. You can choose to focus on different aspects or wear different hats, like where your characters are positioned in space, how it’s lit, and keeping all aspects of an action scene consistent, or doing passes on dialogue, environmental detail, even sensory details alone. I remember doing a pass on the entire manuscript that dealt with just the five senses, making sure that each POV character was grounded in their respective scenes by describing what they saw, smelled, or felt. You can methodically break down your writing process into a series of passes in the same way you’d block out a painting, draw a figure from life, or develop a storyboard scene from rough to final. Big idea strokes first, then subsequent passes to tie everything down, then finer details. Then … after another 100+ edit passes on the manuscript, you’re good to go! Easy, right?
Being an artist also influenced the direction of the book’s cover. How your book appears is majorly important because people judge books by their cover at the quickest glance. Abaddon had many covers over the course of its development, all done by me, but none besides the last was the best fit. It was only when I’d finally nailed down the main conflict of the story, the struggle between Jason and the obelisk itself, when the current cover finally came into my head. No other detail or embellishments – just man versus the ultimate evil. Let’s hope I did my job well enough!
The story deals with identity, memory, and the psychological effects of technology. How do these ideas connect to your own experience or observations outside of fiction?
We live in a world where millions of people’s brains are being poisoned by the psychological effects of the drug we’ve named social media. To write a story where an entire society is undergoing a similar process of poisoning from our use of various technologies and industries is to write one with a nearly universal theme. Everyone can relate to the effects of the Nanophage, because it represents everything being done to us. From our experiences with COVID (and other diseases, new and re-emergent), to microplastic toxification in our bodies and other environmental pollutants, to the screens we’re glued to, burning out our dopamine receptors—by comparison, the Nanophage is almost too simplistic. All of these things are contributing factors to our declining health, and they deserve serious attention.
As for identity, that plays a huge role in the story too. From Jason struggling with his forced role as the pawn of an ancient machine-god, to Sam’s struggle with her inheritance of a brutal and bloody Empire, Avery’s Faustian exploration of the Abaddon Beacon and its technologies, Mariko’s self-styled Imperial rule over a failing Solar realm, Zeke’s burden of leadership responsibility to carry his people and the Federation through the gauntlet of Imperial annihilation, and Anne’s guilt over having helped raise that Empire and her branding as an outlaw and traitor … you could definitely say that this story gives a few different takes on the idea of identity.
Memory is also a big part of it. Many characters deal with false memories or outside manipulation of their perception of the past and future, namely Mariko and Jason. You could say that Jason experiences “memories of the future,” in the form of false visions from Abaddon, and potentially real ones too. Many characters also choose to bury their memories of the past or their decisions in different ways.
Have you received other awards or recognitions—either for your writing or artwork? If so, can you share which ones have been most meaningful and why?
Not yet, but it’s early days as far as the book goes. I do appreciate the one from The Chrysalis BREW Project! I’ve never really been big on the idea of awards, or sought them out during my art career. To me, they seem a bit self-indulgent, making me seem more important than I am. I’m a practical working man through and through, always hunting after the next job, gig, or contract. Seeking accolades or extra credit is a luxury that one can usually ill afford – I’d rather just complete more work, work with more good people, and continue to grow my skills. I’ve been very lucky in that regard, always finding work whenever I’ve needed it – and fingers crossed that the trend continues as the entertainment industry downturn accelerates.
People should be handsomely rewarded for solid effort, but an award is a truly special honor – you really need to go above and beyond for something like that. I’m not against receiving awards if the quality of the work warrants it, and I appreciate each and every one I get.
Creative storytelling often requires confronting the unknown or imagining alternate futures. How do you approach innovation or originality in your creative process without repeating what’s already been done?
I was genuinely pleased to see that many of my earliest reviewers reported that Abaddon was relatively original for a sci-fi project. The Chrysalis BREW Projecy review ended with a line about the book’s originality, which I appreciate. Here’s another example from Self-Publishing Review:
“With intricate world-building on the level of epic fantasy, rarely is science fiction this original and surprising.”
When you’re completely immersed in the world during a story’s production, originality isn’t usually the first thing on your mind – I’m mostly concerned with making sure the story, characters, plot, and world are cohesive and well thought out, with as few holes or errors as possible. My readers deserve nothing less.
I’ve heard that it’s impossible to write a truly original story, and I agree with that. Most heroes share the same core—a thousand faces of one archetype. But it’s possible to write a story with some originality. The only requirement for innovation is putting two or more ideas together that have never been combined before, and the value of that new idea generally increases as you add more angles to it (within reason, of course). The Call of Abaddon has many ideas that have never met in a narrative, so I think that’s what people are reacting to. It’s a dystopia, but rarely are dystopias so layered, nor do they have so many sparks of hope sprinkled throughout the book. It’s post-apocalyptic, but it’s rare that those types of stories take place a century after the Earth has already been destroyed. Jason is a good example of Joseph Campbell’s mythological hero with a thousand faces, but rarely is the villain a direct originator of the hero’s power.
I think the bottom-line key to originality in your creative works is to be well-read – in your genre, out of your genre, about history, current events, random trivia, and everything in between. That positions you to be able to make those unique combinations within your characters and their personalities, the story, and your world.
While The Call of Abaddon is set in a futuristic dystopia, your characters tackle real challenges—mental health, loyalty, addiction, trust. How do you balance realism and speculative elements in your storytelling?
Speculative fiction and sci-fi work best when shot through a human perspective. Realism isn’t a requirement, but believability is. The best speculative fiction asks good questions or drops interesting sci-fi elements into a narrative, but those must be grounded in order for a human audience to appreciate them. We experience the world through our senses and through narrative, so the characters in our stories must do so as well.
Even the most out-there, insane ideas … like an ancient, alien, civilization-destroying god-machine … can work when the lenses for those crazy elements are believable human characters with real emotions, wants, and needs. You can change the ratios of grounded believability and speculative elements if you want – that’s part of the fun of putting a story together. But you need enough of both, or else readers will lose their suspension of disbelief.
As for mental health and addiction, Jason is the obvious example. He struggles with a baseline level of anxiety, but the looming threat of Abaddon takes that to another level. His reliance on Osmium to control both his power and his mental state is an obvious mirror for those in our world who use substances for similar purposes, both legitimately and otherwise.
Loyalty and trust between friends and family members is also intense throughout the story. That’s a universal theme for many readers, for those who have good relationships in their lives, and for those who don’t, but seek them. Most people only have a few individuals that they can truly trust, and this story highlights the importance of being able to rely on those people. Without those you are loyal to or vice versa, you won’t get very far.
What’s next for you after this book? Are there any upcoming projects, goals, or ideas you’re exploring that readers should keep an eye out for?
Like many writers, I have big plans for the series beyond The Call of Abaddon. I won’t say how many books are planned, but I know how the series will end, and Book 2’s outline and planning stages are essentially done. The second book will be a direct continuation of the story. I won’t spoil future books any more than that, but I can confirm that the scale of the world and the conflict will increase dramatically, the ideas get crazier, and the twists are legitimately mind-blowing (based on reactions from a few close compatriots who know them).
The world is vast and deep enough for other exploration, too. I’ve been wanting to put together a series of novellas and short stories to flesh out certain characters and elements within the world. These will not be required reading for the main plot, more like optional extras that add context and further deepen the characters. Anne’s fall from grace at Mariko’s hands, Zeke’s formation of Nightshade Squadron and fight against the Empire, Avery’s mission to the Confederacy’s territory that resulted in their downfall, and many others are examples of short dives into other parts of the world.
Beyond writing, my artist side still wants to illustrate as much of the world as I can. I’m also open to hiring others, maybe to create a graphic novel series or something similar. The stretch goal would be video game adaptations. Nothing massive or AAA, I’d be satisfied with an RTS, RPG, or FPS that focuses on different aspects or events within the world.
To bring things back down to Earth, the primary goal beyond supporting Book 1’s launch is to get Book 2 in the production pipe as quickly as possible. Writing is a business, and I have a feeling that readers will want to see this story continued within a reasonable amount of time. Fingers crossed that all goes well!
Thanks for the interview, it really helped to get some of my thoughts straight on the book. Much appreciated!
If you had to tell your life story in your own words, what would you say?
I’m Colin Searle, an artist and author based in Toronto, Canada. I’ve been working in the animation, film, and games industries since 2016, with credits on projects for Elliott Animation, Ubisoft, Nickelodeon, Disney, Marvel, Asmodee, Wizards of the Coast, and many others.
While I’m newer to writing than to art, my debut novel The Call of Abaddon is already earning 5-star reviews across the board, plus award recognition—over a month before its official release. I’m passionate about building immersive worlds through both storytelling and visual design, and The Call of Abaddon is the first step in a much larger creative journey.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
“Storytellers are entertainers, not propagandists.”
-Colin Searle
Links
- Visit Colin Searle’s website.
- Know more about the BREW Book, Blog, and Poetry Awards here
Share Your Insights
We’d love to hear your thoughts on Colin Searle’s creative journey and The Call of Abaddon. Share your insights in the comments!
- What aspect of Colin’s approach to storytelling resonates with you the most?
- How do you see technology shaping storytelling in the future?
- Which themes from the book would you like to see explored further?
Looking forward to your comments!
Alignment with the UN SDGs
- Promotes creativity and innovation through storytelling (SDG 9)
- Encourages inclusive and quality education by exploring diverse themes (SDG 4)
- Fosters responsible consumption by addressing societal issues (SDG 12)
Other Highlights
Looking for something?
Type in your keyword(s) below and click the “Search” button.
Helpful Shortcuts
More Stories
Print and Digital Magazine
Don’t just read about greatness. Own it!
About Us
The World’s Best Magazine is a print and online publication that highlights the extraordinary. It is your passport to a universe where brilliance knows no bounds. Celebrating outstanding achievements in various fields and industries, we curate and showcase the exceptional, groundbreaking, and culturally significant. Our premier laurels, The World’s Best Awards, commend excellence through a unique process involving subject matter experts and a worldwide audience vote. Explore with us the pinnacle of human achievement and its intersection with diversity, innovation, creativity, and sustainability.
We recognise and honour the Traditional Owners of the land upon which our main office is situated. We extend our deepest respects to Elders past, present, and emerging. We celebrate the stories, culture, and traditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders from all communities who also reside and work on this land.
Disclaimer: The World’s Best does not provide any form of professional advice. All views and opinions expressed in each post are the contributor’s own. Whereas we implement editorial policies and aim for content accuracy, the details shared on our platforms are intended for informational purposes only. We recommend evaluating each third-party link or site independently, as we cannot be held responsible for any results from their use. In all cases and with no exceptions, you are expected to conduct your own research and seek professional assistance as necessary prior to making any financial, medical, personal, business, or life-changing decisions arising from any content published on this site. All brands and trademarks mentioned belong to their respective owners. Your continued use of our site means you agree with all of these and our other site policies, terms, and conditions. For more details, please refer to the links below.
About | Advertise | Awards | Blogs | Contact | Disclaimer | Submissions | Subscribe | Privacy | Publications | Terms | Winners
The World’s Best: A Magazine That’s All About What’s Great | theworldsbestmagazine.com | Copyright ⓒ 2022-2025
Let’s connect
Discover more from The World's Best
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
The World's Best 
One thought on “Between Mind and Machine: A Conversation with Colin Searle”