We were lucky to catch up with Peter Topside recently and have shared our conversation below.
Peter, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.
Something that always bothered me about the horror community is how isolated the talent is. There are so many amazing writers and creatives, yet the genre, as a whole, is extraordinarily small as compared to other categories. It is very much an ‘every man for himself’ sort of mentality, which, in my opinion, really hurts the genre. So, something I have always been diligent about is supporting my colleagues however possible. Whether it’s beta reading their stories, leaving helpful critiques on published works, assisting with the different stages of book production, or even just helping them promote their works, I try to do my best to assist. And it’s my hope that all of my acts of good faith inspire my colleagues to do the same for each other. If all of us horror writers stick together and enable one another to be better, we can all be more successful and the genre would explode in popularity!
Peter, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I am an author, reviewer, and horror fanatic. I am also an accomplished, self-taught chef and baker, a proud father and husband, and a Clinical Exercise Physiologist by trade.
I had a rough upbringing, which bestowed many traumas on me, that remained in place for a long time. I spent years struggling with crippling anxiety and depression, but once I got to my lowest point, I made the difficult decision to fight for better mental health. I traveled to a lot of dark corners of my mind, confronting the deepest and scariest aspects of my PTSD, over many years, but was able to make it through successfully. Throughout my recovery process, I was able to funnel all of the energy, thoughts and feelings into my writing. My books are the culmination of my own personal, life-changing journey.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
The most rewarding part of being a writer is having complete freedom to create my world, characters, monsters, etc, and seeing it all come together. And, after working on any one of my stories, which in some cases took decades, when I am able to hold the hard copy of the finished product, it is a feeling like none other.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
My main goal is to create memorable and unique horror stories that will not only unsettle my readers, but also elicit some deep thoughts.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ptopside/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/topsidepeter
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/PTopside
- Other: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/peter-topsidehttps://www.goodreads.com/author/show/19743489.Peter_Topside
