Featured Interview With Peter Topside
Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you raised? Where do you live now?
I am from Derry, Maine and now live in New Jersey. I am an accomplished chef and baker, movie fanatic, a proud father and husband, and a Clinical Exercise Physiologist by trade. My books are the culmination of my own personal, life-changing journey of triumphing over the PTSD of my traumatic upbringing. I hope to inspire readers to bravely fight their own battles with anxiety and depression.
At what age did you realize your fascination with books? When did you start writing?
I have always had a passion for writing and publishing my stories has been a lifelong goal. I spent my entire life being a fan of horror, and through my own personal experiences, developed characters and a story that were a really unique blend.
Who are your favorite authors to read? What is your favorite genre to read. Who Inspires you in your writings?
Stephen King is my ultimate inspiration.
Tell us a little about your latest book?
In the first book of the Preternatural trilogy, readers are introduced to the town of Meadowsville, the home of the most popular urban myth, Mr. Smith. This vicious, vampire-like entity rules over this booming town by any means necessary, slaughtering its citizens, and upholding a long-standing tradition. Several residents form an unlikely alliance to combat the common threat of this dangerous monster and embark on an undertaking that will change each of them and their town forever.
Preternatural: Evolution [ISBN: 978-1-7363472-0-1], a fast-paced psychological horror that is equal parts grisly and thought-provoking, leaving readers to question right from wrong.
Set fifteen years after the vampire Blackheart was defeated, Meadowsville is left desolate and broken. Alexandra has returned to take over her father’s church but is struggling to find her true purpose. Torn by her shaky loyalty to Christian Reed—the unstable town antihero who vanquished Blackheart years ago—and increasing efforts at seduction and manipulation from Blackheart himself, she is forced to face her deepest traumas and insecurities.
As the town’s only hope, Alexandra must gather her strength to transcend her terror. Will she defeat adversity or will her failure lose the very soul of Meadowsville?
I have never read a book like Preternatural. Each book, while strongly linked to one another, has its own specific tone and story. I’ve read many horror books and felt that they sometimes become too complicated and over detailed, and you lose track of the characters and plot. That was something I worked hard to avoid. So my books are easy reads, and can either be read ‘surface-level’ for the basic story and be purely entertainment, or they can be analyzed and picked apart to see the deeper themes, patterns, and other dynamics happening on each page.
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