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My Nightmare
The Other Side follows a young detective who is killed in the line of duty, and instead of ascending to Heaven chooses to reside in the Veil, where he has to destroy an ancient beast set on feeding on the living’s souls. What was the inspiration for the setup of your story?
First, I want to thank the entire team at Literary Titan for their hard work and dedication with helping independent authors. Thank you for everything you do. To answer your question we must travel back to my childhood. When I was eleven years old I began having a recurring nightmare where I had passed away and become a ghost. I would follow my family around the house trying to get their attention, but no matter how hard I tried, no one could see or hear me. As if that wasn’t bad enough, I would realize something was with me in this in between world. I couldn’t see what it was, I just knew it was wicked and it wanted my soul. This unseen entity would chase me through the house and I would always wake up, sweaty and with my heart pounding, right before it could get me. Like most nightmares of your youth it faded over time. But the impression it left on me never diminished. So when I decided to write my first novel, it was a no-brainer for me to write about my nightmare.
Mitch is an interesting character with his flaws, yet he remains likable and relatable. How do you go about creating characters for your story?
I really enjoy creating characters. It’s my favorite part of creating my stories. For years I was a warehouse manager, and part of my job duties was hiring new employees. I always enjoyed interviewing prospective team members. Every person is unique, and it was always interesting learning a little bit about that person’s background and why they wanted to work for the company and why they thought they would be a great team member. And that’s how I create my prospective characters. I have them sit down and do a full interview inside my head and write down their responses. Of course, it’s more personal and thorough than a mere job interview, but the same principles apply. I learn everything about my characters and have fun doing it.
What were some themes that were important for you to explore in this book?
I wanted to explore love, the power of family, and the goodness in the human soul in the face of unimaginable horror. The Other Side is a horror novel, but that doesn’t mean we can’t highlight some of the positive aspects of the human condition. Mitch shows us all the power of love trumps the power of evil. He’ll do anything to protect his family and friends. And I believe it is important to highlight the positive aspects of humanity because most of what you see on the news and online highlight the worst parts of us. So yeah, The Other Side is a horror novel with gory depictions and an enigmatic, evil villain, but at its heart is love, family, and the power of good triumphing over evil.
Will this novel be the start of a series, or are you working on a different story?
When I wrote The Other Side I meant for it to be a standalone story. Since then, I’ve had hundreds of readers asking me the same question. So now, I have plans on making the adventures of Mitch and Sophia into a trilogy. But first, I have another novel in the editing phase of production and I’m putting the finishing touches on another manuscript. So stay tuned!
Author Links: GoodReads | Bookbaby
After being shot and killed in the line of duty, and passing up his chance to enter heaven so he can watch over his family, Mitch finds himself in The Veil, a dangerous plane of existence where unwanted souls and unspeakable evil dwell. Now an ancient beast that feeds on the souls God doesn’t want has its eyes set on Mitch, and it won’t stop until it possesses his soul.
What follows is a battle between good and evil with the fate of every soul in the living world hanging in the balance. Can Mitch destroy the ancient evil and protect his friends and family? Or will the beast from the pits of hell take Mitch’s soul and be unleashed upon the living world?
The Other Side
Timothy Palmer’s The Other Side is a supernatural thriller told through the eyes of Mitch Parker, a young detective killed in the line of duty. Instead of peace, Mitch awakens in a strange in-between world called the Veil, where angels, demons, and lost souls struggle in a realm that is neither heaven nor hell. The story follows his journey through this haunting place as he confronts terrifying creatures, finds unlikely allies, and battles with the pull between family, faith, and survival. It’s part ghost story, part horror, and part meditation on what it means to carry duty beyond death.
This book was a wild ride. I loved the fast pace and the blunt honesty in Mitch’s voice. He feels like a flawed but real person, someone who is both arrogant and vulnerable, and that makes his descent into the afterlife all the more gripping. Palmer doesn’t shy away from raw emotions, and I could feel Mitch’s pain when he thought about leaving his wife and children behind. At the same time, the book hits with pulpy fun. Vampiric monsters, hellish visions, and wild chases through hospitals and city streets kept me turning pages. It’s not a quiet or subtle book, and I liked that. It leans into spectacle and dread, and I could almost hear the soundtrack of a horror film playing in my head as I read.
The writing style has a raw energy to it. Some of the dialogue leans dramatic, and a few scenes reminded me of action movie moments. At times, I wished the story would linger a bit longer to let the tension build before moving on to the next big encounter. But even with those bumps, I admired how unfiltered the story was. It has heart. It made me think about regret, choice, and the messy gray area between right and wrong. More than once, I caught myself imagining what I’d do if given the same choice Mitch faced, step into the light or stay behind for the people I love. That moral tension gave the story weight beyond its horror trappings.
The Other Side is a bold, strange, and emotional book. If you enjoyed the gritty supernatural battles of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files or the chilling suspense of Stephen King’s The Outsider, you’ll find The Other Side delivers a similarly gripping mix of horror, heart, and high-stakes thrills.
Pages: 294 | ASIN : B0DNRHT6HP
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