An Interview with S.G. Hyde
S.G. (Sam Gavin) Hyde is an author based in Exeter, UK. He is a passionate advocate for disability services and serves as a trustee at Disability Together. Living with cerebellar ataxia, he champions resilience in others. After a twenty-year business career ended unexpectedly, he dedicates himself to personal growth through exercise, mindfulness, and seizing new opportunities. His passions include live theatre, music, nature conservation, and rugby. At home, he shares his journey with house bunnies and his wife. Discover more or sign up for his newsletter at www.SGHYDE.com.
Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?
It took a long time to land on this one. For most of the draft it was simply titled Billy, after the main protagonist. As the script developed, I kept trying out new titles and nothing stuck. At least nothing lasted more than a few days before I changed my mind. The final title came after inserting some symbolism at a couple of key emotional scenes.
How did it feel when you first saw your book cover? Or when you first held your book in your hands?
Opening the envelope to see your draft copy book for the first time was exhilarating. Even though the first copy has a ‘not for resale’ wrap around the book, you still get a really good feel for the design and look of your book. I had been pretty descriptive on what I wanted my cover to look like. Cream background, a human brain with a jackdaw perched on it. Seeing the book for the first time, I wasn’t disappointed. It looks fantastic. I particularly liked handling my hardback copy for the first time. The feel, smell and quality really came through.
Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?
Writing something creatively has been a constant thought recurring throughout my life. When I sat down and reviewed all the doodling and notes made over a twenty-year period, I thought maybe there’s something in me to create a novel. Throughout my career I wrote reports and plans for a corporate. When I retired, there was more time on my hands. So, I thought it was an opportune time to attempt some writing.
What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?
I have a background in sales, marketing, and process management. I also have spent time as a project manager and lean practitioner. Most of my working life was for the UK’s national weather and climate service provider. I developed a fair amount of process that the commercial department now follows.
If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?
My book does have a soundtrack! Music helps set the theme, feel, and time stamp this story. Almost by chance, I had found myself listening to certain tracks whilst writing and developing the book. Each track helped me set the scenes and characters to a specific point in time. Whilst not a historical novel, it is set over thirty-five years, so being accurate on the recent past was a necessity.
Also, if you pay really close attention to each song in the book, you can almost see a story told by the track listings.
As important as music is, it was also important to have an absence of music during Billy’s darker times. For this reason, almost all of part four is devoid of music.
Throughout the novel you will find tracks at the beginning of sections or chapters. Here is the track listing:
1980 Call Me, Blondie
1981 Don’t you Want Me, The Human League
1981 Tainted Love, Soft Cell
1982 Fortunate Son, Creedence Clearwater Revival, released 1969
1983 Sexual Healing, Marvin Gaye, released 1982
1986 London Calling, The Clash, released 1981
1987 Never Can Say Goodbye, The Communards
1988 I Believe In You, Talk Talk
1991 Groove Is In The Heart, Deee-Lite, released 1990
1992 Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia) – Us3
1994 Creep, Radiohead, released 1992
1994 Love Is All Around, Wet Wet Wet
1995 Cast No Shadow, Oasis
1997 Tubthumping, Chumbawamba
1998 Waterfalls, TLC
2000 Stan, Eminem
2007 Kreuzberg, Bloc Party
2013 Holocene, Bon Iver, released 2011
2014 When The Sun Goes Down, Arctic Monkeys, released 2006
2015 Crazy, Gnarls Barkley, released 2006
2014 Cold Little Heart, Michael Kiwanuka
These songs appear in the date they appear or were listened to by Billy in the story. They were all released in the year specified unless otherwise stated.
What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?
My hope is the novel is entertaining, but also that it helps spread awareness and knowledge of a rare condition. I also hope that it conveys the mental health side of having to live with a chronic illness. The aim from the outset was to portray a plausible, real character. Inspiration porn was not the goal. By this I mean it was important all characters made mistakes, had flaws, and had mischievous thoughts, rather than paint them as some kind of saint or martyr. Hopefully the book balances vulnerability with agency. The idea was not to have characters as symbols or lessons, but to present flawed, authentic human beings. It was great to draw on my experiences and those of my peers to keep the story feeling as genuine as possible.
What creative projects are you currently working on?
As someone who suffers from the same debilitating condition as the main protagonist in my novel, I must conserve my energy. In reality, this means I can only devote around two hours of screen time every other day. This means progress is slow, especially when you’re launching and promoting a new book! However, I do have my next novel outlined; the key characters have their own bios and what links them fleshed out. There’s even a few draft chapters. The next one’s a revenge story, tinged with a hallucinatory edge.
How was working with Atmosphere Press? What would you tell other writers who want to publish?
Working with Atmosphere Press has been great. Early doors, it was super helpful, enjoyable, and educational to work with my developmental editor, Jack, and grammar editors. Alex ensured actual production of my final book. Now I am very much in the hands of Elana and Mia as my book gets distributed and promoted!
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