Schuylkill Matters

Recently, I received an invite to attend a recording for an upcoming CD. An unusual type of invitation for me—every other invitation I received that week was for a high school graduation party. So I had to talk to the person holding the event, a Port Carbon native with a name many readers will find familiar: Stephen Pytak. Stephen authored a series of thrillers about a low-rent mercenary called The .40 Caliber Mouse. And now he’s co-writing a song with local blues musician Soji O. Quite the renaissance man!

 VISION: Although many of us know you as a reporter for The Republican-Herald, you also lead another life as the author of The .40 Caliber Mouse series. When will the third book be released? Any peeks at what will be happening?

 STEPHEN: Sure. Let me first fill people in on my background. In Schuylkill County many people know me as a staff writer for the local paper. I’ve been working there full-time since July 1995. When I’m not out on the beat, I’m writing fiction, usually thrillers which are a bit on the dark side.

During the 1990s, I wrote four screenplays, but wasn’t able to find an agent. Frustrated, I gave up on that form of expression and, with encouragement from my wife, Becki White, I wrote my first novel. The .40 Caliber Mouse, fueled with anger and passion, follows the adventures of  mercenaries who use the Internet to advertise their services. It’s a death-wish story like no other. It pulls readers into a world where

vengeance is user-friendly.

 I learned a lot by writing my first book, in particular what I enjoyed about the process. Since I write for fun, I concentrated on what I enjoyed the most. And I really wanted more control over all aspects of the publishing process, including cover design. So I started my own independent publishing group, Mazz Press, in 2008. Through Mazz Press, I released the follow-up, The .40 Caliber Mousehunt,  that December.

In October 2007 I started work on my third novel, a horror-thriller called The Wild Damned which is due out in December. “Corinn,” the lead anti-heroine of The .40 Caliber Mouse series, is only a supporting character this time out. But while her role is small, it’s rather critical. One of the reasons I wrote The Wild Damned was to give myself time to develop a much larger story arc for Corinn for my fourth novel. The Wild Damned will feature 21 illustrations by famed Batman artist Norm Breyfogle . Norm is also currently working on two Archie titles: Archie Loves Betty and Archie Loves Veronica.

VISION: I’ve checked out the artwork for The Wild Damned at the website and it is so unlike Archie, Betty and Veronica I can hardly believe the same man drew them! But great artwork isn’t the only thing that makes your series remarkable. If anyone stopped by Greystone Restaurant in Pottsville Friday night they stumbled upon something rather unique. Can you tell us what was happening?

STEPHEN: Sure. Whether the patrons knew it or not, blues musician Soji O of Palo Alto was recording a live version of a song he and I co-wrote. It’s called “Stick Around” and it’s about Corinn. In the past few weeks, we did a bunch of versions. There’s a radio edit, a music video version, an a cappella and an instrumental. We’d like to thank the Greystone for allowing us to record the live version Friday night.

 VISION: Authors have done lots of different things to publicize their books but this is the only book series with a theme song I remember. How did you get the idea to write a song about a character?

STEPHEN: Loaded question. Let’s try to take this a step at a time. First, I enjoy exploring all types of media to tell my stories, to give my characters new life, to treat my readers to something fresh and unique. For example, the main antagonist in The Wild Damned, a character called “The Carrion Crow,” wears a mask. To really get a feel for what that thing would look like, I designed it and commissioned its creation. By the way, the mask comes with me to author events and copies are available for sale through my Web sites. I remember I had the pleasure of introducing you to it at the Black Diamond Writers Network’s first writers convention April 17 at the Yuengling Mansion in Pottsville. Fun day!

 VISION: Yes, folks he tried to get me to try it on but it wasn’t for me. But I’ve been regretting it lately! Becki and Stephen told me they have a whole collection on .40 Caliber Mouse “stuff” in their house including a skateboard. But now more abut the song…

 STEPHEN: The genesis of the song project goes back to early 2009. Mousehunt had just come out. I was doing a series of promotional events.  I was planning a show at Many Worlds Gallery in Pottsville. Because I dig live music, I asked local artist Thalo Kersey for a suggestion. She recommended Soji O and I hired him.  The day of that show, Feb. 8, 2009, I shot some video of Soji performing a song called “Be With You.” For fun, I made a mini music video out of that, using samples of artwork from Mousehunt and other images from the show.

I enjoyed that experience so much, I wanted to do it again, but bigger and better. But this time I wanted a song which fit into my fiction, something the characters in my books would hear at a local bar. Also I wanted it to be something that would directly relate to the character I care about the most. That’s “Corinn” of course.

 Why Corinn?

 Two reasons.

 After I finished my first book, I sat down and reflected on what characters I enjoyed writing the most. Corinn topped my list. A bitter woman in her mid-20s, she’s got it out for a few people she went to college with. Her internal struggle with that fuels her story and it was easy for me to tap into. I may never understand the hate people harbor for nations or peoples, but I can wrap my head around the idea of a true dislike of certain individuals.  Some people have asked if Corinn is a manifestation of my feminine side. I dunno. Maybe. She’s just a character I whipped up that I liked. While she and I went to college in the same city, Pittsburgh, I don’t have it out for anyone I went to school with.

 While working with Breyfogle on the art for Mousehunt, he created an illustration of the character which completely changed my life. It was a perfect representation of what I was writing, full of energy, sexuality, malice and mischief. That illustration made the cover of Mousehunt. It was that illustration which made me want to craft a series for her, to man up and follow her down the road of vengeance.

 By the way, “Stick Around” is not really a ‘theme song.’ A haunting blues track, it’s actually rather critical of Corinn’s dangerous lifestyle. I wrote it from the point of view of someone who cares about her. The idea for the song came to me when I started writing the fourth book. I decided to weave it into The Wild Damned. In Chapter 21, it’s performed by a blues musician in a bar called Pagan’s in Columbus, Ohio. This suggests the possibility that this musician, who I do not name, secretly knows Corinn and isn’t too pleased with her decisions.

VISION: Which came first the lyrics or the music?

 STEPHEN: Lyrics first. Took me a month of writing and rewriting. The flow came to me one night around 3 a.m. I forget the date. March 20? Anyway, the beat was in my head:

      Can you feel the panic beats

     When you step out on that street

     Are you having too much fun

     Woman child with a loaded gun…

I wrote a draft of the song based on Soji’s style. I liked his sound. It’s soul. It’s blues. It’s passionate. This is a guy who can belt out a song about someone and really put some juice behind it. You’ll believe he really cares about whoever it is he’s singing about.

For the music, I only wanted to hear Soji’s voice and the strum of his guitar, a blue-jean sound with a hint of darkness.

I hired Soji to work with me on this project much the way I hire any artist. I usually do a draft of what I want, whether it’s an illustration or 3-D art like a full-head mask. So I wrote a version. I gave it to Soji on April 18. Hoping to give him some inspiration, I also sent along some of Breyfogle’s preliminary sketches for The Wild Damned and pictures I took of our T-shirt model. As you know, I sell shirts featuring The.40 Caliber Mouse symbol. Every few years, I photograph a model who bears a resemblance to Corinn. The latest, and best to date, is Victoria Vaughn of Fairfax, Va.

 I told Soji what I wrote was raw material to do with as he pleased. So, he could have rewritten the entire thing if he chose to. Surprisingly, he didn’t. On April 25, I went over to his apartment and he belted it out. He kept my lyrics for the most part, but he rewrote the chorus and made some awesome changes. Hearing the song for the first time was an awesome experience. Hard to find the words to describe it. It’s the kind of feeling you get when the stars line up and you feel like you’re in the right place and the right time and destiny is tapping you on the shoulder. Shivers. I only asked Soji to change one lyric. Simple change. And that was it.

 I tried writing songs before, but didn’t like what I was coming up with. I never wrote a song about Corinn before. Maybe that’s why this one worked. I was focused. I don’t really consider myself a songwriter. This might be my only songwriting credit. I played drums when I was a student at Shenandoah Valley Jr./Sr. High School, where I graduated in 1988. So I can keep a beat.

VISION: But it isn’t just a song. I heard you’re also directing a music video.

STEPHEN: That’s true. I started the filming at Many Worlds Gallery in Pottsville on May 13. That’s where I photographed Soji’s scenes. Our sound engineer, Tim Horbal of Lake Wynonah, was also there and recorded the “Video Version” of the song which will also be on the CD. On June 26, I’m scheduled to shoot video of Victoria Vaughn as “Corinn” in Washington D.C.

 When I was a kid, I directed my own silent Super 8 movies. I studied film at the Pittsburgh Filmmakers in 1988, before I became a journalism major. I never thought I’d be able to make a living making low-budget films. That’s why I went into newspapers by the way.

My wife and I are discussing how the video will be distributed. I’d like to put it out on DVD with a slew of extras, but I’ve never done that before. Then again, I commissioned the creation of that mask two years ago and hadn’t done that before either. So I’m hopeful. I’m producing, directing and editing the video. Wish me luck.

VISION: Lots of luck! We’re anxiously awaiting the results. After all, how many videos are made in Schuylkill County. Where can we see the video or purchase the song?

 STEPHEN: Mazz Press will release the CD Maxi Single for “Stick Around.” I’m hoping to have it out by mid June. I’ll have copies at my author events. It will be available for purchase through my Web sites. Just click on the CATALOG at www.mazzpress.com

 As far as the video, stay tuned.

 VISION: So what’s next? A movie?

 STEPHEN: A movie? I’d love to! Just as soon as I secure a budget of about $20 million. Not sure when I’ll be able to get all that together, but in the meantime I’m willing to discuss the motion picture rights to my material with interested parties.

VISION: OK, who out there is going to fund this project? But on a more affordable note, where can readers go to buy your books or attend a book signing?

 STEPHEN: People can make purchases online by visiting my website catalog. Locally, my second novel is available at a few outlets, including All Things Good, 209 W. Market St., Pottsville.

I’m always looking for places to do author events. I enjoy traveling to comic book stores and coffee houses and other venues.  Locally, I’m planning to do an author event from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 14 at The Cloak and Dragon Bookstore at 12 E. Main St., Bloomsburg, Pa. I enjoyed the author fair at the Black Diamond Writers convention in April. I’d like to participate in another event like that. It really introduced people to the variety of writing talent we have in the county.

 I have a group page on Facebook called “The .40 Caliber Mouse: Fans With A Vengeance.” There’s also a Facebook page for The Wild Damned.

 VISION: Thanks for you time, Stephen. And readers, next time you see the Stephen Pytak byline in the Republican Herald remember there’s much more to him than covering car crashes and election results.

Networking Opportunities AND Ice Cream

Who: Schuylkill Young Professionals
What: Networking Event
When: Thursday, June 3 from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm
Where: Pottsville Club
201 South Twenty-Sixth Street, Pottsville
Cost: $5 for non-members
RSVP: By June 1 at sypnews@gmail.com

Who: Schuylkill Young Professionals
What: Family Social
When: Saturday, June 5 starting at 4 pm
Where: Heisler’s Dairy
743 Catawissa Road, Tamaqua
Note: Discount cards for food and golf
RSVP: By June 3 at sypnews@gmail.com