Here's what's new:  

05.31.10 -- NEWS -- Happy Memorial Day! It was also a big news day for Mazz Press. Stephen posted a music video for the live version of "Stick Around." You can see it by clicking HERE. Also Jodi Webb, co-author of Pennsylvania Trivia: Weird, Wacky and Wild, posted an interview she conducted with Stephen on Friday. To see it, click HERE.

03.15.2010 -- NEWS -- This week, we unveiled a second of Norm's sketches for The Wild Damned. Behold, "The Dreaded Mark of the Carrion Crow." Here are some comments from Breyfogle and Pytak recorded on the artist's Facebook page this week:

BREYFOGLE: This is my preliminary sketch of "The Dreaded Mark of the Carrion Crow," to be featured in Stephen Pytak's novel The Wild Damned. It's a spray-painted logo used by the novel's chief villain to mark his territory, so to speak. Stephen, you provide great reference and largely fully-realized illustration ideas. I just clean 'em up, add some dynamism and realism, and, voilà!

PYTAK: This one started out with a 'what if situation.' I wondered what it would be like if Carrion Crow had a symbol. For fun, did a draft of something. Becki, my wife, saw it and liked the basic idea. She thought I should persue it further. I worked it into the story. In the process I had to figure out how it would work. It decided it wouldn't be something simple, like in "V for Vendetta" or "Zorro," where the heavy can just draw a couple lines on a wall. I wanted it to be a stencil. I remember when I came up with the correct concept sketch. It was one afternoon after work. I was on the floor drawing in pencil while

listening to director commentary over "I Spit on Your Grave." I wanted something tribal. And that's what we got! Norm really made it something special. The little touches he added really give it something. Sure, I do the concept work. But Norm's the miracle worker.

BREYFOGLE: I bet some folks would like to see the sketches that you do and provide for me, right next to my own finished versions.

That said, we're starting that series on The Wild Damned fan page on Facebook, which we also launched this week. To get there, click HERE.
03.10.2010 -- NEWS -- Norm Breyfogle, well-known "Batman" artist, talked a bit about his experience drawing the illustrations for Stephen Pytak's novel The Wild Damned on Episode 91 of "Where Monsters Dwell" broadcast on CHSR 97.9 FM. To read Norm's comments about working on the illustrations for the book click HERE.
 
02.07.2010 -- NEWS -- "I've seen the future and it will be. I've seen the future and it works." -- Prince, "The Future." I know that lyric has been used over and over, but it's kind of how I see things at the moment, at least for the future of my novel in development, The Wild Damned. For the past two weeks I've been studying the preliminary sketches by Norm Breyfogle. There's some very impressive stuff here. I commissioned a total of 21 illos (short for illustrations) this time out. It's the biggest art commission I've ever embarked on. While I do concept sketches first to give the artist a solid idea of what I'm shooting for, truth is, you're really never sure what you'll get back. I was very pleasantly surprised by the stuff that started popping up in my e-mail two weeks ago. The Carrion Crow sprung to life! Stacia Rose -- the book's anti-heroine -- looked as if she were about to jump right off the page! A demon bull charged! Corinn returned! But we nitpicked things. Graffiti in particular. Know how hard it is to really compose and develop interesting statements, symbols and scribbles? Try doing about 50. I will probably approve the rest of the sketches today. The actual artwork will hopefully be on my desk by mid-May. And The Wild Damned will be readied for a December release. Stay tuned.

For now, I'm only unveiling one sketch on my Internet sites, "Enter, The Carrion Crow, " posted here for your viewing pleasure. If you stop by at my book signings, you might see a few more.

01.23.2010 -- NEWS -- The Norm Breyfogle preliminary sketches for The Wild Damned have started to come in! They're fabulous. We will be unveiling samples here shortly.

01.16.2010 -- NEWS -- Stephen has completed a draft of The Wild Damned and has started editing. He's hoping to have it out for Christmas.

01.15.2010 -- NEWS -- Recently Stephen finished a draft of The Wild Damned. It contains 40 chapters. Now he's combing through them, fine tuning them. Then his editing team will take a crack. He's hoping to have it out by Christmas.

12.06.2009 -- NEWS -- Today Stephen completed a draft of The Wild Damned Chapter XXX. Only 10 more chapters to go, then the first round of editing begins!

10.25.2009 -- THE MASK OF THE CARRION CROW -- The mask is now being manufactured by KreationX Inc., New York. To order, log onto our order page in our CATALOG.

09.23.2009 -- NEWS -- While healing from recent surgery, Stephen is making significant progress on his novel in development, The Wild Damned. Today he knocked out a draft of Chapter XVII. He estimated the book will have 40 chapters.

08.26.2009 -- NEWS -- Stephen is back at the keyboard and hammering out a helluva book! Today he printed out a decent draft of Chapter VII. We're movin' right along.

07.31.2009 -- NEWS -- Just an update. This month Stephen had completed the designs for the book's illustrations. There are 21. Artist Norm Breyfogle will begin work on the illos this fall. Meanwhile Stephen has returned to the keyboard to continue writing The Wild Damned, what will surely be his most intense thriller.

06.12.2009 -- EVENTS -- Stephen has scheduled an apperance at Lazy Dog Coffeehouse, 18 E. Sunbury St., Minersville, Pa. at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2009. Check out the cool advertisement for the event, "An Evening with Stephen Pytak," posted on the Lazy Dog's Web site by clicking HERE.

06.07.2009 -- Mazz Press will sponsor a screening of the Lucio Fulci classic horror film "The Gates of Hell" at the Angela Triplex in Coaldale, Pa. at 9:30 p.m. Saturday, June 20, 2009. For more information, click HERE.

05.02.2009 -- NEWS -- Stephen and Becki had a GREAT time promoting "The .40 Caliber Mousehunt," "The Wild Damned" and its star, "The Carrion Crow," at TDS Enterprises presents Comics & Games in West Chester, Pa. today. Thanks to Nick, Chip, Claire, Marion, Bekha, Jon, Tug and Chelsea for hanging out. Please check out our photos on our Facebook page or our MySpace page by clicking HERE.

 

 

 

 

 

 
Stephen introduces Marion and Claire to The Carrion Crow, one of the stars of his novel in development, "The Wild Damned," at TDS Comics & Cards, West Chester, Pa. on May 2, 2009. To see more pix, please log onto our Mazz Press MySpace page by clicking HERE.