Stephen Pytak
- Director
- Writer
- Cinematographer
Stephen Pytak is an independent publisher known for writing a series of
thriller novels following the adventures of a low-rent mercenary known
as "The .40 Caliber Mouse." He's also a filmmaker, a song lyricist and
independent music producer and an artist who designs the artwork he
commissions for his projects. Born Aug. 6, 1970 in Lost Creek, West
Mahanoy Township, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, he graduated from
Shenandoah Valley Jr./Sr. High School in 1988. He earned a degree in
print journalism from Point Park College in Pittsburgh, Pa. in 1992.
While in college, he took a screen writing class at the Pittsburgh
Filmmakers in Oakland, Pa. His teacher was Lorraine Heidekat, who was
also a native of Schuylkill County, Pa. Her class gave him strong
insights into writing fiction, the tools to write the novels and the
screenplays he would later in life. After college, Stephen returned to
Schuylkill County, Pa. and found work as a full-time reporter for local
newspapers. During the 1990s, he wrote a series of screenplays, but
became frustrated with that art form when he couldn't find an agent to
represent him. In 2000, his wife, Becki White, encouraged him to try
writing novels. His books include "The .40 Caliber Mouse," "The .40
Caliber Mousehunt," "The Wild Damned" and "Katerina Blues." All of his
books contain stand-alone illustrations of characters and scenes. The
most well-known artist he commissioned was Norm Breyfogle, who worked
for DC Comics on various "Batman" titles. Breyfogle did the art on
"Mousehunt" and "The Wild Damned." The front covers of Stephen's novels
showcase either artwork or photos of actresses who look like characters
from the series. For example, Stephen photographed model Victoria
Vaughn of Fairfax, Va. as the main character of his series. That's
"Corinn," the hacker who is secretly "The .40 Caliber Mouse." Since he
was working with a few actresses and models in 2010, 2011 and 2012,
Stephen decided to bring them together to make short films. These
included "With Love (2011) and "Dancing Shadows (2012)." Stephen also
wrote the lyrics to a few songs, hired musicians to perform them and
produced soundtracks for those films. One of his personal favorites,
"Shooting Stars," the theme to his fourth novel, "Katerina Blues."