The Color of Melancholy: An Examination of Andrew Pyper’s Novels as Intersected Through My Life (2023)
It’s just a book, right?
To some, this is true.
But what if an author’s work has made a tangible difference in a reader’s life?
Steve Stred came from humble beginnings, born and raised in Burton, BC, Canada – population approx. 75. Through the years, he’s battled depression and the fight between his small-town boy fear of the larger world and his inner self desperately wanting more; to see more, do more, experience more. Over his life, Steve’s sought out challenges – being the first in his family to graduate from university. Pursuing weight-lifting, shotput and bobsled, all with the ultimate goal to make it to the Olympic Games.
But how does one pick themselves up when failure continuously rears its ugly head?
A chance purchase in 2014 changed everything and set in motion a relationship between the books of his favorite author and key moments within his own life.
Featuring a powerful foreword from Andrew Pyper, Steve Stred’s ‘The Color of Melancholy: An Examination of Andrew Pyper’s Novels as Intersected Through My Life,’ uses a mix of humor and seriousness to describe his upbringing, his challenges and how he fell back in love with writing, while also discussing how Andrew Pyper’s novels have woven their way into the fabric of his own history – and how a friendship was born.
Steve Stred is a 2X Splatterpunk-Nominated author of more than a dozen releases.
Andrew Pyper is an Arthur Ellis Award-Winning and Shirley Jackson-Nominated author who has been awarded The Grant Allen Award for his contributions to Canadian crime and mystery literature. He is the author of ten best selling novels and the smash hit ‘Oracle,’ an Audible audiobook release.
Universal book link:
mybook.to/thecolorofmelancholy
Churn the Soil (2023)
Two hundred miles north of the town of Basco sits The Border. It’s a quiet, off-the-grid settlement, where the residents have developed a tentative agreement with those that live on the other side of the clearing.
But things are about to change forever.
As night falls, a teenage girl is brutally murdered as she flees across the clearing.
Now, it’s up to Basco PD officers Brown and Reynolds to find her killer.
But the truth is far worse than they could possibly imagine, and the more the officers uncover, the bolder the things beyond the clearing grow.
‘Under an icy snowfall…’
‘Under a clear, blue moon…’
North of The Border lies a land unseen by man. A land where things are ready and waiting… to feed.
Splatterpunk-Nominated author Steve Stred, who brought you ‘Mastodon’ and ‘Incarnate,’ delivers a pulse-pounding, high-stakes story where if the cold doesn’t kill you, the Forest Guards will.
“‘Churn the Soil’ is a wonderful mix of mystery, creatures, and bloody horror,” – V. Castro, HWA Bram Stoker Nominated author of ‘The Queen of The Cicadas’ and ‘Goddess of Filth.’
“The sense of place is immaculate. ‘Churn the Soil’ has the bone-chilling atmosphere of a frozen arctic tundra.” – David Sodergren, author of The Forgotten Island and Maggie’s Grave
“Veteran readers of Steve Stred will know that nothing good ever comes out of venturing into the woods and encroaching forests! ‘Churn the Soil’ finds the prolific Canadian author up to his old tricks, focussing on a community which lives off the grid and has an uneasy alliance with the beings which haunt the forest. Stred is on a seriously cool hot streak, following the superb ‘The Window in the Ground’ and wild monster novel ‘Mastodon’ with another page-turning blend of intense supernatural horror where death lurks around every corner. Stred is going places and is a master of fast-paced, punchy, and easy-read horror fiction which will have you speed reading in a matter of minutes.”
– Tony Jones, Ginger Nuts of Horror & Horror DNA reviewer
Universal book link:
mybook.to/churnthesoil
Mastodon (2022)
“An old-school creature thriller told with crisp pacing and kick-ass set pieces, Steve Stred’s Mastodon is a monster-in-the-woods tale with some choice surprises and plenty of rampaging fun.”
– Andrew Pyper, author of The Residence, The Damned and The Demonologist
17 years ago, Tyler Barton was born in the Rocky Mountains, while his parents were on a hike.
On that day, his mother disappeared, never to be seen again.
Now, history repeats itself.
On the 17th anniversary of her disappearance, Tyler’s father is flying home when the plane he’s on disappears – in the same area where his mother was last seen.
Undeterred by officials, Tyler decides to hike into the area in search of his father, hoping to find him alive and bring him back to safety.
But there’s a reason that area is prohibited to enter and even though Tyler doesn’t care, he’ll soon find out that the wilderness can hide some of the deepest, darkest fears known to man.
From the author of ‘Incarnate,’ ‘The Window In the Ground’ and ‘Ritual’ comes a new novel that’ll make you rethink your Summer hiking trip.
“Steve Stred’s Mastodon reads like a cross between Gary Paulson’s Hatchet and Jeff Vandermeer’s Southern Reach Trilogy: a big-hearted adventure yarn with a dark and compelling mystery at its core.”
– Shaun Hamill, author of A Cosmology of Monsters
“Mysterious. Gripping. High-octane. Mastodon is not the typical creature feature.”
– Eddie Generous, author of Rawr and Behemoth Risen
“Mastodon is a jaw-dropping trek into a heart of darkness. Full of emotion, yet rife with grotesque imagery that only Stred can deliver.”
– David Sodergren, author of The Forgotten Island and Maggie’s Grave
“Mastodon is another tour de force from Canada’s master of dread. The journey into a forbidden wilderness cordoned off by the military is reminiscent of Jeff Vandermeer’s Annihilation, but as bleak, daring, and darkly comic as Harlan Ellison. The pace of the story never relents, its emotional highs are spectacular, and its lows will rip your guts out: a voyage and return epic with the balls-to-the-wall horror shows of S. C. Mendes’s The City thrown in. Stred should be held in the same regard as Straub and King.”
– Joseph Sale, author of Save Game and Gods of the Black Gate
“Mastodon is a compelling read that will leave you blistered and broken as you join a young man’s rescue mission into the Canadian wilderness inhabited by unspeakable horrors. Steve Stred masterfully delivers a story exploring the physical and emotional limits we push through in order to save the people we hold most dear.”
– J. A. Sullivan, horror writer and contributor to Kendall Reviews
Universal Book Link;
mybook.to/mastodon
Incarnate (2021)
Summer, 1976.
For Ryan, turning thirteen is a big deal.
Turning thirteen while staying at a haunted house?
Amazing.
After pleading with his parents to stay in The Matthews House, they’ve agreed.
This summer will be the best vacation they’ve ever had.
Too bad something still claims the house as its own.
Something Lillian Matthews accidently called forth all those years ago.
Ryan and his parents will have to fight to survive this summer,
When they meet evil Incarnate in the flesh.
‘In Incarnate, Stred brings us face to snout with evil in the flesh. Once you’ve gazed into its eyes, there’s no putting this book down until you’ve turned the last page. Only then can you sit back and try to catch your breath, all while telling yourself that it’s just a book. And a damn good one.’
– Tim McWhorter, author of The Opening and Bone White
‘Packed with demons, parallel worlds, and some truly chilling moments, Incarnate is another crowd pleaser from Stred that you won’t want to put down.’
– D.W. Gillespie, author of The Toy Thief and One By One
‘Hear the hooves. Fear the clues. Incarnate will please horror readers. A disturbing, wicked, and haunting tale from the mind of Steve Stred.’
– Calvin Demmer, author of The Sea Was a Fair Master and Dark Celebrations
Universal Book Link:
mybook.to/incarnate2
The Navajo Nightmare by David Sodergren and Steve Stred (2021)
Saddle up for twice the terror in
THE NAVAJO NIGHTMARE!
Charles Andersson is a killer. Or at least, he was, once. Now he lives a quiet life with his family, until a gang of crooks take everything from him and Charles must make a diabolical pact.
His soul, in exchange for vengeance!
Tanner Williams has been tasked with an impossible job — to track and kill the bloodthirsty abomination that stalks the plains. Haunted by his dark past, Tanner must learn the horrifying secret of…
THE NAVAJO NIGHTMARE!
From the twisted minds of David Sodergren (The Forgotten Island) and Steve Stred (Ritual) comes a gripping, blood-soaked horror western that will leave you breathless.
Piece of Me (Sermons of Sorrow Trilogy Book One) (2019)
Over a decade ago, Kari’s husband and son went hunting and never returned.
As she prepares for another long winter she longs for their return.
Then one day things change. The night creatures who live in the dark have visited the day and a mysterious figure who arrives may hold the key to reuniting her with her family.
For Kari, the question becomes – just how far will she go to be reunited?
From Steve Stred, author of The Stranger, Ritual and Wagon Buddy comes a story that Ross Jeffery from Storgy says “Piece of Me is like The Lord of the Rings but fused brilliantly with the darkness of say Clive Barker’s Hellraiser – Epic Dark Horror Fantasy, if that’s a thing? If not, Stred has created a genre all by himself.”
** Hardcover of Piece of Me can be purchased here;
The Stranger (2019)
The Stranger is the second novel from Steve Stred and 9th release overall. The Stranger is another offering following in the footsteps of similar books Invisible, YURI and The Girl Who Hid in the Trees. As Steve describes his works; “dark, bleak horror.”
With this release, Steve has decided to look deeper into what makes humans tick. He confronts two key elements of mankind; bigotry and our environmental footprint.
Featuring stunning cover art by Chadwick St. John (www.inkshadows.com), The Stranger will be a story that will leave you feeling uneasy and have you looking at the trees differently.
Maybe it’s not the wind making the branches sway…
Maybe…
It’s…
The Stranger.
Synopsis;
Ahhh… nothing like the annual summer family camping trip, right?
Malcolm, his wife Sam and their two kids have been staying at the same cabin, at the same campground for years now. Heck, Malcolm’s been coming to the campground since he was a kid.
Miles and miles of groomed trails, hiking, kayaking on the pristine lake. What’s not to like?
But this year… well this year’s different. You see, roof repairs have caused them to have to change their plans. Now they’re staying at the cabin at the end of season, in fact they’re the last campers before it closes for the winter.
While happy to be spending time with the family, Malcolm feels a shift.
The caretaker next door makes it known he hates him.
The trees… move and dance, as though calling him, beckoning him.
Then on a seemingly normal kayaking trip, the family makes a discovery.
YOU TAKE FROM ME
I TAKE FROM YOU
Something’s out there, just on the other side of the fence. Malcolm’s positive it’s just the caretaker trying to scare him, teach the family a lesson.
But what if it’s not…
What if there is something out there?
Invisible (2018)
From the author of Frostbitten: 12 Hymns of Misery, comes his first full length nightmare.
Chased across the country-side by a ravenous beast, haunted by the decisions he has made.
The Lighthouse, where nothing appears to be what it is.
A noise, constantly drawing him in, but keeping him at a distance from answers.
All of it comes to a crescendo, crashing down around him.
Invisible is a gut wrenching ride across a nightmarish landscape, filled with music references, peppered with claustrophobic bouts within the Lighthouse. Part fiction, part auto-biography, Invisible will etch itself into your subconscious long after you have finished reading.
Praise for Steve Stred’s works –
“Thank you, Mr. Stred, for allowing me to read into your world,” – Goodreads review, 5/5
“This was a very powerful read. Highly recommended!” – Goodreads review, 5/5
“Widow’s Point meets A Monster Calls,” – Justin M. Woodward, Author of Tamer Animals, 5/5
Steve Stred - The Official Website 