How The Andrew Pyper Archives Began
How The Andrew Pyper Archives Began by Steve Stred
** Quick note – during the summer (2022), I was contacted by a Literary Magazine here in Canada to draft up a potential non-fiction editorial about the formation of The Andrew Pyper Archives. I immediately agreed and went about creating the piece. I sent in the draft, which they were very happy with, and I awaited edits. Then, a few weeks later, they contacted me to say that the non-fiction section it would be featured in had ceased – and while they loved the piece there simply wouldn’t be a place for it anymore. With that in mind, I’ve decided to share this piece here (slightly expanded) for everyone to discover! Please, do enjoy! **
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How does one develop a favorite author?
It’s a complex, interesting and completely personal decision. Something, within their work, connects with you in a way that opens up emotional reactions and visceral responses.
Much like how a song or a band triggers your synapses to fire – so too does the work of your favorite author.
But, commonly, there isn’t a singular piece or a singular release. It’s a cumulative domino effect where, time and time again, you read a novel or story and understand that they are writing specifically just for you. That you are reading their words as though the writer is sitting beside you reading it.
This was how I came to understand the importance of Award-Winning, International Best-Selling Author, Andrew Pyper. It wasn’t just how phenomenal his work was. It was how it was always there, when big events happened in my life.
Now, if you’ve followed my social media platforms over the years, you’ll have obviously seen my love of his work. My social media shouting started from a place where I simply wasn’t seeing his work raved about enough. Don’t get me wrong – Andrew’s work was shared – but for this super-fan, not enough. But how did I develop this love of his storytelling which ultimately resulted in the Archives being created?
Let’s dive in.
If you’re unfamiliar with Andrew Pyper’s work, he’s released a dozen novels to critical acclaim, as well as two audio-only productions that have reignited people’s love of audiobooks. Born and raised in Ontario, he now calls Toronto home. I would describe his work as Big Five Literary Fiction with an Indie Author bent. That is – he writes books that appear on numerous Best-Seller lists, but without a doubt, will always have some of the most brutal moments shared on the page. He isn’t a PG-13 writer. He’s a storyteller who starts off with a Rated R novel and will deliver NC17 carnage. My journey with his work began in 2014, when I purchased his novel, ‘The Demonologist.’ I’ve shared this story a number of times, but some of you may not have heard it, so let me fill you in. My wife and I were at a Walmart in Abbotsford, BC where we lived at the time. The Demonologist just happened to be in the 2 for $15 paperback section. I took a photo of the cover (I usually did this with books at Walmart so that I could order it through Chapters! Plum Points and discount!) – intrigued by the title, the synopsis and the fact this author was from Canada and went home. But I couldn’t get it out of my head. So much so, that my wife insisted I go back and buy it. (For those wondering, the other book I bought for the 2 for $15 deal was The Troop by Nick Cutter.) I devoured it. People often speak of Stephen King’s ‘writing-voice’ as being so familiar and comforting. This was what happened when I cracked open the book and was introduced to David Ullman.
(My very first Andrew Pyper book!)
I was going through a significant life change in 2014. My wife and I married. Our dog jumped off the bed one night and ruptured his spinal cord, resulting in temporary hind-end paralysis. And I left my job to pursue bobsled. During this time, Lost Girls and The Damned were there. When I had my first bobsled crash, (it was during my first week of training with the National Team. We crashed in Whistler on a notorious stretch called 50/50 doing about 135kmph) which resulted in my left shoulder being separated and (unknown to me at that time) significant hip damage, I couldn’t do much. I still went to the gym, training everything I could but my left arm/shoulder, but when back at the Athlete Village, all I could really do was read. That was when Danny Orchard came into my life, and I remember discussing the book with my physiotherapist as he worked to get my arm moving again.
In 2015, after the season was done, we moved to Calgary, the move designed in mind to try and improve my chances at making the Winter Olympics. My body continued to break down, but something amazing arrived. We found out my wife was pregnant. We’d been told we most likely would never have kids and we were fine with that. We had our bully, OJ and spoiled him. But then, along came the news and we were over the moon.
In August 2016, when my wife went into labor, I brought my copy of The Wildfire Season with me.
(My copy of The Wildfire Season that I was reading when Auryn was born!)
As the night went on, the nurse told me to feel free and sit as nothing was progressing. I was just about to start reading and be introduced to Miles, when things took a crazy, insane turn. Thankfully, the doctors were phenomenal and Amanda and Auryn are still with me today. (Side note – I have spoken a bit about this in the past, but also briefly while I was on the Largely the Truth Podcast with Andrew – https://audioboom.com/posts/8056841-andrew-pyper-steve-stred-horror-novelists)
Because of that craziness, once Auryn was able to come home, at first he slept in his little swaddle on my chest. While this calmed my PTSD, it also prevented me from reading, because I couldn’t hold a book and him at the same time, but also it had to be dark. I put off reading for close to 18 months.
Not long after his arrival, life changed again, and we moved to Edmonton. Time passed, and I still hadn’t found a way to return to reading, when my wife got me an early Father’s Day gift – a Kindle. The first book I loaded on it was The Wildfire Season, but I found I couldn’t jump back in, the book bringing me back to the delivery room in vivid detail. It took me some time, but I finally read it and absolutely loved it.
The biggest moments in my life from the day I stumbled across The Demonologist have all been accompanied by the steady and solid prose of Andrew’s work.
Early in my writing career, I reached out to author Ania Ahlborn, asking her advice on social media. She said she’d had her most early success with Twitter. So, I thanked her and took her advice. I started using Twitter more frequently, and it was there that I first bumped into Andrew’s profile. I couldn’t believe it. Here was the author who helped me so much, tweeting and interacting with people. I followed him and waited patiently for any news of a new book. It was also around that time that I really began to tweet about his books, share them on IG and FB and just generally let the world know that I loved his books so much. I’ll never forget the day when I got the notification on Twitter that Andrew Pyper was now following me. I screenshot it and sent it to my wife. If I had been on the phone or in person I probably would’ve been screaming. (Hell, I screenshot and sent it to my wife the first time Andrew retweeted me – FYI he called me his favorite Canadian… so there!)
Not long after, I worked up the nerve and sent him a DM expressing my love of his work and thanking him for the follow. I nearly fainted when he responded! It still blows my mind that my favorite author not only has replied to me, but even knows who I am. Maybe it’s the super-small-town kid that still lives inside of me, but it never ceases to be amazing.
From there, I decided to do a month-long celebration of his work called Pyper-May-Nia, in (you guessed it) May. The first year I did it, I’ll admit, sucked. I tried to make it fun, but I didn’t really plan it well. It was also that year that I discovered an ARC of The Demonologist at a local Value Village. I couldn’t believe it. That little discovery was the impetus for my own personal collection. I began combing the online world and local bookstores for the variations of his works and the ARCs of each. Some were easy to find, others not so much. To track down the ARC of The Only Child, I’d estimate I sent out close to 300 emails. It wasn’t until my friend, Erin, suggested a specific Canadian reviewer. I contacted him, he went through his dozens of boxes in his storage unit and found it! I couldn’t believe it.
Each May since, I’ve been ramping up the Pyper-May-Nia, from doing interviews with Andrew, retrospectives of his works and having guest reviews and more. In 2021, I did a feature called Pyper Preview, where each Tuesday leading up to Pyper-May-Nia and a live interview on IG, I shared his books. My collection has continued to grow, including all the English editions and all the foreign editions. What started out as a dozen books has become over 100!
When Andrew’s novel ‘The Residence’ came out, I reached out to Andrew for his publicist’s contact to ask about potentially receiving a physical ARC for review. I remember he replied with the email, but I was too nervous to contact them, figuring so many others would be on the list to receive them already. Imagine my surprise when, a few days later, I came home to a package direct from Andrew with a signed and inscribed ARC! It shouldn’t surprise those who know me to know that I shed a few tears at receiving such a phenomenally kind gift.
(I was so shocked to receive this kind gift!)
I’ve been fortunate to forge a friendship with Andrew. It’s something I never expected, nor will I ever take for granted. I’m hoping to finally get the pieces in place for the two of us to formally meet in person one of these days. I just hope when the time arrives, I’m not a blubbering fool.
Lastly – before I reverse course – two last key moments. A few summer’s back, I did an online writing course led by Andrew. I did it for two reasons. The first – as a super-fan, I wanted some insight into how he crafts his stories. The second – as a writer always striving to improve, I wanted to do just that. It was amazing and so helpful for a trio of my own novels.
One such novel, Mastodon, was greatly improved from Andrew’s ‘guidance.’ While he didn’t give specific feedback about that novel itself, his notes let me comb over the novel and improve it. When the time came for me to think of blurbs, my wife all but forced me to email Andrew. When he agreed, I was so thankful. I’d like to think his influence/guidance helped it become my first true bonafide hit.
So, let’s backtrack.
The main reason for this piece was to discuss The Andrew Pyper Archives that I’ve created/curate.
It grew from my own personal obsession of collecting all of Andrew’s work. He has a website, that is basic, in that it shares his releases and some news. But it doesn’t contain any sort of listing to what anthologies he’s been in, what appearances he’s had in magazines and journals and what additional stories are out there – online or otherwise. So, in earnest, I began to compile it on an excel sheet. I began to download the covers and catalog the ISBN’s, which all have helped me find the editions I was missing. Over time, it grew and grew and one day I mentioned to my wife that I had so much data collected, it would be cool to make it a website. As she always does, she told me to ask Andrew. She figured he’d be excited and appreciative to have it done. I worked up my nerves and messaged him and was delighted when he agreed! I took my time piecing it together, mapping it out, wanting it to be both user friendly but also instantly engaging. It’s been a long time since I’ve been as stressed as when I sent him the link to take a look at before officially launching it and boy was I elated when he said he loved it.
More recently, I was over the moon when he sent me a short video of himself introducing the Archives!
The Archives is my way of easily introducing people to an author whose work I admire and love so much. It is a digital, online branch of my own collection. Through combing the world wide web, I’ve found editions I didn’t know existed and had people contact me and offer up versions they believed I was missing. As well, my love of Andrew’s work has led me to have three rebound editions created; two for his releases that did not have hardcover editions and one for his novel ‘The Killing Circle’ which I absolutely love. To know that only myself and Andrew possess those editions is truly remarkable.
Throughout this journey, Andrew’s friendship and encouragement have been a constant. He’s sent me potential leads, gifted me harder to find versions and been just as big of a cheerleader of myself as I have been for him. It’s a testament to his kindness that he’s put up with my random DM’s, constant tagging and emails. And let’s not forget the numerous interviews he’s done with me – email and video alike.
(Where my collection started!)
As of writing this, my collection contains 119 books, 90 of which are signed. One of these books is the only one in existence. It also has 7 pieces of ephemera, 3 of which are signed, a t-shirt, a hat, 2 prints, one tattoo and a website I’m super proud of. Currently, I’m missing 3 foreign editions, 3 journal appearances and one puzzle/interactive game.
(My collection today!)
So, when we sum up the whole of the parts, the answer from my personal collecting journey is this; if an author’s fiction moves you, if time and time again their work is there for you when things get difficult, shout it from the rooftops. Post about it, share the books, tell people about them and don’t ever be embarrassed or ashamed that fiction has made a difference in your life. We all need something to hold onto. Sometimes the world’s we visit in story help make the real world around us a little bit brighter.
While some may consider me to be Andrew’s #1 fan, the truth is, I just want every person to read his work. To find the enjoyment in it that I have. And it the Archives makes it that much easier for someone to become a fan, then I’ve done my job!
The joy Andrew’s work has brought to me is unquantifiable. Everyday, I get to look at the gorgeous books I have on my shelves, while simultaneously waiting for an announcement of a new release, and when that announcement comes – you can expect me to be shouting about how excited I am, while also updating the Archives!
Please, do take a few minutes to come explore the site, I’d really love it if you do!
And thank you, Andrew. Your kindness and generosity has been nothing short of phenomenal.
