St. Thomas graduate Peter Stenson recently released his second novel, “Thirty-Seven,” a story about a cult that dies off and is restarted by its only surviving member: Member No. 37.

Stenson grew up in St. Paul and attended St. Paul Academy and Summit School. He earned his undergraduate degree in English at St. Thomas in 2008 and his Masters in Fine Arts at Colorado State University. He said that he knew from a very young age that he wanted to be an author.

“My mom always told stories in elementary school and I was like, I know I’m going to be a famous author,” he said.

“I guess I’d say it’s because I have such a tortured soul,” he laughed.

Stenson said his “tortured soul” is evident in the stories that he chooses to write.

“The characters are generally pretty broken people in pretty bad circumstances, but there’s some kernel of hope that they hold onto,” Stenson said.

St. Thomas English professor Matthew Batt taught Stenson during his time as an undergraduate and said he always saw something special in him.

“Even at that introductory level, Peter seemed to be operating at as advanced a level as most graduate students are,” Batt said. “I think he’s just got a drive to tell stories. I think that there’s something just kind of ferocious and unstoppable about his creativity.”

Stenson’s first novel, “Fiend,” was released in 2013 and is set in St. Paul during a zombie apocalypse where the only survivors are methamphetamine addicts.

“I had my own issues with addiction in my past, and that one seemed like a pretty apt comparison, between a meth addict and a zombie,” Stenson said. “So that one was kind of personal experience.”

His second novel came about from his interest in cults.

“I think it’s just really fascinating that people would just give their life over to some sort of leader,” Stenson said. “It’s not like I’m judging them. I think it’s almost like I’m kind of scared that I would do the same if the situation arose.”

While Batt said he hasn’t yet read “Thirty-Seven,” he thought “Fiend” was fantastic.

“It was a super fun book but also really thoughtful and philosophical and set right here in St. Paul, so that was cool,” Batt said.

Stenson said the best part about being an author is the time he gets to himself while he’s writing his stories. He referred to it as a form of escapism.

“I’m in that fictional world and it’s like I’m the god of that little universe,” he said. “I just get to meet these characters and I just kind of see where they go.”

Batt said Stenson’s creativity and imagination enhance his stories and make them what they are.

“As far as I know, Peter’s never been a zombie for instance, or belonged a doomsday cult as is the premise of his most recent novel,” he said. “But he takes his life experience and sort of amplifies it beyond what’s possible in his fiction.”

Stenson said that it has become clearer to him that his own life contributes a lot to his writing.

“I’ve learned that above everything else, I just want to feel connected to something,” he said. “I’ve been realizing that more and more.”

He added that for “Thirty-Seven,” it was not just his own life that gave him the idea for the story. His wife, Lindsay, originally came up with the idea for the cult.

“She would be mad if I didn’t give her credit for the cult idea because she’s always wanted to start one,” Stenson said.

Batt said he anticipates great things for Stenson and is excited to see what he does next.

“Pretty much from the minute I saw his work in my creative writing classes I knew that there was something special about Peter,” Batt said “He’s just got a voice and an imagination that’s just unparallel to almost every other writer I’ve encountered.”

Kat Barrett can be reached at barr1289@stthomas.edu.