Ronald Kelly is best known as a speculative fiction

Speculative fiction

Speculative fiction is an umbrella term encompassing the more fantastical fiction genres, specifically science fiction, fantasy, horror, supernatural fiction, superhero fiction, utopian and dystopian fiction, apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction, and alternate history in literature as well as...

 and "southern-fried" horror

Horror fiction

Horror fiction also Horror fantasy is a philosophy of literature, which is intended to, or has the capacity to frighten its readers, inducing feelings of horror and terror. It creates an eerie atmosphere. Horror can be either supernatural or non-supernatural...

 writer. His tales are usually set in the Southern United States

Southern United States

The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...

 and feature language and actions that are associated with those regions.

Biography

Ronald Kelly was born November 20, 1959 in Nashville, Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

 where he was raised a Southern Baptist. He attended Pegram Elementary School and Cheatham County Central High School (both in Ashland City, Tennessee

Ashland City, Tennessee

Ashland City is a town in Cheatham County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 3,641 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Cheatham County.-History:Ashland City was created in 1856 as a county seat for the newly-established Cheatham County...

) before starting his writing career.

Ronald Kelly began his writing career in 1986 and quickly sold his first short story, "Breakfast Serial," to Terror Time Again magazine. His first novel, Hindsight was released by Zebra Books in 1990. His audiobook collection, Dark Dixie: Tales of Southern Horror, was on the nominating ballot of the 1992 Grammy Award

Grammy Award

A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...

s for Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Album

Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album

The Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album has been awarded since 1959. The award had several minor name changes:*In 1959 the award was known as Best Performance, Documentary or Spoken Word...

. Zebra published seven of Ronald Kelly's novels from 1990 to 1996. Ronald's short fiction work has been published by Cemetery Dance, Borderlands 3, Deathrealm

Deathrealm

Deathrealm was a small-press magazine of horror fiction that ran from 1987 through 1997, edited by Stephen Mark Rainey. In its ten-year history, Deathrealm featured hundreds of stories by writers ranging from talented first-timers to the best-known professionals in the horror field...

, Dark at Heart, Hot Blood: Seeds of Fear, and many more. After selling hundreds of thousands of books, the bottom dropped out of the horror market in 1996. So, when Zebra dropped their horror line in October 1996, Ronald Kelly stopped writing for almost ten years and worked various jobs including welder, factory worker, production manager, drugstore manager, and custodian.

In 2006, Ronald Kelly started writing again. In early 2008, Croatoan Publishing released his work Flesh Welder as a stand alone chapbook, and it quickly sold out. In early 2009 Cemetery Dance Publications

Cemetery Dance Publications

Cemetery Dance Publications is a specialty press publisher of horror and dark suspense. Cemetery Dance was founded by Richard Chizmar, a horror author, while he was in college. It is associated with Cemetery Dance magazine, which was founded in 1988. They began to publish books in 1992.Cemetery...

 released a limited edition hardcover of his fist short story collection, Midnight Grinding & Other Twilight Terrors. Also in 2010, Cemetery Dance is planning on releasing his first novel in over ten years called, Hell Hollow as a limited edition hardcover. Full Moon Press

Full Moon Press

Full Moon Press was a small press publishing company that specialized in signed limited and lettered edition books in the horror and speculative fiction genres. It was started, owned, and operated by former NFL player, and author of the children's book The Christmas Chips, Paul Little and his wife...

 had made a deal to release all of Ronald Kelly's previous novels in hardcover format with bonus material and a brand new added novella in each release. They were calling the series of books The Essential Ronald Kelly, but the deal fell through when Full Moon Press closed its doors. Ronald Kelly has announced that a new publisher has taken over the project, but the name of the publisher has not been revealed.

Ronald Kelly currently lives in Brush Creek, Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

 with his wife, Joyce, and their three children.

Awards and honors

• Dark Dixie: Tales of Southern Horror - Was a part of the nominating ballot of the 1992 Grammy Award
  Grammy Award
  A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
  
  s for Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Album
  Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album
  The Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album has been awarded since 1959. The award had several minor name changes:*In 1959 the award was known as Best Performance, Documentary or Spoken Word...
  
  
• Flesh Welder - Chosen as the flagship
  Flagship
  A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of naval ships, reflecting the custom of its commander, characteristically a flag officer, flying a distinguishing flag...
  
   publication for Croatoan Publications
• Chosen as "Horror World's Author of the Month" for April 2008, and they published his short story "Mister Mack & The Monster Mobile" on their website
• "The Final Feature" - Chosen as the flagship story for Mark Seiber's Horror Drive-In fiction section. "The Final Feature on Mark Seiber's Horror Drive-In
• A featured Author Guest at Hypericon
  Hypericon
  Hypericon is a speculative fiction convention held yearly in June in Nashville, Tennessee. Hypericon is presented by Frontiers-Nashville, a non-profit organization dedicated to the support of the fannish community and all their myriad interests...
  
   4 in 2008 and is a scheduled featured Author Guest for Hypericon 5 (June 5–7, 2009)

Novels

• Hindsight (1990, Zebra Books) ISBN 0-8217-2869-5
• Pitfall (1990, Zebra) ISBN 0-8217-3069-X
• Something Out There (1991, Zebra) ISBN 0-8217-3338-9
• Moon of the Werewolf (1991, Zebra) ISBN 0-8217-36265-6
• Father's Little Helper (1992, Zebra) ISBN 0-8217-3957-3
• The Possession (1993, Zebra) ISBN 0-8217-4368-6
• Fear (1994, Zebra) ISBN 0-8217-4693-6

Reprinted by Pinnacle Books in 2001 under ISBN 0-7860-1357-5

• Blood Kin (1996, Zebra) ISBN 0-8217-5331-2

Reprinted by Pinnacle Books in 2001 under ISBN 0-7860-1413-X

• Hell Hollow (forthcoming 2010, Cemetery Dance Publications
  Cemetery Dance Publications
  Cemetery Dance Publications is a specialty press publisher of horror and dark suspense. Cemetery Dance was founded by Richard Chizmar, a horror author, while he was in college. It is associated with Cemetery Dance magazine, which was founded in 1988. They began to publish books in 1992.Cemetery...
  
  ) ISBN 978-1-58767-186-9
• Timber Gray (unannounced)

Slocum novels written as Jake Logan

Ronald Kelly contributed two books to the Slocum

Slocum (westerns)

Slocum Westerns are the longest running series of Westerns ever written, encompassing over 400 books, all of which are published under the pen name Jake Logan...

 series of western novel

Western fiction

Western fiction is a genre of literature set in the American Old West frontier and typically set from the late eighteenth to the late nineteenth century. Well-known writers of Western fiction include Zane Grey from the early 1900s and Louis L'Amour from the mid 20th century...

s that are collectively published under the pen name "Jake Logan".

• Slocum and the Nightriders (1994, Berkley) – Slocum series number 174
• Slocum and the Gold Slaves (1994, Berkley) – Slocum series number 187

The Essential Ronald Kelly series

Hardcover series that were originally announced by the now defunct Full Moon Press

Full Moon Press

Full Moon Press was a small press publishing company that specialized in signed limited and lettered edition books in the horror and speculative fiction genres. It was started, owned, and operated by former NFL player, and author of the children's book The Christmas Chips, Paul Little and his wife...

, but are now with a new publisher, Thunderstorm Books. Each book is scheduled to contain a new novella that includes characters from the original novels and are linked to the original storyline. Originally, a new novel, Restless Shadows (a sequel to Hindsight plus a bonus novella called Thine Eyes Be Opened) was originally announced, but has since been cancelled as a part of this series. All are currently forthcoming:

1. Undertaker's Moon (formerly Moon of the Werewolf), plus the novella: The Spawn of Arget Bethir, artwork by Alex McVey
   Alex McVey
   Alex McVey is an American fine artist and illustrator from Texas, mostly known for his work on high-end limited edition books and album art. He has illustrated the works of Stephen King, William Peter Blatty, Brian Keene, Joe R...
   
    (2011)
2. Fear, plus the novella: The Seedling (2011)
3. Pitfall, plus the novella: Last of the Chupacabra, artwork by Alex McVey
4. Burnt Magnolia (formerly The Possession), plus the novella: The Conflict, artwork by Alex McVey
5. Twelve Gauge (formerly Father's Little Helper), plus the novella: Killing Time
6. Hindsight, plus the novella: Potter's Field
7. The Dark'Un (formerly Something Out There), plus the novella: Of Crows & Pale Doves
8. Blood Kin, plus the novella: The Wanderer of Twilight Mountain

Chapbooks

• Flesh Welder (2007, Croatoan Publishing) – 96-page perfect bound signed limited edition chapbook featuring the story "Flesh Welder", an interview with Ronald Kelly, and an excerpt of the novel Undertaker's Moon
• Tanglewood (2008, Cemetery Dance)

Collections

• Midnight Grinding and Other Twilight Terrors (2009, Cemetery Dance Publications) ISBN 978-1-58767-182-1 - Limited Edition hardcover (1500 copies) - Features story notes on each short story, an introduction, and an afterword. Stories include:

"Breakfast Serial"

"Miss Abigail's Delicate Condition"

"Forever Angels"

"Yea, Though I Drive"

"The Web of La Sanguinaire"

"The Cistern"

"Papa's Exile"

"The Hatchling"

"Black Harvest"

"Dead Skin"

"Consumption"

"Dust Devils"

"The Boxcar"

"The Dark Tribe"

"Old Hacker"

"The Winds Within"

"Oh, Sordid Shame!"

"The Cerebral Passion"

"Thinning The Herd"

"Blood Suede Shoes"

"Tyrophex-Fourteen"

"Scream Queen"

"Devil's Creek"

"Impressions In Oak"

"Bookmarks"

"Romicide"

"Whorehouse Hollow"

"Depravity Road"

"Beneath Black Bayou"

"Exit 85"

"Grandma's Favorite Recipe"

"Midnight Grinding"

• The Sick Stuff (2009, Thunderstorm Books) - available as a 52-copy limited hardcover and a trade paperback. It was the second book in Thunderstorm Books' Elemental series. It was also released digitally from David Niall Wilson's Macabre Ink Digital. Includes the short stories:

"Diary"

"Mass Appeal"

"The Abduction"

"Pins & Needles"

"Housewarming"

"Old Hacker"

"Mojo Mama"

Uncollected short stories

The following have not had a physical re-release since their original printings (some have been released digitally):

• "Peacemaker" (1988, Fright Depot)
• "Uncle Cyrus" (1988, Nøctulpa #2)
• "Buella's Pride" (1988, Witness to the Bizarre)
• "Better Than Breadcrumbs" (June 1989, Cemetery Dance Volume One, Issue 2)
• "The Skating Pond" (1989, Terror Time Again)
• "Negative Attitude" (1990, The Dark Side)
• "King Cong" (Fall 1990, House Carfax)
• "Little Bastard" (Summer 1990, Eldritch Tales #23)
• "Cumberland Furnace" - featured in Shivers 5 edited by Richard Chizmar
  Richard Chizmar
  Richard Thomas Chizmar is best known as the publisher and editor of Cemetery Dance magazine and the owner of Cemetery Dance Publications...
  
   (2008, Cemetery Dance Publications
  Cemetery Dance Publications
  Cemetery Dance Publications is a specialty press publisher of horror and dark suspense. Cemetery Dance was founded by Richard Chizmar, a horror author, while he was in college. It is associated with Cemetery Dance magazine, which was founded in 1988. They began to publish books in 1992.Cemetery...
  
  )
• "Mister Mack & The Monster Mobile" - published online only on the Horror World website in 2008
• "The Final Feature" – published online only on Mark Sieber's Horror Drive-In website in 2009 http://www.horrordrive-in.com/serendipity/index.php?/archives/188-The-Final-Feature,-by-Ronald-Kelly.html
• "The Thing at the Side of the Road" - featured in Harlan County Horrors edited by Mari Adkins (2009, Apex Publications)
• "The Peddler's Journey" - featured in Appalachian Holiday Hauntings edited by Mark Justice
  Mark Justice
  Mark Justice is a former Magic: The Gathering pro player. He is by many considered the best player of the game in his time. Justice was the first Magic: The Gathering US National Champion in 1995...
  
   and Michael Knost (2009, Woodland Press)

Uncollected non-fiction and articles

• "Insight On Hindsight" (March 1990, Mystery Scene #25)
• "Writing Something Out There" (Spring 1991, After Hours #10)
• "A Tribute to Ray Rexer" (1991, Overlook Connection #15)
• "Confessions of a Religious Horror Writer" (1991, Gauntlet #2)
• "Subway Graffiti" (1991, After Hours #10)
• "Writing Moon of the Werewolf" (December 1992, Mystery Scene #32)
• "Introduction" for the novel Firefly…Burning Bright by Barry Hoffman (October 1996, Gauntlet Press) ISBN 1-887368-10-8

Audiobooks

• Dark Dixie: Tales of Southern Horror (1991, Spine Tingling Press) - 90-minute audio collection on cassette. Narrated by Reg Green. Contains an introduction and the following short stories with 3-D
  Surround sound
  Surround sound encompasses a range of techniques such as for enriching the sound reproduction quality of an audio source with audio channels reproduced via additional, discrete speakers. Surround sound is characterized by a listener location or sweet spot where the audio effects work best, and...
  
   sound effects:

"The Cistern"

"Miss Abigail's Delicate Condition"

"Papa's Exile"

"Black Harvest"

"Yea, Though I Drive"

• Undertaker's Moon - excerpts (Croatoan Publishing, 2008) - Audio CD narrated by Wayne June (commissioned promotional-only CD by Croatoan Publishing)

Digital e-book releases

David Niall Wilson

David Niall Wilson

David Niall Wilson is an American writer primarily known for his works of horror, science fiction, and fantasy fiction.-Background:...

's Macabre Ink Digital/Crossroad Press has released digital editions (PDF, Kindle, etc.) of the following:

• Flesh Welder - same as physical release
• The Sick Stuff - same as physical release
• Dark Dixie: Tales of Southern Horror - featuring the same tales that are in the audio book plus a new Introduction by Ronald Kelly, "Uncle Cyrus," "The Hatchling," and "Forever Angels."
• Cumberland Furnace & Other Fear Forged Fables - featuring:

Introduction

"Cumberland Furnace"

"The Final Feature"

"Tanglewood"

"The Peddler's Journey"

"The Thing at the Side of the Road"

"Grandma's Favorite Recipe"

"Mister Mack & the Monster Mobile"

• Timber Gray - a brand new Western genre novel

External links

• Ronald Kelly's official Blog
• Ronald Kelly's official website