Autumn has to be my favorite time of the year. The oppressive heat
of summer (and all that grass mowing!) gradually disappears and the
chill of fall arrives. Crisp frosty mornings, the crunch of leaves
underfoot, the acrid scent of woodsmoke in the air. Trading in t-shirts
and shorts for flannel and denim. The bounty of harvest, wagonloads of
pumpkins and Indian corn, Thanksgiving, and, of course, HALLOWEEN!
This fall is looking to be an extra special one for me and, I hope,
for my fans as well. I have a lot of publications due out in the autumn
months, just ripe for a warm armchair on a chilly night, with the howl
of the wind outside and the leafless claws of a tree branch scratching
on the window panes!
My first original novel in nearly thirteen years, Hell Hollow, will
be released by Cemetery Dance
Publications in either October or
November. This novel is a whopper of a book—500 pages!—and features
an incredible cover by horror artist extraordinaire, Alex McVey.
Hell Hollow is the tale of four children—Keith, Rusty, Maggie,
and Chuck—whose summer is full of boredom, until they enter a
forbidden place in a nearby forest... a stretch of dark woods known only
as Hell Hollow. Little do they know that an ancient evil, left there
abandoned and forgotten, has been revived and it has its vengeful sights
set on the four and their hometown of Harmony, Tennessee.
This limited hardcover edition has a press run of 1,250 copies, so you
better get
yours while you can!
One publication that will, hopefully, make its appearance this
October is CD's edition of The Crane House: A Halloween Story. This
round-robin features the talent of some of today's most respected horror
authors, including Brian Keene, Kealan Patrick Burke, Al Sarrantorio,
Rick Hautala, Bev Vincent, Brian Freeman, James A. Moore, James Newman,
Ronald Kelly (yeah, lil' old me!), Norman Prentiss, and Ray Garton. This
novella is a limited edition (offered in both a regular signed and
lettered traycase edition) and only a few copies remain, so head on over
to Cemetery
Dance and see if there is one still available for your
bookshelf.
Also, I will have a new short story, "Pelingrad's Pit," and an
interview conducted by Shannon Riley in issue #63 of Cemetery Dance
Magazine: The Halloween Edition. This is very special for me since it
heralds my return to the magazine since my last appearance back in the
mid 1990's. Also in that issue, I will be sharing a nostalgic Halloween
memory in Brian Freeman's The Final Question column.
Another publication to look out for this October is Harlan County
Horrors, an anthology of rural horror tales based in the true-life
region of Harlan County, Kentucky. This unique anthology is edited by
Mari Adkins and features stories by Alethea Kontis, Debbie Kuhn, Earl
Dean, Maurice Broaddus, Geoffrey Girard, Jason Sizemore, Jeremy Shipp,
Steven Shrewsbury, Robby Sparks, Stephanie Lenz, TL Trevaskis, and
Ronald Kelly (yep, me again).
Around November, Woodland Press will be releasing Appalachian
Holiday Hauntings, an anthology of yuletide horror tales edited by Mark
Justice and Michael Knost. My story, "The Peddler's Journey," an
old-fashioned ghost story set high in the Smoky Mountains, will appear in
this collection. Hopefully this will be out just in time for your
Christmas stocking. Watch here at the RK website for forthcoming
ordering instructions.
So there you have it... a horn of plenty, packed full of
Southern-fried horror! And one last thing... don't forget to check back
around the first of October and sign up for our 2nd Annual RonaldKelly.com
Halloween Contest. This year the Halloween booty will contain
Hell Hollow related prizes; signed and remarqued books and rare artwork
by HH artist Alex McVey!
