SOUTHERN FRIED & HORRIFIED by Ronald Kelly – Review

I received this book for free from the Publicist in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Southern Fried & Horrified by Ronald Kelly
Published by Stygian Sky Media on September 6 2022
Genres: Adult, Memoir, Non Fiction
Pages: 245
Format: Finished paperback
Source: Publicist
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The nitty-gritty: Horror author Ronald Kelly looks back on his long career in publishing in this compelling and eye-opening memoir.

“A story or novel is like a garden; despite how good you believe it is in your ‘writer’s mind,’ there are always weeds to eradicate and bugs to exterminate.”

I rarely read and review nonfiction—make that never—but Southern Fried & Horrified is a memoir by a horror novelist, so it felt right to accept this for review. And I’m so glad I did! Ronald Kelly reminisces on his long and circuitous writing and publishing career, warts and all, in an engaging voice full of Southern charm and humor. I flew through this book in only a day and enjoyed myself immensely. 

Kelly recounts his early childhood, growing up in the small, rural town of Pegram Tennessee. Early on, he was introduced to comics, horror movies and books by his mother, a fascinating woman with a touch of psychic ability (she eerily predicted the accidental death of a family member, among other things). His love of monsters and superheroes arose from this exposure and he never looked back. Kelly’s first love was drawing, and for many years he wanted to be a comic book artist. Eventually he began testing the waters of horror fiction, although his path to publication took many more years than he expected.

After countless rejections, he was finally offered a publishing contract with Zebra Books, a mass market paperback publisher popular in the 80s and 90s (and still around today, I believe).  Despite Zebra’s somewhat dubious reputation, Kelly published a number of books with them over the course of six years, until the horror implosion that occurred in the early 1990s. 

After a ten year writing hiatus, he was lured back into the business by a fellow writer, at which time he became heavily involved with indie publishing. It was fun to hear him talk about current indie horror writers that many of you might recognize—at least I did—like Hailey Piper, Hunter Shea and Sonora Taylor. During this time he also started a professional relationship with Richard Chizmar and his well respected horror zine Cemetery Dance.

Because Ronald Kelly is only a few years older than me, this turned out to be an unexpected stroll down memory lane. I loved hearing him talk about the TV shows and toys of my childhood, and some of his experiences growing up struck a familiar note, even though we grew up in completely different parts of the country. One chapter titled “The Last Halloween” was particularly poignant, as Kelly mourns the end of childhood at age twelve, the last year it’s respectable to go trick-or-treating. Another memory involved a “mystery shot” given at school, and it took me way back to my own elementary school days when all kids were given vaccines at school. I clearly remember standing in a long line in the gym, anxiously awaiting my turn. Talk about a horror story!

Ronald Kelly writes his memoir as if he’s telling a story to a good friend, with an easy, conversational style that drew me in and made me feel invested in each step on his path to publication and beyond. Eventually the Southern sensibility that infuses his work garnered the subgenre name of “southern fried horror,” a term coined by a colleague and the inspiration for the title of this book. Many of his ideas come from local stories and legends, often told to him as a child by his beloved Grandmama Spicer, and he uses familiar Southern locales, especially those in the more rural parts of Tennessee, to infuse his work with a particular ambiance.

And here’s the embarrassing part of this review: before I read this book, I had only heard the name Ronald Kelly in passing, and after searching my personal library database, I was saddened to discover that I don’t own any of his books. In his memoir, he mentions many small press publishers that I’ve purchased books from over the years, like Dark Harvest and Mark V. Ziesing, and I suspect that in one of the many anthologies I own, there’s a Ronald Kelly story somewhere. I immediately went online and found a copy of his 1994 novel Fear, which many readers say is his best work, and I look forward to checking it out.

Interspersed between the chapters are short sections entitled “Grits & Bits,” where Kelly dispenses writing and publishing advice. At first I wasn’t sure about these sections, which seemed oddly placed and pulled me out of the main story, but later I came to appreciate them. I think writers in particular will love these “bits,” especially since the author has decades of experience under his belt.

Even if you’re not into horror fiction, Southern Fried & Horrified is worth reading. Equal parts history lesson, childhood nostalgia, coming-of-age story and a cautionary tale about the turbulent publishing industry, Ronald Kelly’s memoir is endlessly entertaining.

Big thanks to Kaye Publicity and the publisher for providing a review copy.