Depending on who you ask, Mercy Heller is a folklore researcher, a curiosity collector or an all-around trouble maker. To her readers, she is the author of the Cull County collection of horror novels. To us, she is the newest family member at Knave Publishing — and we couldn’t be happier to welcome her aboard.
Like so many other modern writers, Heller grew up in the backwoods of the South. With a name like Mercy Heller, she soon figured her career choices were limited to televangelist, stripper or Southern Gothic novelist. Eager for a challenge, she naturally chose struggling writer — the one with least prestige and lowest earning potential.
Outside of her writing, Heller is a mountaineering and folklore researcher for several academic institutions down around the footlands of the Appalachian Trail. Her evenings are spent working on her first trio of books, Good Neighbors and Live Bait (both set in Cull County) and the gothic-flavored A House of Cinders. A fourth volume, the lighter spirited The Inscrutable Ruby Chu will follow in early 2020.
Here at Knave, Heller will be working with our genre fiction team to mentor and assist new horror and thriller writers who come into the fold.
If you are a horror or thriller aficionado, Heller has assured us that she would LOVE to make your acquaintance. We encourage you to connect with her via Facebook or Instagram.
Welcome aboard, Mercy!