Ronald Kelly was born and raised in the hills and hollows of Middle Tennessee. He became interested in horror as a child, watching the local "Creature Feature" on Saturday nights and "The Big Show"---a Nashville-based TV show that presented every old monster movie ever made ---in the afternoons after school. In high school, his interest turned to horror literature and he read such writers as Poe, Lovecraft, Matheson, and King. He originally had dreams of becoming a comic book artist and created many of his own superheroes. But during his junior year, the writing bug bit him and he focused his attention on penning short stories and full-length novels. To date, he has had thirteen novels and twelve short fiction collections published. In 2021, his extreme horror collection, THE ESSENTIAL SICK STUFF, won a Splatterpunk Award for Best Collection.

He currently lives in Brush Creek, Tennessee with his wife, young'uns, and an ultra-hyper Jack Russel named Toby.