About Haunted Holler Press
Haunted Holler Press is a tiny but mighty indie imprint devoted to dark, lyrical, Appalachian-rooted fantastical fiction.
Think haunted woods, stubborn-hearted heroines, cryptids in the treeline, and fae who don’t sparkle- they burn.
Based in the foothills of the South and fueled by coffee, chaos, and late-night writing sprints, Haunted Holler Press exists for readers who want their romantasy with mud on its boots and starlight in its teeth.
Jacqueline Stepp is an indie Romantasy author powered by ecological rage, a love of the spooky, and spite for ALS.
She writes fae Romantasy with a Southern Gothic twist. Think cryptids, cursed bargains, and at least one morally gray man who needs therapy. Inspired by Appalachian folklore and her own chaotic life, she blends dark magic with heart, humor, and the kind of homespun superstition your Nana warned you about.
When she isn’t writing; she’s a wife, mom, small-business owner, and non-profit founder. She lives in North Georgia, collecting strange stories, cool rocks, and reminding her characters that they do, in fact, have to suffer before earning a happy ending.
Beyond fiction, Jacqueline is also an ALS advocate. After testing positive for the C9orf72 gene expansion associated with familial ALS and FTD, she began using her voice to bridge lived experience and scientific urgency. She is currently working on not only Old Blood Black Earth, but also The Eldritch Shadow: Stories ALS Tried to Bury, a global anthology and advocacy campaign collecting real narratives from patients, caregivers, gene carriers, and families impacted by ALS and FTD. One hundred percent of proceeds from the resulting anthology will be donated to Target ALS’s research.
Through Haunted Holler Press, Jacqueline is building an independent publishing space dedicated to folklore-driven fiction, advocacy storytelling, and projects that challenge silence. Her work lives at the intersection of myth and medicine, lineage and land, survival and resistance.
If you hear strange noises in the wood, mind your business. She’s probably writing.
Her debut novel Old Blood Black Earth is coming in 2026, ready to haunt your bookshelf and maybe your dreams.