Our First Book – “Mercy” by DH Rodriguez

Way back in 2012, when a couple of fresh-eyed dreamers started a little publishing company out of their house, they planned on bringing innovative and interesting works of fiction to discerning literature lovers everywhere. Well, we all know how it turned out – we make the best damn photography and vintage lifestyle books money can buy (and work with the coolest people ever). But back when we were going to publish fiction, we did manage to put out one novel – “Mercy” by DH Rodriguez.

The entire book was written on a Smith Corona portable typewriter

This was a great book for a fledgling publishing house to test the waters and start to learn the trade. Publishing that book really helped us lay a groundwork for all future books – ISBNs, printer relationships, digital art licenses, layouts, and every tiny little thing that goes into putting out a book that you’d never think of.

One of the best things about publishing “Mercy” is the author. It’s a pretty horribly kept secret that DH Rodriguez is the pseudonym for our own Bob Ballard (if you like occasional works of art and pictures of dogs, you can check him out on here), so we had an opportunity to publish a book without having the additional concerns over royalties and author contracts. He gets the question a lot – “Where does the name DH Rodriguez come from?” The answer is pretty simple – he thought of it while drinking one night and it’s a great author name. There’s no great symbolism or powerful meaning behind the name (but it does roll off the tongue pretty well).

DH painting at The IDEA Center

“Mercy” is the story of a family – rooted in dysfunction and torn apart by the titular character and matriarch. It’s rooted in reality… the depressing and graphic reality of drug addition, mental illness, and violence from the ones we love. The entire story is told non-linear, so you get to see the family in different snippets of time, watching them destruct through various interactions throughout their lives. It’s not for the faint of heart, but it’s been applauded for the attention to detail and unprejudiced treatment of some of the most difficult characters in literature.

Some of the best critiques we’ve received from Mercy are the several times people have assumed DH Rodriguez was a woman author. Even though he has a penis, DH does a good job writing female characters. When asked for his secret, DH admits that female characters have strengths, weaknesses, flaws, and motivations not unlike “regular” characters, so it’s not that hard to write them.

DH making bad decisions at Le Thai in Downtown Las Vegas

So, if you like quality literature (and reading things that might bum you out), you should check out what may likely be our only novel. It’s [pretty cheap on our website, or you might even get one for free if you come be nice to us at a car show.