Born Helle Saknusseneouw in Copenhagen of mixed Polish and Flemish ancestry, Holly moved to Boston at age nineteen to attend art school. She has lived off and on in Massachusetts ever since, working as a translator, designer, historian, and folklorist--an experience that allowed her to simultaneously immerse herself in American culture and be "a Dane of her own making."

Her novel Nightfolk grew out of three experiences: an extended stay at an Adirondack Hotel during the Summer of 1993, a glimpse of what may have been Orson Welles' notebook for a film adaption of "Carmilla", and her own family's wanderings across Europe.

Ms. Saknusseneouw currently resides in Wellfleet, Massachusetts, where she hibernates for the winter.