Welcome everyone, I’m The Li-Bury-An, and today we have a spotlight on Lucy Rose
“The Lady Crow” by Lucy Rose is a moving and wonderfully entertaining piece of Quiet Horror, yet it is also so much more than what it appears to be at first glance. Stifled in a loveless, emotionally abusive marriage, Meriwether attempts to gain some control over her life by obsessively cleaning her home, and trying to please her husband even when he isn’t around. It is a losing battle, as the house is cluttered, cramped, and smells of cigarette smoke. One day, a crow appears on Meriwether’s windowsill and begins to speak with her. The woman is at first frightened, confused, and even enraged. On the surface, this might appear to be an amusing tale, but when you look further, you see that it is a deeply symbolic and almost tragic story. When given a chance at freedom, abused women often react in the same way: they fear the unknown, and their battered self-esteem does not allow them to believe they can survive on their own without their abusers. This is how Meriwether reacts when she sees the crow, who is essentially offering her a chance to “fly away.” Despite all the progress we have made toward eradicating Domestic Abuse in the modern era, many women like Meriwether are still stooped under this burden. “The Lady Crow” is an excellent story with an important message, and one we are so proud to bring to you, the reader.
“‘Can I stay? Only for a while.’ From the beak of the feathery beast, came the voice of a woman trapped inside. Caught in complete bewilderment, Meriweather stared. The broomstick fell to her side and she listened to the voice of the crow as it hovered closer. A familiar voice she was sure she had heard before. Her forehead produced pearls of sweat as she took deep inhalations in and out, staring up the crow.”
From “The Lady Crow” by Lucy Rose
Today, Lucy Rose talks about how she came up with her story “The Lady Crow” for THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY : Women of Horror Anthology Volume 3. Out now from Kandisha Press!
“I couldn’t sleep. There was yellow light washing my room from a streetlamp outside my window and the shadows of tree branches brushing the wallpaper in my room. Frost was growing on the window, and because the one thing I really lack is money, I could see my own breath floundering above my head.
That is where Meriwether (the main character featured in THE LADY CROW) found me. Lurking beyond the spill of yellow light in my bedroom was a woman wearing a dress that was slightly too small, she’d applied red lipstick to the crest of her lips, but not well, and her hair had a once perfect disposition, but had since been tousled. More than anything, I felt her sorrow. I had to know more about this woman and I had to write about her.
Meriwether’s story is all about escaping and though things seem perfect, knowing you’re not in the place you are supposed to be. So many of us can understand feeling displaced, and that was mine and Meriwether’s common link. I don’t have the most conventional relationship with the concept of ‘home’, and so I knew how to articulate Meriwether’s frustration with feeling stuck and trapped inside of one. I hope the readers of Kandisha’s THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY are as taken as I was by Meriwether – I can’t wait to share her with you all.”
LUCY ROSE (INFP/T) is an award-winning horror screenwriter/director and a published writer. Lucy has a BA (Hons) in Film and Television production and is currently studying for a Masters Degree in creative writing. In 2019, she received funding from the BFI Network for her horror short film ‘She Lives Alone’, which is currently visiting festivals. She is currently doing lots of writing and working towards publishing a novel and writing a feature script. Most recently, her prose was featured in The Same Havoc Anthology from The Selkie. Lucy is proudly LGBTQ+ & Working Class. @LucyRoseCreates
KANDISHA PRESS 
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