Welcome everyone, I’m The Li-Bury-An, and today we have a spotlight on Rebecca Rowland
It wasn’t pre-arranged that Rebecca Rowland would write the title story for The One That Got Away. But as I read it, I grinned to myself and realized how glad I was that she’d used the title. It was the perfect story to go along with the name of the book. Rebecca’s main character IS “the one who got away.” An avenging angel in stilettos, the nameless woman preys upon predators, and she lives quite luxuriously doing so. It’s a wicked and delicious tale of passion, lust, and a little bit of revenge.
“And me? Oh, I’ll be simply devastated to learn of your passing. You were so kind to help a stranger in need, and so personable once we met… and of course, the fringe benefits were lovely as well. But I’m off to the bank: I want to make a quick transaction before the sun sets and it gets really chilly. I never know how my car locks will perform once the wind starts blowing.”
From “The One That Got Away” by Rebecca Rowland
Today, Rebecca talks about how she came up with her story “The One That Got Away” for THE ONE THAT GOT AWAY : Women of Horror Anthology Volume 3. Out now from Kandisha Press!
“My story “The One That Got Away” follows a femme fatale as she explains her method for luring and then disposing of straying husbands. Some might interpret the tale as a scolding of those individuals who choose to have affairs, a morality tale of sorts. That was not my intention. The genesis of the story was a frank discussion I had with a friend who is a serial cheater. While a devoted father and a (yes, I’m saying it) loving and wonderful husband, he trolls internet dating sites almost addictively and meets up with nameless women on a semi-regular basis. I asked him if he ever feared meeting up with these strangers, especially in anonymous hotel rooms, and his answer was simple. It’s the women who should be worried, he said: after all, what better way for a serial rapist or murderer to lure unsuspecting victims than through arranging secret meetings in clandestine locations? From that, “The One That Got Away” was born.
When the weather is temperate, I am out for a run—or more often these days, a brisk walk. On my holiday wish list this year was a Tiger Lady, a cat-claw-like contraption to scratch predators should I be attacked. When I removed it from my stocking, I thanked my spouse for the gift of prosecution: the weapon doesn’t actually harm an attacker, but it scrapes and retains DNA. I truly believe that the only downside of being a woman is that our gender is the one more often left holding the shorter end of the power stick, but through my unnamed narrator (anonymous, just like the women my friend and many others are meeting even as this article is being read), perhaps I have balanced the scales for a few brief moments. Men may be forever chasing the women that they “gave up” in order to settle down and procreate, but perhaps they should ask themselves if some fish that wriggle off the hook are worth diving for; after all, they may bite.”
REBECCA ROWLAND is the author of the short story collection The Horrors Hiding in Plain Sight, co-author of the novel Pieces, and curator of the horror anthologies Ghosts, Goblins, Murder, and Madness; Shadowy Natures, and the upcoming The Half That You See and Unburied: A Collection of Queer Dark Fiction. Despite her love of the ocean and unwavering distaste for cold temperatures, she resides in a landlocked and often icy corner of New England. For links to the cutting-edge and kick-ass publications where her short fiction has appeared most recently (or just to surreptitiously stalk her), visit RowlandBooks.com. To take a peek at what she’s fixating on these days, follow her on Instagram @Rebecca_Rowland_books.
KANDISHA PRESS 
Leave a Reply