Lucy Rose: 'Be vulnerable and write honestly about the things that scare you'
BY Katie Smart
29th Jan 2025
Lucy Rose was awarded a place on our Breakthrough Mentoring Programme for LGBTQIA+ Writers in 2022. We caught up to discuss the release of her debut novel, The Lamb – out now from W&N.
Read on to discover the inspiration behind The Lamb, Lucy's advice for crafting a horror story and her folk literary recommendations.
You were mentored by Kirsty Logan as part of our Breakthrough Mentoring Programme for LGBTQIA+ Writers. How did studying with us impact your approach to writing?
It changed everything for me. I learned a lot about my strengths and weaknesses – and having Kirsty there as a support throughout the process was incredible. She was very detailed and had really thorough conversations with me about what was and wasn’t working in my manuscript. It taught me how to manage feedback, whilst also looking after my own self-confidence too. My approach to writing became more methodical after the scheme. Just being aware of my abilities (the good and the things that needed improvement), meant I had a more conscious and focused approach to writing, drafting and editing.
Your debut novel The Lamb is folk horror tale following a mother and daughter who live alone in a cottage in the depths of the forest, waiting for strangers to knock on their door. The forest setting is one we return to time and again in beloved folk tales and fairy stories. What drew you to this isolated setting? Were you inspired by any folk stories in particular?
I wanted to write about the isolated setting of a forest because I grew up near one. As soon as I was old enough and had saved enough to move to a city, I longed for the woodland again. I think I just missed that space a lot and so it came through in my writing because that’s where I wanted to take myself. While The Lamb isn’t based on any one folktale in particular, folk stories and oral tradition definitely influence my work. Stories through spoken word and campfire tales were a huge part of my life and always have been. I love listening to them (whether that’s round a campfire or in a taxi listening to a chatty driver) and I love telling them too. Folk tales are lovely reminders of those who came before us – the messages they wanted to pass down. And I find a huge comfort in knowing that those who came before us wanted us to have these comforts, whether they were charming and witty stories or warnings.
The novel is also an exploration of female rage and desire. Messy and grotesque women are often ignored and misunderstood in media; how did you land on cannibalism as a subject matter? How did you write sensitively about a difficult subject matter?
To me, these women were always cannibals. I have a complex relationship with food as well, which has probably influenced it without me even knowing. I think we have such an animal relationship to food. It’s something we need or our bodies will die – and yet it’s still something used to control us. I think about diet culture and how it’s used to cohesively control masses of women. I think of the sacred offering afforded to death row inmates whose last dignity is to choose their last meal. I think of my own torturous experiences with food as a neurodivergent person and think – wow, people have a lot of baggage when it comes to the things we eat. What a great starting point for a story.
Do you have any advice for writers looking to craft sublime horror on how they can find beauty in the darkness, and use visceral scenes to further the story whilst unsettling readers in a deliberate and intentional way?
Be vulnerable and write honestly about the things that scare you. While all scares can and should have some form of physical threat, exploring the emotional threat underneath it gives the physical threat more meat to play with.
What books would you recommend to readers who are interested in reading folk horror?
Things We Say in the Dark by Kirsty Logan, Starve Acre by Michael Hurley, Sisters by Daisy Johnson, Spoilt Creatures by Amy Twigg, and Brutes by Dizz Tate – while some of these aren’t stereotypical folk horrors, there are a lot of contemporary folk vibes to them. For more general folktale vibes: Lanny by Max Porter (or anything at all by Max Porter) and How Saints Die by Carmen Marcus.
What is your writing routine?
I don’t really have one (maybe that’s terrible to admit). For me, I have to go with the flow. I struggle in particular with having Autism and craving nothing more in the world than to have clear, concise routine. But also having ADHD, which means if my brain isn’t in a creative headspace, or I’m struggling with task paralysis – that’s that. After many years, I’ve accepted it and learned into it. I catch the inspiration as it passes me by – whether that’s a fleeting moment on the way to work or a longer, drawn out period where I can really focus. Yes, I might not be working as much as I would like, but when I am, the world is so filled with passion and creativity. And most importantly, I feel happy.
Finally, what’s next for your writing journey?
Becoming an author is a fascinating journey. There are lots of new adjustments I’m making in terms of feeling seen and exposure (which is the part you never expect to impact you in the way it does). This has definitely altered my relationship with stories and writing as well – so what’s next for me is taking my time and falling in love with a project in the same way I fell in love with The Lamb.
Get your hands on a copy of The Lamb.
For advice on writing and the publishing process, join our free My Path to Publication webinar, taking place on Tues 4 Mar. This special panel event will feature expert speakers, including Lucy Rose. Click the button below to find out more about the event.
The books linked in this blog can be found on our Bookshop.org shop front. Curtis Brown Creative receive 10% whenever someone buys from our bookshop.org page.