My Two Cents: CRUDELY DRAWN by Heather Ann Lawson

Ah, adolescence, a time when we're caught between childhood and adulthood, when we first begin to test the limits of our dependence on parents and our burgeoning autonomy. We begin to cross boundaries, break rules, and resist our parents' guidance and governance. And when they double-down on rules, despite our heartfelt rebellion, the headbutting begins.

"Crudely Drawn" by Heather Ann Lawson begins under just such inauspicious circumstances: a teenaged girl named Baylor, angry because of her parents' rules, makes a very poor choice that at the time seems harmless, but in truth, has horrific consequences. Without meaning to, Baylor accidentally summons something evil and sics it against her parents. In the aftermath, her mother is killed, her younger sister Ruby is left catatonic, and her older brother, Kyler, traumatized. In the years that follow, Baylor must come to terms with her own culpability in the events of that horrible night, and when she learns that the malevolent creatures responsible have not only survived, but returned to claim Ruby, Kyler, and Baylor herself, she has to find a way to break the curse and end the nightmare she unwittingly caused once and for all.

Lawson has come up with inventive and unique monsters that are rendered in Sharpie marker and brought to grotesque life by Baylor's ill-fated wish. They scrawl and scrabble across walls and floors within Baylor's house, peeling themselves loose to attack and devour their helpless victims. The simplicity of their design, and singlemindedness in their purpose, make them absolutely terrifying. It's a clever idea, unlike anything I've seen before, and it makes for a fun, frightening read.

This is Lawson's debut horror novella, and it's a great introduction to an imaginative voice in indie horror. With such unique creatures in her inaugural feature, it will be fun to see what she comes up with next, and as a reader, I'm looking forward to it.

"Crudely Drawn" is available here.