Lena Ng shambles around Toronto, Ontario as a zombie member of the Horror Writers Association. She gnaws brains at night so no one knows she’s awake. Her stories have appeared in dozens of publications, including Amazing Stories, Twisted Love, What Monsters Do for Love, and Hybrid Fiction; and in venues from Australia, Canada, the US and the UK. Lena has released a collection of her short stories, Under an Autumn Moon, and is currently seeking a publisher for her Gothic Romance novel, Darkness Beckons.
The Call of the Cave Dweller explores cave diving as macabre entertainment and links it to an ancient force that exists far below humankind’s world…
GI: Are you an adventurer yourself? Cave diving seems like quite the daring hobby!
LN: I'm the antithesis of an adventurer... unless reading the exploits of others counts!
[In this instance] I saw a picture of a creepy cave diving sign and happened to
be reading Lovecraft at the time, so the two mixed together, with some Jack
London thrown in.
I've always been interested in the mind-body conflict, though; our physical
limitations and how the mind sometimes fails to acknowledge these limitations;
the power of belief, and how the body doesn't always bend to those beliefs.
GI: In another interview, you referred to yourself as a “digital hermit”. The ocean
floor is about as far removed from technological society as one can get; to what
extreme lengths do you go to prevent the digital walls from enclosing your
daily life?
LN: I find even reading emails to be overwhelming, so I'm not on social media at
all. I'm interested in digital horror--what can companies do with all the
information they have on you?--and would like to explore this [topic]. I'm also
interested in the theme of thought/behaviour manipulation through social
media.
GI: Any new coping mechanisms you’ve had a chance to hone during the
pandemic?
LN: Sadly (or maybe fortunately, since we're in lockdown), my main hobby is eating.
I’ve made it my patriotic duty to support restaurants by ordering a lot of
take-out!
GI: Glancing through your bibliography, I think it’s safe to say that there are few
topics or genres off the table for you.
LN: I'm pretty ambitious when it comes to writing in terms of trying to write in
multiple genres; I've had sci-fi, fantasy, children's, romance, and comedy stories
published, in addition to Horror. I wish I had the attention span to write novels. I
wrote one, let another languish, then stuck to short stories, since I like the feeling
of finishing something.
The library is a big part of my life; I trudge home every week with a big sack of
books and it always feels like Christmas!
GI: GREEN INFERNO is sub-titled, The World Celebrates Your Demise. How do you
feel your pieces relate to this sentiment?
LN: No matter how many times you try to warn people (just look at our current
situation), some need to learn the hard way. You could put a sign in front of a
big pot of boiling water that reads Don't Jump In, and someone would still take
the plunge. You hear their stories and get a sense of schadenfreude.