Micro-interview with Lam Ning, author of “avenging the sorrow” in the Noir Fire anthology.
Lam Ning: It’s a snapshot of the world I know, and it’s a confrontation with the harsh truths of crime and conflict. In fiction it’s tempting to line up an acceptable target for elimination to create the illusion of justice served. In reality, I’m not sure justice exists.
TFF: There is a surprising amount of human goodness in this bloodthirsty story; do you think there’s something about desperation and shared suffering that also brings out sympathy and collaboration?
LN: Those who have been through it already know. Husbands have abandoned their wives when mortars fell; mothers have abandoned their children. But after the first exposure to a crisis, the mind begins to adapt, and we learn to breathe through the panic and shelter each other.
TFF: Who is your favourite kick-ass woman from history?
LN: “I was the conductor of the Underground Railroad for eight years, and I can say what most conductors can’t say—I never ran my train off the track and I never lost a passenger.” (Harriet Tubman)
TFF: What are you working on next?
LN: Something about a one-armed swordsman.
You can find purchase links and more information about the Noir Fire anthology at http://press.futurefire.net/p/noir-fire.html
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