No Advice | Interview with Lisa Lahey

Lisa Lahey's story "Parasite Mine" includes many elements that we pine for here at WLM: darkness, drama, lyrical language, intricate imagery, and a healthy dose of subversion. We were happy to hear a little more about the author in the interview below.

What is your favorite word?

My favorite word is a compound: "Fuckit."

What's a movie you return to again and again?

I keep watching Aliens with Sigourney Weaver. I would love to play the part of the alien in one of their twenty redundant remakes.

Advice on creating that you’ve learned by trial and error?

I have a fine collection I call a "bad attitude." It's taken me years to develop it.

Who's your favorite weirdo?

There are so many terrific weirdos in the world, I can't possibly choose only one.

What will your biography be titled?

My bio will be titled: "Failure: Portrait of a Miserable Middle-Aged Woman."

Advice on creating that you’ve learned by trial and error?

Advice on creating: The hell with advice. I've none to offer since I'm no expert. I hardly know how to create my own stories. Better advice is to read On Writing by Stephen King, I should imagine. I don't know since I don't take advice from anyone either. That's probably why you'll never see me on the New York Times Bestseller List. I pride myself on that.

Read the Fall 2024 issue here!

Lisa Lahey's short stories and poetry appear in several publications including 34th Parallel Magazine, Spaceports and Spidersilk and Five on the Fifth. She has been selected as a finalist in the Adelaide Literary Review Short Story Contest 2024. She has never seen a real crocodile except in National Geographic. She has, however, seen an alligator minding its own business at the Toronto Zoo. It gave her nightmares for three weeks.