Hello, you can call me Ziggy for this
somewhat unorthodox, informal interview. I gather that my little
memoir of the beginning months of my psychiatric career has, in some
way, connected with your own life experiences, goals, and dreams. Dr.
Freudine Is In was written, and written tongue-in-cheek at that, for
just that purpose. At least I thought it was...until today!
My editor, Jan Peregrine, now insults
me by telling me that my career, my cherished and wonderful memories,
are only the creation of her mind! She even called me
her...character!
I was left completely devoid of speech,
let alone a rational thought. How could my editor betray our
relationship so? It stuns me that I never suspected her of being the
megalomaniac that she most assuredly is. When she so brazenly asked
me to comment on how it feels to be one of her most celebrated
"characters," I know now what I should tell her in reply.
Ms Peregrine, it feels like being a loose, hot wire flipping out of
its socket and hearing the vacuum cleaner of your disreputable mind
powering off!
You call me your "character"
as if you created me, but I am my own creation, thank you. I am sorry
to have witnessed your decline into the morbid state of delusion,
into a shrouded world of stolen memories and lack of self-identity. I
must wonder if you have ever sought professional counseling that
caused more harm than good.
Perhaps Ms Peregrine considers her
request a wonderful compliment, as if her praise and affection should
be uppermost in my desires, and that I, as her "character"
must feel likewise toward her.
This is how I feel about her so-called
compliment: you can keep it to yourself!
Now I do realize that editors often are
caught up in the material they're editing, especially if they enjoy
the process. It's quite natural to feel a part of that world when
it's a consuming part of your daily life. I don't object to an editor
complimenting me on what I have created on the screen or page because
that is an electric connection between us.
What I strongly object to, however, is
when an editor removes that power between us, like unplugging our
connection. Suddenly she's defused the relationship we had shared and
defused her own mind too!
I've seen a number of cases like Ms
Peregrine's. She has fallen headlong into fantasy in response to the
unchecked, helpless envy she feels toward the writers she edits. It
would be innocently amusing, I must say, if she simply fantasized
while editing, but how unfortunate and sad it is that her fantasy has
become her reality.
Now she desperately feels she must put
me in my place and insult me. Her "character," she says!
It's not even enough for her to steal
credit for Dr. Freudine Is In, but I'm supposed to also be a
character in a satirical novel called Eden at Play. I have no idea
what she's talking about. It's a very disturbing turn of events, to
think that my editor might be imagining me in another book!
Will this critical interview be made
available to you? It surely can't serve Ms Peregrine's vain hopes for
satisfaction or affirmation. I am truly sorry for her...and also for
myself. Alas!
