Q: Lunacat has a Women of Sci-Fi and Fantasy page at http://www.geocities.com/Wellesley/5811.

Where does the name Lunacat come from?

A: Luna means "moon" in Latin. Born in the sign of cancer, I always felt connected to the moon in some strange way. I also find cats very mysterious. I think they are some kind of shapechangers sent here to watch over us. I have four of them and they certainly do their job. Since they seem to think I am somehow their "supercat" I thought the name Lunacat fitting.

Q: I've read at least one story about cats being aliens.

How long have you been reading SFF? What was your first book? How did you get started?

A: My very first book was Tailchaisers Song by Tad Williams. I had just come to this country and I was looking for something to read to broaden my vocabulary. I needed something more simple than Shakespeare, but I wanted something engaging, so learning more English words wouldn't become a boring chore. I strolled through the bookstore and that marmalade cat on the cover stared at me and begged: Pick me up! Which I did. I still love that book and it has a special place in my library.

After that book I didn't read SFF for a long time until a few years ago. Someone very close to my heart was diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder (formerly known as "Multiple Personality Disorder). This condition is a very strange concept to understand for the human mind. A separation of different aspects of your mind to the point that those aspects become their own identity.

After reading all the literature on that subject, I still felt somewhat lost. I also thought, if the mind is capable of such things, what else can it do? I happen to work at a publisher, who among other things, also publishes SFF books. I picked up (by accident -- I was looking for some subway reading) the first book of Jennifer Roberson's Shapeshifter series (Shape Changer).

I was fascinated and hooked. This was exactly what I was looking for. Minds being able to transform themselves. From that time on, I was actively searching for SFF books which could explain or explore the human mind to me more than any textbook could.

I came along some fascinating books, like Sheri S. Tepper's Grass or Sideshow. Discussion about humanity, religions and how the world can be looked at from different points of beliefs. The Kronos Condition by Emily Devenport was another one which hit the spot. Somewhere in that book in the begining the heroine (who has developed a "Secret Mind" additional to her "normal" mind) asks herself, "...nobody every looked for it (the Secret Mind). And why should they? Who had ever had two minds living (unconnected) in one head before?"

I was just sitting there and reading this and saying to myself: Science Fiction? But this is excatly what is going on in my life with my loved one. Several minds in one head. How delightful that somebody thinks it's Science Fiction.

During my search of meaningful ideas in SFF books I discovered (though other people may think different) that a lot of the women writers seem to deal with SFF subjects more in a philosophical manner than male writers do. Relationships between humans, other races, animals etc. are more being looked at from a standpoint of opportunities and possibilities and not as confrontations. Male writers, and don't get me wrong, they certainly are some who write great SFF, seem to be more out to tell us of the wars and the technical advances and all the enemies we have. I also have to admit, that I love to read about elves an other fantastic creatures. I am a strong believer that elves are still wandering on this world ;-) Women writers just seem to satisfy my beliefs more that male writers do, but I think that is a very personal choice.

Q: Working at a publisher's sounds great -- what do you do there?

A: I am a Manager for Children's Online Media, meaning I am taking care of my company's children's website (content, some programming, etc.) as well as do all the online publicity for our children's imprints.

Q: MPD is the term I'm more familiar with. Why the change in terminology?

A: The DSM IV (the bible of psychiatry) decided to change the terminology a few years ago, because it finds the expression more fitting than Multiple Personality Disorder. That sounded more like there are some aliens in your body who take over and have nothing to do with you. Since all "personalities" are part of yourself, it didn't seem justified anymore (also, all those commercial movies made about that subject - Sybil for example - were more sensationalistic than true and didn't really describe what's going on in the mind of a person with that condition). It made people into something like Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde, and that's really not how it is like.

Q: Much of the comic book (and old TV show, and recent cartoon) The Hulk is concerned with MPD. Since the hero, Dr. Bruce Banner, has multiple personalities, his superpower exhibited itself as the ability to change into different bodies as well as minds. If you're interested in seeing how the world of comic books treats the condition, look for any back issue with Dr. Samson.

A: I have to admit I've never seen The Hulk. As fascinating MPD/DID is, most of the movies/films/books etc don't come even close to what's really going on in people with that condition. The other sad thing is, that you don't get DID/MPD just so. Usually the person has lived (or is living) through a trauma so severe, that the mind seems to see no other way out. I wish it was a bit more like SFF, so we could choose (without the trauma) to activate our different mind parts as we like ;-)

Q: And that's why I recommended The Hulk. The author researched the subject extensively (which I learned in an interview), and his plot use of the condition was very true to life (as proclaimed by several psychiatrists).

Wasn't multiple personalities originally thought to be part of schizophrenia?

A: No, Schizophrenia has nothing to do with DID/MPD. Schizophrenia seems to be biochemical, and is usually treated with medication -- and DID/MPD is not. As I said before MPD/DID usually occurs through severe traumatic events in the very early years of ones life. Which doesn't mean that people with DID/MPD cannot have Schizophrenia or Manic Depressivness or any other mental condition on top of their condition.

Q: Yes, I realize that nowadays, experts agree that schizo and DID are separate problems, but if I remember correctly, the first pass at understanding the condition grouped it as a type of schizophrenia. That's where we got the "poem" of: "Roses are red; violets are blue. I'm schizophrenic, and so am I."

A: Not to my knowledge. I have included a little history of both conditions, but as to my knowledge they have/had not been grouped together. But as I said I am not the ultimate authority on this subject. I do see your point though, since in the general population both terms are usually used interchangeable, but I don't believe that they were interchangeable in the scientific sense.

There is a common notion that schizophrenia is the same as "split personality" -- a Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde switch in character. This is not an accurate description of schizophrenia. In fact, split or multiple personality is an entirely different disorder. Multiples do hear voices, but are merely the personalities within, communicating with one another. Often times, the MPD is misdiagnosed as a schizophrenic due to "hearing voices", but the multiple personality hears the voices inside their head in contrast to the schizophrenic which hears them from outside of themselves. Often a multiple before diagnosis will speak of noise or clatter inside making it difficult for them to concentrate. It is possible for the multiple to hear many distinct and separate voices, of all ages talking at the same time.

Although the term "schizophrenia" was not used until the early 20th century, the disorder has existed for a great many years and has been found in all types of societies. In Western society, "madness" or "insanity" was not generally regarded as a health problem until the early 19th century.At that time, a movement to offer more humane treatment to the mentally ill made it possible for them to receive more scientific, medical treatment. Several categories of mental disease were subsequently identified. By the early 20th century, schizophrenia had been distinguished from manic-depressive illness, and subcategories had been described. In 1911, Dr. Eugen Bleuler, a Swiss psychiatrist, first used the term, "the group of schizophrenias.MPD was not included in that grouping. About the same time the French psychiatrist Pierre Janet coined the word disaggregation about one hundred years ago to identify changes in consciousness which disturbed the normal, well-integrated functions of identity, memory and thought in several of his patients. This term was later translated from the French as dissociation.Janet's studies of patients with amnesias, fugues, and 'successive existences' (now known as other personalities), convinced him that their symptoms were the effect of split-off parts of the personality which were capable of independent thoughts, actions and identities. Further, he concluded that the dissociation which caused the symptoms was the result of past traumatic experiences, and that the symptoms could be alleviated by bringing the split-off memories and feelings into consciousness. Dr. Janet's contemporaries, both American and European, expanded upon his research and a model for the diagnosis and treatment of dissociation was soon built. During the 1930's, however, as Freud's theories were embraced by the psychiatric world, studies of dissociation declined. Renewal of interest among the professional community was not sparked again until the 1980's, following increased public and professional awareness of child abuse and the rise in treatment of Vietnam veterans' post-traumatic stress syndromes.

Q: How do many religions treat multiple personalities? As a medical condition or as a spiritual failing, or even possession?

A: I think a lot of those conditions get mixed up. I myself -- through my personal experience -- now, see a lot of those "religious" conditions, like possession, spirits inhabiting your body, etc. as a mental condition not as a religious one. I think, the opinion of possession etc in religions is still very popular. But I really never thought about it any deeper.

Q: Who are some of the women who've had the biggest impact of SFF?

A: I don't really know who had the biggest impact on SFF in general, but I do know that the following authors had a great impact on me and my life: Sheri S. Tepper, Jennifer Roberson, Melanie Rawn, Gayle Greeno (The Ghatti's Tale series), Katherine Kerr, Gael Baudino, Felicity Savage, just to name a few.

Q: Who are some of your favorite male authors, and how do their stories differ from those written by women?

A: I don't have many favorite authors, but there are two I definitely like to mention. Guy Gavriel Kay (The Fionara Tapestry series, Tigana). I even made an exception and mentioned him on my site with his books. They are just beautifully written and I can read them over and over again.

The other one is Tad Williams with his new series Otherland. I don't like his fantasy -- except of course Tailchasers Song -- so much, but with this new series he went away from traditional fantasy and got into virtual reality. I am a sucker for virtual reality and virtual worlds on the net. The first two books totally fascinated me and I can't wait for the third to come out.

The male authors I read (and I mean enjoy reading) do not differ in their writing styles from my favorite female authors very much. I think what fascinates me with all writers is if they are capable of giving me a story which is utterly believable , but still alien or strange enough to get my mind thinking. I just happen to experience that more with female writers than with male.

Q: How does Hollywood treat SFF women characters?

A: Generally I think Hollywood treats women in SFF traditionally. Either they are the "princesses" who are utterly helpless and have to be rescued, or they are shown as the total opposite, the "warrior babes." (see the Alien movies). So far there are only a few films yet, which don't follow that rule and those I actually enjoyed watching. One was The Fifth Element and the other is the TV series Babylon 5. Both of them have bigger and greater agendas than just to concentrate on male/female identities.

Q: Where are you from, originally? And what languages do you speak?

A: Germany (German, English, Hebrew, French - a little).

Q: Why did you choose Wellesley as your Geocities 'hood over Area51?

A: I choose Wellesley over Area 51 because of my intertwined subjects of DID and women SFF writers. I got great responses from the women at Wellesley. I thought if I just go for the SFF aspect of my site and move to Area51, I'd exclude people who are interested in the other subject. And since I deal with women writers I decided to go for Wellesley. From the response I got from SFF and Wellesley members, I think I made the right choice.

A last remark: I have a huge stack of books waiting on my desk to be added to my site. I hope you'll enjoy reading those as I did. Thank you very much for your interest and I hope to see you at my site.