The Hiss Quarterly Vol. 5 ~ Issue 3
Ekphrasmagoria
Featured Poet::Kristine Ong Muslim
Featured Poet::Kristine Ong Muslim

Kristine Ong Muslim’s poems and stories have appeared or are forthcoming in magazines, journals, and anthologies worldwide. Born in 1980 in the Philippines, she writes for an eclectic mix of publications - from genre to mainstream to literary.

Some of her stories have been featured online (Dark Recesses Press, Grim Graffiti, and Atomjack) and in print publications like Jupiter SF, Spinning Whorl, and Trail of Indiscretion. Her poetry can be found in numerous online journals and will appear in upcoming issues of Adbusters, Beeswax Magazine, Caveat Lector, Diet Soap, Goblin Fruit, Knockout, Mascara Poetry, New Madrid, Other Poetry, and Pearl Magazine.

"The Most Secret Rooms," a long poem which first appeared in The Fifth Di, was recently nominated for SFPA's 2007 Rhysling Award. Two-time winner of Sam’s Dot Publishing’s James Award for genre poetry, her poem, which appeared in Not One of Us, received an Honorable Mention in Year's Best in Fantasy and Horror 2006.

(1) Who is your Muse? May we borrow or rent her/him/them/it?

Selfish as it may sound, I am usually my own personal "Muse." I get inspired to write after reading a book or watching a movie, but it is still that omnipresent "me" who picks out what details from the book or movie can hit a nerve and drive me to write something. Nah, you cannot borrow it.


(2) Have you written something, crumpled it up and tossed it across
the room, then rescued it and smoothed it out - - only to spill
coffee/tea/Koolaid on it? (If so, did you write about that?)

Not really. I use the computer. My handwriting is horrible so the coffee/tea/Koolaid on the paper will not do much to obliterate it.


(3) How does your daily life affect your writing, and vice versa?

When something that definitely had to be written down bugs me, I can't get some sleep. And when I force myself to sleep because of the need to get to work early, that thing that wails to be put into words will disappear by morning. Life does get in the way of writing, and vice versa.


(4) How has your own writing been affected by the "rules" (whichever
list you use), and by teachers, programs, seminars, etc?

My writing is only affected by what I read. I haven't been to any seminars or writing programs.


(5) When did you start writing, and why?

I can't really remember. It just happened and I got stuck in it.

(6) Best rumor about yourself?

That I can talk to animals. Telepathically.
 

(7) Where are the best and worse places you've ever been?

Best place is this tiny ghost town my family and I happened to drive by through while we chanced upon a short cut route. I don't know the name of the place, but it does look like something out of the twilight zone, with only a few houses by the sea, an old woman by the roadside looking at us, and I swear, all the kids who play on the sand look alike. Worst place is Metro Manila where I've lived for like nine years before I finally moved to a smaller city called Cebu. There, the pollution and the traffic problems are the major causes of death.


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