An Interview with Fehl Dungo by Cathy Nerujen

Blaise25 is known to many readers on Hub Pages, and she is a published poet, with her first poetry volume "Toss and Turn" now available on Lulu.com. Cathy Nerujen decided to ask Blaise, better known to the world and I as "Marifel Dungo" to take the hot seat, and be interviewed. It's a privilege when one gets to interview a well known person like Fehl. She is very relaxed and friendly, and eager to share her story with us.

Cathy: Fehl, lets start with your parents, family and upbringing...can you tell us about your start in life? Can you describe your childhood in the Philippines?

Fehl: First off, lemme thank you Miss Nerujen for this precious interview and time to do all of this…and thanks to everyone, too. Ok, we’re an average family, and we’re really from the Philippines. My mom is a teacher, while my dad a proprietor of a small business. I’m the first born of 4 children. I have 2 sisters and 1 brother. We grew up in the province called Pampanga and it’s home. My childhood was uber cool. Half spent playing around with other children and half learning at school. I forgot to say, hiding away from my grandma when she calls us to sleep in the aftie. LOL I was a typical little Pinay – climbs up a guava tree, cooks on kitchen toys, listen to fairy tales, sneaks around and gets some spanking when caught. Oh how amazing it is to be a little girl again.

Cathy: I am smiling thinking of this now. But that started you off in the direction of writing, and poetry? Where did it all come from and how did it begin? Are you a book reader?

Fehl: I’m an artsy person, Cathy. I grew up loving painting and drawing so much. Back in grade school, I’ve won some art contests. It just so happened that I fell in love with another art. When I was twelve, I used to doodle whatever stuff in a journal...sometimes with drawings but more with words. It just so happened that my creative writing falls under poetry. Uhm where did it all come from? I guess it sparked from that first kiss...from that first love…from that first heartbreak…from that moment I first felt the feeling of missing someone…from that moment when someone sang a song to me…you know those feelings and ever since then I painted them in words.

I entered high school in a Catholic school. And I think my passion for writing has bloomed more in there. I belonged to the best class and section in my entire high school and I loved it. One time I joined the Book Club. Yes, I love books but I was never a bookworm. I read random stuffs that interest me. And I have damn lots of interests. LOL I am bisexual if that counts. ;p I read stuff by famous people from different literature like Shakespeare, Dickens, Homer, Dumas, Rizal coz we studied ‘em. I love vintage but I prefer reading the writings of people in the present lifetime such as those poetry and novels in our school paper. Just like how much I like reading stuffs here in Hubpages. They are more powerful to me coz the soul is alive…Right now, I’m eyeing on Crescendo (Fitzpatrick second book after Hush Hush) and Cassy’s and your upcoming book.

Cathy: What made you join Hub Pages? How did you happen upon this community? What was the draw, the appeal?

Fehl: Well I had started a blog site where I put some short quotes, messages and short poems in BlogSpot. I thought of putting them online so I won’t lose them like I did before...I began receiving followers and comments. Then I saw Adsense in the dashboard. I clicked it and discovered the opportunities. I still didn’t figure it out so I Googled something like “blog and earn money” Presto! Hubpages was the first result. (That was pre-Panda Ok? LOL.) And I read and read inside Hubpages. So I tried it and waited to see if it was true. I used to write just poetry and then I tried other topics. After some frickin months, I received my first payout. Then I was convinced, so I opened another account which is named Twentyfive. I want my creative writings to be separated from the Adsense targeted hubs. Blaise25 is not really a business account, if you know what I mean. But then it was the key why I’m in Hubpages. I love Hubpages. It’s where I met amazing people like you.

(Cathy Chuckles.) Okay, so is there any special or particular theme or subject in your many areas you write about that stands out as a favourite for you? All writers write for a reason...so why do you write?

Fehl: I dunno...is there? LOL But I usually write about love and all its avenues. About my love and my avenues. I write when I’m lost...when I’m so deeply in love..when someone affected me so much...when something is screaming inside me...when I’m in cloud nine...when a thing triggers me to…when I’m inspired by someone or something…I write because there is something to be written.

It’s like I dunno if I didn’t write it down, it would be worthless… empty …meaningless… nada… black… lifeless. It would bother me if I didn’t. Do you understand? LOL.

Cathy: Yes, I understand. It’s a beautiful answer... As a writer, are you planning more books, what can we expect from you? What would you most like to be remembered for as a writer, and if you like, as a person?

Fehl: I have no particular plan for more books at this time. I write in Hubpages anyway. But I’m glad I made Toss and Turn. It doesn’t matter how they remember me. As long as they smile when they remember me.

Cathy: The Old Masters of Writing wrote a lot about Death, Eroticism and Intrigue, according to hubber A. A. Zavala. I think you get two out of three in this area, do you agree? How do you think you score? Go on, be honest.

Fehl: You’re wrong, I got them all. LOL. I had a poem entitled The Killer. And it’s all about DEI. Seriously, my writings are majority about E and I. You’re right. (Smiles)

Cathy: You have a sizable volume of poetry in your hubs. How much of yourself do you put in your poetry? Is it introspective? What is your inspiration? Are you a Romantic at heart?

Fehl: They’re always been part of myself and some people who’s been a part of me. I’ve got some which were introspective of course. Love, art and the people I write about are my inspirations. Sometimes something just hit me to write. Like when I’m in the car on a long late night road trip I type something in my cell phone, before I knew it, it’s a poem. Or when I remember a thing, your lips for example, I could paint it in words or kiss you in the second stanza. Often it’s just a spur of the moment. Yes, I am a Romantic at heart. And it’s a plus.

Cathy: You are definitely romantic, Marifel. Heh. The Panda Update hit many websites and online communities’ web content since it happened. About the future of writing here and in Hub Pages in general, what do you think about that? Any thoughts? Are the new changes going to work for the better do you think?

Fehl: I don’t know what the future may hold here in Hubpages. I think we just have to expect the unexpected. There will be more Panda and algo changes and updates in the future that’s what I’m sure of. There are millions of writers here so I think there’s always a chance for aspiring writers. All you’ve got to do is publish, read, comment and share. Who knows, someone from the big book agencies would read yours and the rest is history. The web is a big place so it’s better to leave your mark on other places, too. As to the Sub domain change, so far it’s awesome. After I switched, my traffic dropped about 500 page views and all else returned to awesomeness when all my hubs were indexed. I’m back to my pre-Panda stats and Adsense income is pretty amazing. Well, this is from my other account. I turned off the HP Ad Program since June by the way. I’ve been seeing positive feedback in the Forum so far, it’s working. I wish the good magic stays longer. (Fingers crossed)

Special thanks to the following people who always read me..

Astra Nomik

Cheeky-Girl

CiscoPixie

Dim Flaxenwick

Mentalist Acer

Dark Heart

Niceandcool

Enigmatic me

Nikkij504gurl

always exploring

Epigramman

Lionel1

Acaetnna

Justom

BBnix

Kryptogirl

Randy Behavior

Kimberly Lyrics

Brandon Fan

Invictus

Poet L

Micky Dee

and many more…

my friends…

and you ^,^

Cathy: You have successfully developed your own new websites and domains and have plans for more and of course you are a blogger. There is an entrepreneurial side to you as well as creative side. I envy your multi-faceted skills here and you’re ability to do many things well. Can you tell us about these projects? What would you advise to newcomers in this area? What else can we expect from you in the future?

Fehl: When the Panda hit, I dared myself to put up a website which caters to related stuff here where I live. You and Cheeky-Girl are great inspirations. Cassy just knows a lot about SEO and Web site building. She sent me brilliant and useful stuff to guide me. (Thanks Cassy!) So I read them and just brainstormed about a week on how my site would be. Oh, you know what I’ve been through…from choosing the domain name to the time it went live. Heh. You’ve inspired me to do it when you told me I should do something for myself…(Thanks for that, my Star!) This project is fvenue.com and if you checked it out, it is what it is.

And oh, check out my best Web-buddies’ websites, too:

webonist.com

cheekygirlsapartment.com

and

betterthanever.weebly.com

I wouldn’t be this amazing without them. (Winks)

Uhm, my advice to newcomers in this area? Well, first think about your target KAP (Keyword/niche, Audience, Profit). It takes hard work, patience, and inspiration. You have to believe it will rank and you have to be so engaging with your target audience. This saying from Coco Chanel is always tattooed in my mind “In order to be irreplaceable, one must always be different.” So you must be original and very different from your rivals.

Cathy: Wow, that is excellent advice, Marifel. You are proof that a positive outlook, a plan and a system can bring many good things. Your Coco Chanel quote is particularly wonderful. We can all take something from this. What a joy is it to interview you, Marifel... finally. Thank you so much for letting me interview you, and have you share so many things with me, and with us. I guess you know we are huge fans, right? You are a constant high ranked Hub Page writer and you have a great work ethic. We can all see that. And many can learn from it too. Best wishes for the future, Marifel and well done on two successful years on Hub Pages. We wish you many more.

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© Copyright 2011 by Cathy Nerujen and Fehl Dungo All Rights Reserved

SEO Keywords by Cassy Mantis (my C2 are amazing! Luv ya guys!)

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