Welcome to my newly-renamed website! This week, I finally decided on a title for my upcoming podcast. It will be called ‘The Bardic Circle.’ This title reflects what I want my podcast to become: a place where people gather to share their stories and songs.

Imagine a group of people – singers, bards, storytellers, and listeners – gathered around a campfire. One by one, people in the circle stand up and share a song or a story. When they finish, not only are the performers applauded, but all the members of the circle stay and talk to each other, and a community forms. This is the atmosphere that I hope to create on my podcast.

I’ve also changed my WordPress theme to make the site easier to read, to add comment links to the main page, and to add a header image. The site is still a work in progress; one of my next steps will be to find an artist to draw the campfire scene I just described, so that I can use it as my header image, as well as a matching cover image for the podcast. Please email me at amy -AT- ameliabowen dot com if you’re available for art commissions and interested in this project.

Why am I making all these changes right now? On Sunday evening, a friend of mine asked me if I might be interested in co-hosting a panel on podcasting at one of our local conventions. I said yes. If the panel gets accepted by the convention organizers, a different local friend and l will be giving a presentation at the convention. We will talk about our past experience as podcast co-hosts (I co-hosted the Ghost Light Podcast, she co-hosted a podcast about knitting) and how to start up a podcast. Having this opportunity has lit a fire under me to actually get my podcast started up. The convention is over Memorial Day weekend; therefore, I am setting myself the goal of having a live RSS feed with at least one episode in it by Friday, May 29. I’m very excited, but I also know I’ve really got my work cut out for me over the next seven weeks.

By the end of April, I want to finish editing Season 1 of Questors and get a head start on Season 2 – that’s my Camp NaNoWriMo goal. I’d also like to finish the costume I showcased last week. I might have already finished it if I hadn’t spent most of yesterday finishing a research project for school. The school term continues through May 21. In addition to the Memorial Day weekend convention, there’s another local convention happening the last weekend in April, which I plan to attend. I’m in the process of fixing up an old costume and making at least one brand-new one to wear to these conventions. Also, I’ve agreed to give prepared speeches for Toastmasters for the next two Tuesdays in a row. Finally, I just booked an out-of-town trip for May 16-18. These next seven weeks are going to be a wild ride.

Edit: I changed my mind. I’m going with “The Bardic Circle” as the new name for my site and blog. It’s easier to say, more familiar-sounding, and easier to remember than “The Bardsong Circle,” but still maintains the imagery and feel that I wanted.