Happy New Year & Welcome!

Happy New Year! I know I'm a few days late, but that's because I've been busy giving my blog a facelift. For those of you who know me, I'm sure you are tired of hearing the word "facelift" but I think it's the best word to describe what I've been doing. I grew tired of struggling to read my own blog due to the horrifying "dot" background...I figured if I had trouble viewing my own blog, I could only imagine how others felt while visiting. My incredibly talented and creative best friend Adria at Neverend (she makes awesome websites, btw!) had plans to make me my own website...but then I started thinking, if she makes the site, how will I know how to do my own updates? I absolutely suck at html and if I ran into any problems, it's not like I could call her to come over and show me how to fix things since she lives in Colorado! So, I decided to stop whining and try working with what I already had. So during the holidays I just kept playing around with blogger. I watched some "How To..." youtube videos, bugged the hell out of the ever gracious Kristin F. over at her blog GrowUp YA, called my best friend to help me with my banner issue that had me frustrated all day...of course it took her only MINUTES to fix the problem! *sigh* But I must say, the end results look great. I'm proud of myself for figuring things out on my own.

Now, just be aware that my new blog is still a work in progress. The "Review Policy" page is still under construction, and I am still working on learning how to add certain buttons, polls, and other goodies to the side bars of the blog to make things more interesting and up-to-date. Once I get more followers, I plan to eventually add contests, author interviews, etc.

If you are visiting for the first time or are a brave soul that decided to give my blog a 2nd chance after being scared away awhile ago, I put together a little something below to help everyone better understand what The Muses Circle is all about and what you will find here.


What "The Muses Circle" means

If you haven't checked out the "About" section of my blog, then I'll give you a quick history lesson. The Muses were the Greek goddesses who presided over the arts & sciences. They were believed to inspire all artists, especially poets, philosophers, and musicians. In paintings, they were often depicted dancing in a circle with Apollo, who is the god of the arts (among other things). I guess that is why the name of my blog fits so perfectly. Since I'm a lover of the arts and I enjoy reviewing different mediums, what better way to celebrate books and cinema then at The Muses Circle?


What makes The Muses Circle different from other review sites

Without sounding repetitive, my blog may differ from other review sites simply because my love for the arts cannot be put into one specific category. My passion for reading & literature is just as strong as my interest in watching movies & television series. I have well over 1,000 movies and over 400 tv series from all over the world. Crazy, right? So, instead of making a blog that is only focused on reviewing books, I made one to encompass all the things I enjoy talking about.




What you will find while navigating The Muses Circle

Here is where I tell you about some of the updates and changes I've made to my blog. My "About" page is pretty straight forward-- it gives you some background information about myself and my blog. All of my reviews have been archived on the right side bar on the main page and are in order by year, month, and date. Since I review books, movies, and tv series, I made some extra pages to help viewers find what they are looking for. For book lovers, you will find a complete list of books I've reviewed & recommended in ABC order by title on my "Book Review" page. If you are only into cinema, then you will find a complete list of my movie/tv series reviews also in ABC order on the "Movie/TV Review" page. Anything that is not a review or a recommendation can be found on the "News" page. Sometimes I go on rants about random stuff, or sadly, an actor or author may pass away-- these are the kinds of posts you will see in the "News" section. My "Review Policy" page is still under construction, but it will contain information about the types of books and movies I review and am willing to review for publishers, upcoming authors, etc. It also will include a list of guidelines if you would like to submit a review on my blog. The rest of my blog is still being updated and added to, so the best thing to do is explore and keep coming back frequently!


The reviews and who writes them

Up until now, all of the reviews from 2009-2011 have been done by myself. Now that we are in 2012 and am proud to show off my blog, I'm excited to announce that I will be having guest bloggers help me out with some reviews. This is great for 2 reasons. 1) Since I work 2 jobs, it's hard for me to write as many reviews as I would like to. Sharing this labor of love with others will help keep my blog updated frequently instead of weeks going by with no new reviews. 2) Even though I am open-minded, there are still book and movie genres that aren't on the top of my favorite list. For example, I am not a big horror fan, but my friends-- Jake at Dark Recesses of Film and Kenn-- eat, sleep, and breath that genre. My talented and beautiful friend Ali at theartistalicrozier is great with martial arts films. It only makes sense to have them do some reviews on upcoming movies & books in their area of expertise. It doesn't mean that these are the only genres they will be reviewing since all of my friends are open-minded and enjoy a broad range of categories, but having them write reviews on things they feel confident about will help keep my blog fresh and interesting. Anyone that submits a review will obviously get full credit. :)

Well, I think that's about it for this post. Again, I want to thank Kristin at GrownUp YA for all the helpful advice and detailed instructions on how to make my blog pretty :). I also want to thank my best friend, Adria at Neverend for her help with my banner...and just being my best friend all these years. ^_^ I look forward to seeing what 2012 brings to The Muses Circle!

If you have questions or comments about my blog or suggestions in regards to things that can make The Muses Circle a better experience, please feel free to leave a comment or email me directly: famulan23@gmail.com.

Best Wishes,
~Mia~