Complement your eye candy from Equus with the new episode from SpellCast!

In this week's show:

- Robert talks with Christine from the wizard rock band, The Hermione Crookshanks Experience (12:37)

-Sidney discusses the LJ community snarry_games with its creator and mod, D.J. (25:14)

-For the Writer's Corner, Zorb explores the writing of Original Characters with D.M.P. and LupinsLittleSister (38:13)

- In Fan Fiction Review, the hosts take a look at "Penance and Absolution" written by Cruisedirector (51:32)

We hope you enjoy the show and don't forget to post your comments about the newest episodes on the website and FictonAlley Park and to friend our journals at LiveJournal and MySpace.

Also, please don't forget to vote for us this month on Podcast Alley, thanks!

Welcome to the second episode of SpellCast Readings! This week's featured fic, read by Jason Fraser, is Penance and Absolution by Cruisedirector. The fic is rated PG-13 and is housed on The Dark Arts, with the following summary: "Lupin would have recognized Snape anywhere, but it was still a shock to see him in the Muggle hospital tent."

We'll be reviewing the fic in Episode Sixteen, and you can participate by leaving either an email or voicemail review. You can send text reviews to spellcast@fictionalley.org or leave a voicemail at our Skype username, fictionalley. We hope you enjoy the fic and look forward to your reviews!

SpellCast kicks off 2007 with its fifteenth episode and new features!

- The hosts discuss the book title release and its potential meanings. (4:23)

- Josh sits down with filkmaster Caius Marcius to talk about - and demonstrate - the art of HP filking. (11:00)

- Zorb chats with Stephanie, one of the webmasters of RupertGrint.net, about the number one source for Rupert news on the web. (30:10)

- The review of Zannie's "The Difference a Day Makes" includes both the hosts' opinions and called in reviews from our listeners. (42:08)

Thanks for staying with SpellCast in the new year! Enjoy the show, and let us know what you think by commenting on our website, LiveJournal, FictionAlley Park, or by email.

SpellCast: Creativity is reborn as SpellCast Readings! For its debut, Gwendolyn Grace reads The Difference a Day Makes by Zannie. In this PG-rated Astronomy Tower fic, "Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny try to come to terms with the events at the Ministry of Magic. One-Shot. Missing moment told from Hermione and Ginny's perspective."

SpellCast invites you to send us your fic reviews, to appear in the next regular episode of SpellCast when the hosts also review the fic. You can email text reviews to spellcast@fictionalley.org or leave a Skype voicemail at (559) 477-4273. We hope you enjoy the fic!

1. How did you find out about SpellCast? (iTunes, FictionAlley, LiveJournal - please be specific)

2. When did you first listen to SpellCast? (Episode number, Month, Day - whatever you recall)

3. Do you listen regularly (almost every episode or more), occasionally (when something strikes your interest/you think to listen), or just once?

4. How many/which other podcasts do you listen to?

5. What are your primary activities in the Harry Potter fandom?

6. Do you like the format (organization and content ordering) of SpellCast? What specifically do you like/dislike about it?

7. What is your favorite type of SpellCast segment? (i.e., Writer's Corner, Fan Fiction Review, Podcast Spotlight, Celebrity Interview, etc.)

8. What have been your favorite specific segments? (i.e., Henry Jenkins interview, Beta Reading Roundtable, Draco Malfoy discussion, etc.)

9. If you've been listening for at least four months, what changes have you noticed in the show and how do you feel about them?

10. What would you like to hear more of on SpellCast? General types of segments and specific suggestions are both welcome.

11. What would you like to hear less of on SpellCast? General types of
segments and specific criticisms are both welcome.

12. SpellCast aims to represent the Harry Potter fandom. How well does
it achieve that goal? How could it better achieve it?

13. We'd like to get our listeners more involved in the podcast. In what ways would you feel most likely to participate? Possibilities include contests, listener calls, "roving journalist" segments, roundtable participation, quizzes - your own ideas are welcome.

14. What auxiliary content (website features, transcripts, visual aids, etc.) are you most interested in having SpellCast provide?

15. Anything we missed?

Thanks again! We look forward to your feedback at any time. Please send completed surveys to spellcast@fictionalley.org.

Don't have any plans tonight? Then ring in the new year with SpellCast: Epsiode 14! In this episode you'll find Robert, Venessa and Becka talking about conferences, wizarding rock, podcasting and other things that happened this past year.

For more information or comments and feedback regarding SpellCast, check out our forum on FictionAlley Park, but also our Livejournal and Myspace pages. We hope you enjoy the show, and don't forget to vote for us on PodcastAlley at midnight!