Podcasts about Vella

How can horror writing help readers — and writers — work through psychological trauma? Why does cross-genre fiction take longer to find an audience, but pay off in the long run? Is running a direct sales store actually worth the inventory, postage, and learning curve? And how can SubStack work for fiction authors? With psychotherapist and award-winning author P.D. Alleva. In the intro, thoughts on why in-person conferences are still worth it, even when they are a challenge for sensitive introverts! and tips for making the best of conferences [Self-Publishing Show]. Today's show is sponsored by Draft2Digital, self-publishing with support, where you can get free formatting, free distribution to multiple stores, and a host of other benefits. Just go to www.draft2digital.com to get started. This show is also supported by my Patrons. Join my Community at Patreon.com/thecreativepenn P.D. Alleva is the award-winning author of horror, sci-fi, thrillers, and fantasy books. He's also a psychotherapist. You can listen above or on your favorite podcast app or read the notes and links below. Here are the highlights and the full transcript is below. Show Notes Why horror puts the human condition on display better than any other genre Emotional trauma as the silent psychological killer most people overlook The pros and challenges of cross-genre writing and finding your audience Practical lessons from running a direct store, including integration and signed-copy fulfilment How a 3 a.m. writing routine keeps the writing separate from the marketing and admin Serialising fiction on Substack, multiple newsletters, and avoiding paid subscriber promotions Why Facebook groups, TikTok Lives, and the three-to-one rule are working right now You can find P.D. at PDAlleva.com or on Substack. Transcript of the interview with P.D. Alleva Jo: P.D. Alleva is the award-winning author of horror, sci-fi, thrillers, and fantasy books. He's also a psychotherapist. So welcome, Paul. PD: Thank you very much. Thank you for having me. This is a great opportunity. I love doing interviews, and I love talking to great people. Jo: Oh, good. Well, first up— Tell us a bit more about you and how you got into writing and being an indie author. PD: So I've been writing since I was a kid, at least second grade and more than likely even before that. I've always had that creative itch. Getting into indie author publishing, I published my first book in 2011. At the time I was also operating my own business, which took up about 24 hours of my time every single day. Then I kind of got through that and sold that in 2016, and I'm like, you know what? The time has come. I'd always written books, poetry, short stories, but never really did anything with them because I just didn't have the time. So in 2017, that's when I really came out and said, all right, the time is now. Indie publishing was doing great. The one good thing I do love about Amazon is they allowed us to come out there and start showing our craft to people. So in 2017, I just started—let's do this. Let's write full time. Let's put books out there. Let's be creative. Let's really get those juices flowing. Plus, I was getting a little bit old, and I was like, now is definitely the time to do this. Since then I've been publishing consistently, and most of my books are horror books, but I dabble. I have a sci-fi series, and I'm starting to get into psychological thrillers too. I've got a new psychological thriller that'll be published in early 2027 called Girl on a Mission. For the most part, I'm definitely into the horror genre—books, short stories, all that good fun stuff. Jo: Right, so a couple of follow-ups. You said you're a bit old. Can you give us what decade you're in at least? PD: Well, I'm 51, so born in 1971. Jo: Oh, there you go. Same age as me. PD: All right, good. See that? So we're going head-to-head there. Jo: I don't think that's old at all. Also, you mentioned you sold your business in 2016. So what was your business before? Because I think business experience is so important. PD: Agreed 100%. So I'm a psychotherapist, and I had owned a treatment centre for mental health and addiction. That was started in 2011, and in 2016 is when it sold. Since then, my wife and I started a private practice. So I still, even to this day—well, about a year and a half ago is when I stopped. I specialise in trauma, PTSD, and addiction. Trauma mostly. Most of my caseload has always been trauma, PTSD, sexual abuse, psychological abuse, war-type trauma. I was doing that mostly individually since 2016 in private practice, and I'll still go into treatment centres and see patients there too, specifically for trauma. About a year and a half ago is when I started wanting to do writing 100% full time. I thought about becoming a professor, maybe going to college, but then I wasn't sure if I wanted to get into that full time, as far as a caseload and school and everything like that. So I decided to just do group therapy, group facilitation, and I've been doing that consistently since then. It may be 15 hours a week. I do love to give back, and to me, it's more what I teach. I specialise in neuro-linguistic programming, bilateral stimulation or EMDR, hypnotherapy, science of mind concepts, psychopharmacology, biological bases of behaviour—which is pretty much how your brain works—ancient wisdom, quantum physics. I do this in a drug addiction treatment centre mostly, also mental health. And of course, just living an addictive lifestyle is traumatic, too, in and of itself. So pretty much I'm teaching them. Behaviour modification is a big part of what I'm teaching during that time. You'll see that, too, if you read my books. There's two things you can figure out from my books. You can figure out how to murder people and get away with it, and two, you can figure out how to overcome trauma as well. The whole “murder people and get away with it” comes from my upbringing. I have a very sorted past, let's put it that way. My upbringing was very different than what most people grow up in. Jo: Oh, can you give us any more than that? Now everyone's like, “Oh.” PD: “What's going on with this guy, right?” So I grew up, let's say, quote unquote, “in an Italian New York family.” Jo: Okay. All right. PD: That might give people ideas, right? Jo: That's going to give people a lot of ideas. PD: If you've ever seen the movie Goodfellas, I kind of grew up in that atmosphere, and with even some of those people too. My family had connections to those people in that movie, which I find very funny. If you watch that movie with me, you get a very different perspective on what's going on in the movie. Jo: Wow. So you're an interesting guy with an interesting background, with a very interesting backstory job as well. Some people are like, “Well, of course he's writing horror because horror is just awful and full of slasher gore and all that.” I often have to say to people who don't read horror, “Look, it's not like that.” Maybe some of it is, sure. But most of it isn't. Could you talk about how reading and writing horror can also be psychologically healthy? How do these worlds intertwine for you? PD: Well, sure. It 100% can be healthy. Especially over the last few years, there's a trend going on out there right now where people are taking their trauma and putting it into a creative process through poems, short stories, and even novels. They're taking their trauma and giving it a face, like a monster, where people are overcoming that monster within the creative process. I always say that horror is the genre that puts on display, better than any other genre out there, the human condition. Why is that? When people are in a terrifying situation, you really see who they are. You get to the heart of the matter of who that person is by putting them in these horrific but undefinable situations where it's like, what are they going to come out as? That real true personality needs to come out, and that courage comes out. That's huge in horror, and I think horror gets such a bad name. Now, I know there's the extreme horror and the splatterpunk, and that has its kind of role too in what I'm saying, but that's where horror is getting its bad reputation out there with the over-the-top type of gore. For the most part, that's a small part of the horror genre. It's a subgenre for a reason. It has its readership, and that's fine. Nothing wrong with it. I read it all the time. I find a lot of joy in it, a lot of excitement. However, for the most part, any horror novel that is not completely with the gore and stuff like splatterpunk can be seen as a psychological thriller, and a lot of psychological thrillers can be seen as a horror novel. Look at books like The Silence of the Lambs, Red Dragon. That's horrific as well, but if you read the novel, it's in there. It just gets that bad rap right now, and it's not all gore. Most horror novels that I read today are psychological horror. It's tame on the gore, and the psychological aspect is there. I always see that psychological aspect—it's like psychological trauma. Most people, even in my industry, when people are out there and you mention trauma, PTSD, they're thinking about sexual abuse, physical abuse, or war-type trauma. The silent psychological one—I once wrote an article called “Emotional Trauma: The Silent Psychological Killer.” The one that's out there is the psychological trauma, the emotional trauma that is widespread. Most people go through that, and it could even be from parent to child, and most people don't understand that that's a traumatic experience. It's like a distortion of reality that you're experiencing that then creates a belief system in your brain, and you're constantly acting out that belief system. That's where the psychological component of horror really comes out. People breaking through that psychological belief system that was created through a traumatic experience by reaching courage and coming out through a horrific situation. Jo: Yes, it really annoys me, because with romance, of course people understand that romance is a huge genre. Something like a small town sweet romance is a world away from the bully romantasy, dark, or mafia. Mafia romance is a really big thing with very dark themes. I'm like, well, how can you understand that romance is a huge genre with all these different subgenres, and not think that horror or thriller or fantasy or sci-fi all have so many different subgenres within them? I personally read a lot of supernatural horror, but rarely the slasher gore kind of stuff. So I'm really glad you said that, and hopefully more people will open up a bit more. I did also want to ask you about what you write. You write all these different things. You write standalone—I mean, often horror is standalone—but you also have some series. How do you balance it? What are the benefits of cross-genre writing, but also the challenges of it? PD: Okay. So obviously I love cross-genre writing. To me, I use fantasy to explain the supernatural elements. I blend mostly a tad of fantasy to help explain the supernatural components in my supernatural novels. When I write sci-fi, specifically sci-fi, that has the fantasy element in it too, but there's also a tad of horror in there as well. It's just who I am. When I grew up, I had a lot of different influences. I had Star Wars on one side, and then I'm watching B-rated '80s slasher films on the other side. Those two mixes just kind of followed me throughout my life, and that's why I like putting them into my novels. As I tell my patients, don't limit yourself. Never limit yourself. If you're just limiting yourself to one genre, you're missing out on so much more that's out there. So I love the blend of mixing genres. It just gets my goat each and every time. It is a challenge though. I remember when I first started getting into indie publishing, I was never big into Facebook and social media up until I started becoming an indie author. Before that, with my type of upbringing, you don't advertise yourself. You don't advertise where you're going. That's a big no-no. So I always had this aversion to social media. I'll tell you a funny story. It was the late 2000s, probably 2006. I was a full-time single father at that time, and I was living in Florida. My family—brothers and sisters-in-law—were living in New York, and my sister-in-law said, “Get a Facebook account so we can see pictures of the kids.” I said, “Oh.” I didn't want to do it, but I said, “Okay,” so I did it. And I'm thinking, looking at this Facebook thing, “How do I put pictures on here?” So I figured out how to put pictures in folders. Then I phone called her, and I'm like, “Okay, so they're on there.” And they're like, “Well, where are they?” I'm like, “I put them in these folders. You can go and look at them.” She's like, “No, you've got to post them.” That to me was like, “I'm not posting pictures of my kids.” That was a big no-no. It didn't click. When I got on there finally in 2016, 2017, I'm like, “Okay, so I need to figure out social media. As an indie author, I need to be on there, so I need to get through this aversion and get on there.” I started noticing how people are so particular with their genres. If they're reading a romance, it had to be very specific with that exact type of romance, and if you deviated from it, they're not going to like it. So that was the challenge. I was like, “All right, number one, I'm not going to dilute myself” and say, “All right, take things out of my writing or out of my novel just so I could cater to a certain type of audience.” I'm like, “I'm not going to do that.” I know with me, myself, as a reader, I'll read everything. I don't limit myself to a specific genre. I'll read psychological thrillers. I'll read romance. I've been doing that all my life. So I'm like, if there's a person like me out there—and look at this, I just met like four other people who also read cross genres—then I know that there's at least another 30,000 people, and I know that at least then there's 300,000, then there's three million people out there. So just write the books that you're writing and find your audience. Now, that takes longer. So you've got to chip away. Chip away. You're going to find readers here and there, and then that reader kind of tells a few people about you, and then you've got a few more readers. Then you keep going, and you go on these Facebook groups, and you do a whole bunch of different things, and then you gather a few more readers. Then they're telling some friends, and then you've got more. The process takes a lot longer, yes, 100% agreed, but I would say be true to yourself and you can never go wrong. Jo: Yes, I agree. I write cross-genre as well, and I've browsed your collection. Golem was the one I was like, “Ooh, yes, I like that one.” I haven't read it yet, it's on my list. I think when you're cross-genre, my people come to my store as well, and it's like, “Okay, I'm interested in lots of things, but this is the one by this author that I'm interested in.” Whereas with other authors who only write one type of thing, then I might not like any of their stuff. So I think there are definitely pros and cons and different ways into our world. I also wanted to ask you about the differences in business. Obviously you ran this treatment centre and there were physical humans on all sides, and now you've got a business as an author. So what have you learned in business from what you used to do and what you do now? PD: Okay. You're right. The treatment centre industry is very different from what I'm doing now, but it's still people. Treat those people right, have integrity. If you say you're going to do something, follow through with it. My word is my bond type of thing. That definitely has fed into the writing and publishing industry that I'm in now in a huge way. Just connecting with people is, to me, the biggest part of it. I mean, treatment centres, you've got to connect with people. When I would market the treatment centre, where would I go? I would go to hospitals, residential facilities, detoxes, and talk to them about my programme and why they should be referring clients there. It's the same thing here. Why should you be reading my books? You get there through interviews like what I'm doing here with you. Other podcasts. You get there by doing Facebook Lives, TikTok. I haven't started TikTok Lives yet, but I actually love that platform. I'm falling in love with it. IG Lives, anything like that where you're talking to people and you're making a connection with those people. Through that, I've gathered so many different types of readers who are like, “Yes, I'll give this book a shot.” And then they read it and they're like, “Hey, this is really good, and I'm going to read another book.” With my books, I have very different books. Golem is my psychological horror novel. It's my slow-burn psychological horror novel, heavily inspired by Frankenstein and the Pygmalion myth. It's my first true horror book that I published. Then there's Jigglyspot and the Zero Intellect, which is inspired by B-rated '80s horror movies and the old grindhouse movies of the '70s, and it's mind manipulation. It's just wild and bizarre. And then The Sleepy Hollow Incident is my Gothic tale—it's like a dark romance mixed in with Gothic horror. So I always try to put something for everyone that's out there. To me, when I'm writing, it's got to be about depth, psychological depth. I always refer to my books to be like peeling layers off a Texas-sized onion. The more you read, the more in-depth you get into not only the characters, but the story. It's just something that comes out of me. It's part of me. That's the way I always have to do it. I always have to put that depth in there. To me, that's good storytelling. When I grew up, I read a lot of classic literature. Yes, Edgar Allan Poe, but also Dante's Inferno, Milton's Paradise Lost, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, the Brontë sisters. Keep going. Ray Bradbury, Ayn Rand, Daphne du Maurier, Shirley Jackson. Those to me are my books that I absolutely love. So there's a sweet science in today's fast-paced, social media type of world in marrying the depth of the old classic literature and the entertainment value that is required today for being an author. There's that sweet science behind it, and I love just hitting that nail on the head every time. Jo: So did you ever pitch traditional publishing, or have you thought about going that way? Because I also find that a lot of horror actually sits very close to literary. Like, I read a lot more literary horror than I do in some of the other genres. PD: Correct. So in the beginning, yes. Not in a long time. I maybe went to a couple of indie publishers, but as far as traditional, the Big Five publishers, I have an aversion to them for a big reason. I know people who have worked in that industry that have told me some pretty bad horror stories about those places. So I haven't sent anything to that type of place in a very, very long time. Maybe close to 20 years. Indie publishers, the small presses, yes, here and there, but even then, I'm always moving at a fast pace. So if I've got a book and I'm sending it out as a query letter, by the time that query letter is even read, I'm almost done publishing. I love that aspect of it. The control of my story, where I know where this character's going. And listen, I've got my beta readers, I've got my ARC readers. They're there to tell me, “Hey, maybe you should change this or change that.” Whether I take that advice or not, of course my editor too, is really up to me. I always put out the book that I know is the one I want to read. And to me, I haven't gone wrong in doing so. I know with traditional publishing, you sometimes get too many thoughts in the pot there. Let's put it that way. Jo: Okay, so coming back to being indie then. You mentioned Amazon earlier, but you have a store where you sell direct. Many authors are doing this now, but it can be a challenge. So what have you found are the pros and cons of your direct store? What's working? Any lessons there? PD: Okay. So I use a place called Big Cartel. They're the platform where the books are on. They're hosting my website, PDAlleva.com. The big challenge was actually just starting it. It was so overwhelming. How do I put this on there? At the time, I've got all these books, so how do I present them? I'm even going to be doing another revamp with it too, because I want better pictures—taking pictures of the books, stuff like that, instead of just having the covers on there. I also have a lot of shirts that I'm selling. So I think the biggest challenge is just getting on there and starting it. Then of course, you've got to learn a whole new platform, and the mechanics, and how people are going to be downloading, and how that's done on an e-book versus a print version of the book. So it's a huge learning curve that you've really got to put your focus on and give it time. What most people like in indie publishing is signed copies. It's a huge part of indie publishing, selling those signed copies. People love a signed copy, and that's primarily what my website is for. You can order signed copies from me. I also use a place called IngramSpark, and they're more like a distributor. They're used by everyone. They've been around for a very long time. Traditional publishing uses them too, and they're just distributing your novel. I'd say about a year ago, maybe two years ago, they started where you can sell your books on discount through them as well. So I have that on my website too, where you're just clicking on the book and you're pretty much going directly to their site and you're buying paperbacks and hardbacks at a discount. That's going well too. For the most part, people are definitely coming to my site because they want the signed copies. A good thing with indie publishing is limited editions, first print copies, special editions. That type of stuff really just takes off. People love to see that, especially in the indie community. You can sell them too. I go to a few different book conventions during the year, and the limited editions are there. Like I said, people love the signed copies. They love being a part of that and getting that signed copy. They treasure it, just like I treasure my books too. I'm not referring to my books that I've written, but books that I have as well. I love my e-reader, don't get me wrong, but I still prefer the physical copy—the paperback, and even more so than the paperback, the hardback. So people love those signed copies, and that's why I created the website, to sell on there for them. Jo: Yes, I mean, we're getting to a point now though where I think some people are questioning the pros and cons of it. For example, you doing the signed copies—I don't do that from my Shopify store because I don't want to hold stock and I don't want to deal with postage. So I only do it when I do a Kickstarter. I've just finished one recently, Bones of the Deep, and I'm going up to the printer, and I'm going to sign a couple of hundred copies and then they do the postage. That's the only way I'm willing to do it because of the pain of getting books to your house, signing them, getting them in the post. So how do you manage that practically? PD: Okay, so the inventory's there. I don't go and sign everything right away. I just keep the inventory. Once somebody buys the book, then I'll pull out the book, log it and all that good fun stuff, sign it, and then ship it out immediately. Here in my country, we get discounts at the United States Post Office because they're books. So they pass that shipping cost over to the reader too, so it's a little bit cheaper for shipping. I'll just take books once or twice a week over to the United States Postal Service and ship those books out. I don't sign them until I actually get that order. Jo: How many do you have in your house? It's the holding stock of all the backlist that is the problem. PD: Ooh, gotcha. All right. That's why I have a two-car garage. But here's the thing, I won't order 500 at a time. I'll order 20 at a time. Jo: Okay. Right. PD: When I see that inventory's getting low, I'll order another 20 at a time. Jo: And you get those from IngramSpark? PD: Correct. When the new one comes out, maybe at that time I'm just selling those, bringing those to conventions that I go to. Or maybe doing a sale on those books at that time to get rid of the inventory so it's not sitting around anymore. Jo: I think that's so important. Then like you mentioned, you do T-shirts or shirts. That is also really hard because of sizing. So is that all print on demand? PD: Yes. So I don't really hold the stock on the shirts. When I get an order, whatever the size is at that time, I go directly to the place and order it. I use a place called Sublimation Station that's here in Orlando. They do great all-over print T-shirts. They're fantastic. I just did one for The Sleepy Hollow Incident. So The Sleepy Hollow Incident is one long story, and it's broken up into four books. Each book has its own. The covers are fantastic. I use a lady named Cherie Foxley. She's a phenomenal cover designer. So the shirts are, like, book one is on the front of one shirt with book two on the back, and then the second shirt is book three on the cover and book four on the back. However, I can customise those. I just did a giveaway in my Facebook group and I let people know I could customise them, and she wanted book one and book four, so I just got that and sent it out to her. Now, if people go ahead and order that on the website, I can just order it right away from them, boom, and that place will get it shipped right then and there. Jo: Right, so they do the shipping. These are all sort of practical things that people need to answer because I feel like sometimes it's like, “Oh, yes, having a direct store is great,” but there's actually quite a lot of work that goes into it, isn't there? PD: There is. There's a lot of work. You're pretty much opening almost like your own brick-and-mortar store at that point. You just don't have walk-in traffic coming in—your traffic is all coming online. So there is a lot to it, but it's worth it. If you're a self-published author or even a small indie press, it's good to have. Because like I said, people love the signed copies. Jo: When you say it's worth it, is it worth it financially or just because you like to serve the customers in that way? PD: Both. Jo: Right. So it is financially worth it for you? PD: Yes. Jo: I was talking to a friend of mine and saying, are you valuing your time in terms of things like taking the books to the post office and stuff like that? Do you find it eats into your writing at all, or do you just manage it all separately? PD: No, I manage it separately. So I'm an early morning riser. I get up at 3:00 in the morning, and that's when I write my books or do editing or brainstorming. I'm about to write a new novella now called The Adam and Eve Story, which is actually based on a little-known CIA shelved book from the 1990s called The Adam and Eve Story as well. So I've been brainstorming that, and I was doing that this morning. I get up at 3:00 a.m. and I do my writing, and by the time the kids are up and by the time the wife is up, it's like 8:00 a.m. is rolling around and I'm pretty much done at that point. Then I have my days. Tuesday I'm completely working from home and I do my thing in the morning, and then the rest of the day is marketing, fulfilling orders, stuff like that. On the days when I'm going to do group facilitation, I'll of course still get up at 3:00 o'clock in the morning, and then I'll plan out the day. I've got an hour between this group and I can go ahead and do that, and I'm already there so it's not a problem. The post office is right around the corner. You kind of figure out all the logistics for yourself. There are some days, like on Monday, I don't facilitate groups until the afternoon, so I've got the whole morning to work on marketing and do other things, and fulfilment. Then of course Saturday's a big day for that too. Jo: Oh, that's good. I feel like people always need to know how to balance their time, but it sounds like you manage, because at 3:00 a.m., as you say, there's not much else to do other than write. You mentioned marketing, and you have a Substack, pdsalternativefiction.substack.com. Talk about that and serialising fiction and how Substack works. Because I feel like a load of people are jumping in but might not necessarily know how it works, especially for fiction. PD: Correct. It is becoming quite popular out there. I think the one before that was Patreon, and Patreon is pretty big for that too, kind of the same thing. I wanted to start something and just get the work out there. I was very interested when Amazon came out a few years ago with what was called Vella. They kind of started that. I was like, “This is kind of cool.” Couple chapters at a time. I'm writing the books anyway, so why don't we kick this off and see how it goes—a type of experiment. I had a lot of fun doing it. I started on October 4th, 2024. I've done four novels so far. One is still going, which is Volume 3 of my Dark Veil serie— that's a sci-fi series. I wrote three other novels. The Hypnotist, which is a thriller, heavy on the sci-fi and a tad of horror in there too. And then I wrote Girl on a Mission, which is my psychological thriller, and then Cat Fight, which is a horror novel—all within that time. I think I finished all three of those novels in January, and then the first week of February they were all pretty much done. Now what I'm doing is, I went paid recently on the Substack. It's like everything else that's out there—chip away, chip away. I fell into that hole where they say, “Hey, we can promote you and get people to sign up for your newsletter.” And I'll be honest with you, don't do it. It's not worth it. You spend money, and what happens is they're what I refer to as dead leads. They don't click. You wind up shuffling them off after three to six months, because they're just not clicking. Everybody gets a star rating, so you know—are they clicking, are they staying on, are they not? So I got rid of pretty much all of those people, and I'll never do that again. It's got to be done organically. That's why when you read my books, especially the new books, towards the end it'll say, “Sign up for my newsletter.” I do more with that newsletter too. If you're on the free tier, every month I do a monthly newsletter, which is just me talking about updates, things going on in the publishing industry, things going on with me. My daughter puts together a weekly Horror and Sci-Fi Chronicles newsletter, which gives what's going on in new releases in the industry—sci-fi, horror, books, movies, television. She does deep dives into industry tropes, historical tidbits, and a weekly quiz. I also do a monthly Terrors and Tales newsletter. I started this last year, and it was a quarterly newsletter. It's other authors who are new, upcoming, never been published before, looking to get published. It's a chance for them to be on the newsletter where they have a flash fiction story or poem or even a short story that I publish for them. It's called the Terrors and Tales newsletter. What happened is I would put out calls for submissions. And a place called Duotrope—I don't even know who these people are, but all of a sudden I got an email from them stating, “Hey, we found that you're looking for submissions, and we posted your link. We hope you don't mind.” I'm like, “No, of course I don't mind.” I got so many submissions from that one link. I'm like, “Okay.” Do I really want to deny people? I'm not like that. I want to help promote other authors. I know what it's like when you're new and upcoming, no matter what age you are, to say, “Hey, here's a platform for you to see your stuff in print.” Obviously, I read through them just to make sure they're up to a certain standard, but for the most part, if you submit, you're getting in there. With Duotrope, I'm like, I have enough here to put out one a month. So in May 2026, the first one goes out, and then I'll have one each month until December, and then who knows? In 2027 I might go back to quarterly. I might get enough submissions to just keep it going once a month. So that's the Terrors and Tales newsletter, and it usually comes out towards the end of the month—the last two weeks. I have nothing to do with it in terms of content. None of my stories are on there. None of my poems are on there. None of my flash fiction. It's all other authors, just for them to see their name in print, see their work in print, share it with their friends, and put something on their resume, and to encourage people to keep reading and keep the craft going. Jo: When you say in print, you don't mean in physical print? PD: Oh, I mean in the newsletter. I'm sorry. Jo: I think that's important, or you're going to get a lot more submissions, and you will need to do publishing contracts and all that kind of thing. I think that's the difficult thing with a Substack newsletter approach—it's difficult to know where to categorise it. Is it marketing? Is it publishing? It's all of these things, I suppose. A bit like this podcast, it's all kinds of things. In terms of Substack actually making money on its own or leading to book sales that make money, do you think it does serve that purpose? PD: I think I've gotten more book sales through it, and also ARC readers who are enjoying the books and giving reviews. As far as the paid tiers, that's kind of a little bit slow, and that's where I'm saying chip away at it. Keep it up there. Keep it going. Over time, you're going to build that type of audience where it's going to be like, “Hey, this is financially feasible for me to continue to do this.” That's the response that I'm getting out there. Jo: Yes. Before, you mentioned you were doing Facebook Lives and you're looking at TikTok, but— Is anything else working for you in book marketing? If people have a few books and they're like, “What is working for book marketing right now?”—what do you recommend? PD: Okay. For me, the thing that has made the most sense is making sure the reader knows the book is out there through some sort of social media. I've had really good success on TikTok since the beginning of this year especially. I started it about a year ago, year and a half ago, but then my father got sick and passed away, and it was a new venture and I put it off to the side. I really got the flavour going at the beginning of this year. February, March of this year. It seems to be going really well, and I've noticed an uptick in sales from just getting the videos out there and getting it in front of people's eyes. There's an event I'm going to in August called ShiverCon, which is a pretty big event. After that event, I'm going to look to see what type of inventory I have left over from the event, and I'm going to start doing TikTok Lives. I'm very comfortable being on camera. So I'm like, “Yeah, that seems like a good way to go.” I know there's a few other horror authors who are doing it and having good success with TikTok Lives as well. A guy named Jason Davis is doing really well with TikTok Lives, and a few other authors too. I'm like, “Yes, I could definitely do that.” I want to get up to a certain number of people, and I want these events. I'm going to one in July, and then ShiverCon in August. Once those are done, I'm going to have more time to do the TikTok Lives. As far as Facebook is concerned, what I've had really great success with on Facebook is being in the groups and meeting other authors. That's not always about my book per se, but whatever books I'm reading, I'm posting my reviews about those books in those groups and meeting readers. Then obviously, they always say the three-to-one rule. Post about three different books and then post about your own book, whether you're doing a sale or a new release or a re-release or whatever. I've found success through that just by interacting with readers. When they post a book, I'll comment, “Hey, I've read that book,” or, “Hey, that book looks really cool. I like the review.” Commenting on it so you start these relationships with people who are out there in these Facebook groups. I've recently started my own Facebook reader group. I kind of go with the same thing. Last night, we did a live reading for another author. I like other authors to be on there. I always like to think, what does the reader need? What do I want to see as a reader? I would love to hear live readings from authors. So I kind of learn about them, learn about the book, and get a live reading. To me, that's a good way to go. So I started that recently, and it seems to be going well. I've got a new folk horror coming out soon, and I put out a call for ARC readers and got a fantastic response from that. That kind of drives the sales anyway, because when you get those reviews, then people see it gives credibility to the book, and then other people see it, and then they're buying it too. So that comes from the groups. There's so many wheels to spin in this industry as an indie author when you're doing this, especially when you're doing 99% of it on your own. You've got to get out there. No one's going to know your book exists if you don't get out there and tell somebody about it. Jo: Brilliant. Well, tell us— Where can people find you and your books online? PD: All right. Perfect. So obviously I'm on Amazon like everyone. Most of my books are worldwide, so you'll find them in Barnes & Noble as well. And of course, if you want the signed copies or discount print books, I always lead people straight to my website, PDAlleva.com. Then, of course, if you go to my Substack, you'll get all the updates, and you'll get all the links to purchase or find out where they are on Amazon and Barnes & Noble and things like that too. Jo: Brilliant. Well, thanks so much for your time, Paul. That was great. PD: Thank you very much for having me. It was great chatting with you. The post Writing Cross-Genre, Selling Direct, And Serialising On SubStack With P.D. Alleva first appeared on The Creative Penn.

Vita Bella Health Membership: https://vitabella.com/membership/Follow Phil Vella (CEO of Vita Bella Health) on IG: @phillyvzAccredited Investors: Catalina Island deal closes soon. Join waitlist: somerscapital.com/investRich Somers sits down with Phil Vella, CEO of Vita Bella Health, to talk about the future of health, hormones, peptides, GLP-1s, and the massive shift happening in human performance. Phil breaks down why testosterone can be the foundation for men's health, how peptides and NAD+ are being used for energy, recovery, and longevity, and why weight-loss drugs like semaglutide and tirzepatide are only the beginning of what he calls the “biology boom.”They also dive into the dangers of chasing quick fixes, the risks of gray-market peptides, and why true health still comes back to discipline, muscle, nutrition, and building the right foundation. From anti-aging and hormone optimization to masculinity, leadership, and becoming a stronger man, this episode explores what the next era of health could look like and what people need to know before jumping in.Connect with Rich on Instagram: @rich_somersInterested in joining The 7 Figure Creator Mastermind? Visit www.the7figurecreator.com to book a free intro call.Interested in joining our Boutique Hotel Mastermind? Visit www.somerscapital.com/mastermind to book a free call.

Jacob Vella was stabbed whilst in the line of duty performing an arrest early one morning in 2019 in South-Western Sydney before being taken to Liverpool Hospital for emergency surgery after sustaining life threatening wounds from a steel spear to his neck and wrist.   Jacob joined the Police in 2016, working towards a career on the frontline tackling organised crime and high risk offenders.     In this episode Jacob shares his journey of courage, resilience and recovery. Now building his career in business and health and fitness coaching. He shares all from his personal challenges, to intriguing insights from his time with the NSW Police Force. ________________   Follow us on social media!   Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/normlesspodcast/   YouTube: www.youtube.com/@normless   Facebook: www.facebook.com/normlesspodcast/     LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/norm...   TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@normlesspodcast   Website: normless.simplecast.com   ________________   Hayden Kelly, ESSAM, AES, AEP, MHPS   Host of the NORMLESS podcast   Connect with me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn Follow us on social media!

Victor Vella, kittieb Malti Awstraljan jitkellem dwar l-esperjenzi tas-sabiħ u l-ikrah tal-ħajja u kif nitgħallmu ngħaddu minn żminijiet diffiċli u nħarsu b'mod pożittiv 'il quddiem.

What if the future of marketing is not just knowing what people will do, but understanding why they feel the way they do? In this episode, Joy Allen-Altimare unpacks predictive emotional modelling, and why the next leap in data driven marketing will come from combining behaviour, context and human emotion.

Check out Constant Contact and use the special URL constantcontact.com/jay for a discount. You can also catch Frank speaking at the upcoming GURU Conference and connect with him directly on LinkedIn.‎Read the Small Business Now Report from Constant Contact.‎Ever wonder how someone goes from getting fired at KFC to running one of the most iconic digital platforms in the world? Jay Schwedelson sits down with Frank Vella, CEO of Constant Contact, to talk about the real grind of small business ownership. They get into why artificial intelligence is the ultimate equalizer for small teams and how shifting your mindset from doing marketing to simply telling your story changes everything.‎Best Moments:(02:30) Frank shares his first jobs working at a carnival and getting fired from KFC for eating too much chicken(03:30) Why AI is the single biggest advantage small businesses have ever had to compete against massive companies(06:48) The biggest mistake small business owners make when trying to take on the entire burden of marketing themselves(09:48) How shifting the focus from marketing to simply telling your story completely changes the dynamic for business owners(11:00) A surprising stat showing that 68 percent of small businesses plan to increase their marketing spend despite inflation fears(15:36) Frank gives his top career advice on capitalizing on opportunities and acting like you already have the promotion you want.‎Check out Jay's YOUTUBE Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@schwedelsonCheck out Jay's TIKTOK: https://www.tiktok.com/@schwedelsonCheck Out Jay's INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/jayschwedelson/ㅤPre-order Jay Schwedelson's new book, Stupider People Have Done It (out April 21, 2026). All net proceeds are donated to The V Foundation for Cancer Research—let's kick cancer's butt: https://www.amazon.com/Stupider-People-Have-Done-Marketing/dp/1637635206

I've had several emails requesting a podcast with Gratz Vella in the wake of his thrilling third placing in the TAB Golden Slipper with Music Time. The Maltese born trainer drifted into the racing game by pure chance and has held a licence for more than three decades. He's enjoyed a notable measure of success from his Canberra base and is widely respected by all sections of the industry. Gratz secured Music Time for just $45,000 at the 2023 Inglis Classic Sale and soon discovered that he'd bought a very promising young horse for long established clients. Music Time probably cost himself a win at his first start but quickly made amends with a hat trick, culminating in the Black Opal on his home track. The Gratz Vella story is one that needs to be acknowledged on our podcast.  The trainer says he'll be pinching himself for quite a while yet. Gratz says he asked his jockey Pierre Boudvillain to ride Music Time as close as possible without overdoing it.  He explains the reason why the gelding got a little bit lost in the closing stages. The trainer acknowledges the support of six owners, some of whom have had horses with him for many years. Gratz goes back to the Inglis Classic Sale of 2023. He recalls being “blown out of the water” on a few early lots, and says his confidence had been dimmed by the time a certain All Too Hard colt came into the ring. He believes the youngster's immature appearance put a few buyers off. Gratz says the All Too Hard colt quickly signalled his talent. He was given a nickname in his first preparation. The trainer says his Golden Slipper placegetter has already developed one unlikely taste. Vella says he wasn't tempted to run him again this preparation. Gratz discusses his burgeoning partnership with French born jockey Pierre Boudvillain, currently one of the most talked about riders in the nation.  The Canberra horseman takes us back twenty years to his first Golden Slipper start with a $300.00 “pop”.  Gratz talks about his late father's arrival in Australia sixty years ago. Michael Vella found a job in Canberra and a suitable house before bringing his wife and eight children to a new land. The trainer pays tribute to his remarkable mother who died only recently at 95 years of age. Gratz Vella's business acumen was on display at an early age. He, two brothers and a handful of mates collected horse manure from a nearby pony club and carted it around the district in home made billy carts. When the concept became popular with backyard gardeners, the boys investigated bolstering supplies from Canberra racing stables. Gratz says his love affair with thoroughbreds began there and then. He says Robbie O'Sullivan was the trainer to teach him the basics of horse management and would later encourage him to take out his own licence.  Gratz says he kicked off at amateur meetings but quickly made up his mind to progress to the professional ranks. He explains the derivation of his rather curious christian name. Gratz talks of the amazing offer he received from highly successful Canberra trainer John Morrisey. He was destined to stay with Morrisey for twenty years during which time he had the opportunity to prepare a small team of his own. He says Morrisey's later move to the Gold Coast  prompted his decision to go it alone. Gratz looks back on the horses to help him along the way. He's got a story or two about a few stable favourites.  His story about the acquisition of his current stable colours is a very entertaining one. He talks of his Aussie born kids and the five grandchildren who've come along in recent years. It's a laid back chat with the kid from the historic township of Zabbar in Malta's port region. He's a highly respected and universally liked member of the Canberra training ranks and has no intention of leaving the city adopted by his father six decades ago.    

Mathis Vella a franchi les 18 premiers mois de traction sur son aventure Heep et nous partage ses défis à résoudre dans l'univers de la réservation. Ses clients sont des restaurants et il oeuvre à une expérience client la plus impeccable possible, à commencer par le premier point de contact : s'assurer d'avoir une place pour déjeuner ou dîner dans l'établissement. Ses premiers milliers d'euros de pur MRR sont réalisés et Mathis nous parle de ses ambitions pour les mois et années à venir, ainsi que de ses concurrents et de son positionnement différenciant.

¿Se nos ha ido de las manos el turismo fotográfico en Barcelona? El otro día fui testigo de una escena surrealista: un grupo de 62 fotógrafos convocados por una empresa en la icónica (y diminuta) Plaça de Sant Felip Neri. En este vídeo analizamos si este tipo de eventos cumplen con la normativa vigente en 2026 y qué consecuencias legales tiene para los organizadores y participantes. ¿Por qué el límite actual es de 20 personas y no de 60? El caso de Sant Felip Neri es muy especial, ya que se trata de un espacio de silencio y memoria que cuenta con una protección especial por el Ayuntamiento y la escuela del barrio. A qué se enfrenta una empresa que organiza eventos masivos sin permiso (pueden llegar a los 3.000€). ¿Estamos matando los lugares que queremos retratar? Barcelona es una ciudad increíble para la fotografía de calle, pero la convivencia y el respeto por el patrimonio son clave para que no nos acaben prohibiendo sacar la cámara a todos. ¿Qué opinas tú? ¿Crees que el Ayuntamiento debería ser más flexible con los eventos culturales o que hace falta mano dura con las empresas de Photowalks? ¡Te leo en los comentarios! Permisos fotografía ADIF https://www.adif.es/comunicacion/fotografia Permisos trípode Barcelona https://seuelectronica.ajuntament.barcelona.cat/oficinavirtual/es/tramit/20240001682 Permisos cementerios de Barcelona https://cementiris.ajuntament.barcelona.cat/es/es-posible-realizar-fotografias-en-los-cementerios

COLUMBA LIVE Interview with Lauren Vella by Ralph Barba

On today's Zero Limits Podcast host Matty Morris chats with Jacob Vella NSW Police Officer Stabbed in 2019 - Fitness CoachBorn and raised in Sydney's southwest, he joined the NSW Police Force in 2016, building a career in frontline and proactive crime units tackling high-risk offenders and organised activity.In June 2019, during an early morning arrest operation, he was critically injured in a violent stabbing while pursuing a suspect inside a darkened home. The attack left him with life-threatening injuries, extensive nerve and tendon damage, and a long road to recovery—at one point, his survival was in doubt.After more than a year of rehabilitation, he returned to full operational policing, resuming duties in the same high-pressure environment where he had been injured.Following years of service marked by frontline exposure, legal battles, and personal challenges, he stepped away from policing in 2024. Since then, he has focused on rebuilding—transitioning into business, property development, and the fitness industry.Send us a text however note we cannot reply through these means. Please message the instagram or email if you are wanting a response. Support the showWebsite - www.zerolimitspodcast.comInstagram - https://www.instagram.com/zero.limits.podcast/?hl=enHost - Matty Morris www.instagram.com/matty.m.morrisSponsorsInstagram - @gatorzaustraliawww.gatorzaustralia.com15% Discount Code - ZERO15(former/current military & first responders 20% discount to order please email orders@gatorzaustralia.com.auInstagram - @3zeroscoffee3 Zeros Coffee - www.3zeroscoffee.com.au10% Discount Code - 3ZLimitsInstagram - @getsome_auGetSome Jocko Fuel - www.getsome.com.au10% Discount Code - ZEROLIMITS

House'n It w/john vella airs on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month from 10a-12p Central Time US. Be sure to subscribe to the companion podcast at johnvella.com to hear the show without the DJ voiceovers.

Victor Vella, awtur u xandar Malti-Awstraljan, jirrifletti dwar is-sinifikat tas-sawm u t-talb matul ir-Randan, u jiddeskrivih bħala żmien ta' tiġdid spiritwali u konnessjoni aktar profonda mal-fidi. Huwa jenfasizza li dawn il-prattiċi jmorru lil hinn mir-ritwal, billi jfakkruna fis-sagrifiċċju, l-umiltà u l-kompassjoni, u jispiraw lill-individwi biex ikunu aktar konxji tal-oħrajn, b'mod speċjali ta' dawk fil-bżonn, hekk kif jippreparaw ruħhom spiritwalment għall-festa tal-Għid.

  Welcome to the Conscious Millionaire Show - How to Become an Ultra-Performer. Now 3X week M / W / F with host JV Crum III.   Are you an Entrepreneur, Founder, or CEO? Revenues $250K to $50M? Sign up for your Breakout Session...and discover how to break out as an Ultra-Performer who reaches your peak 1% level...     SCHEDULE Your Breakout Session Now     Join Host JV Crum III, with 2 exits and over 75M revenues in his companies, he is the Ultra-Performer Coach for 6- to 8-figure owners ready to join the top 1%.   Season 12 of the award-winning Conscious Millionaire Show. World's #1 conscious business and performance podcast for foundeers and entrepreneurs who want to become Ultra-Performers.      SUBSCRIBE to Conscious Millionaire Show     Millions of Listeners. 190 countries. Inc Magazine "Top 13 Business Podcasts" with over 3,000 episodes. Listen 3X a week.

  Welcome to the Conscious Millionaire Show - How to Become an Ultra-Performer. Now 3X week M / W / F with host JV Crum III.   Are you an Entrepreneur, Founder, or CEO? Revenues $250K to $50M? Sign up for your Breakout Session...and discover how to break out as an Ultra-Performer who reaches your peak 1% level...     SCHEDULE Your Breakout Session Now     Join Host JV Crum III, with 2 exits and over 75M revenues in his companies, he is the Ultra-Performer Coach for 6- to 8-figure owners ready to join the top 1%.   Season 12 of the award-winning Conscious Millionaire Show. World's #1 conscious business and performance podcast for foundeers and entrepreneurs who want to become Ultra-Performers.      SUBSCRIBE to Conscious Millionaire Show     Millions of Listeners. 190 countries. Inc Magazine "Top 13 Business Podcasts" with over 3,000 episodes. Listen 3X a week.

In this episode of the Can We Talk? R&B podcast, Ian sits down with rising powerhouse vocalist Vella, a Cuban-American artist out of Tampa whose raw, soul-drenched voice has been turning heads worldwide. Vella shares how a simple TikTok cover recorded out of boredom during the pandemic turned into a viral moment that led to label attention, a deal with an indie LA label, and ultimately signing with Universal Sweden. She breaks down the years of vocal training and hard work behind her “overnight” success, her deep love for live instrumentation and classic soul/blues/rock, and the emotional process of crafting her debut project All My Love. From crying in the studio while recording the aching ballad “Dead Roses” to feeling the rush of performing for European crowds for the first time, Vella opens up about heartbreak, resilience, and the power of vulnerability in music—while also revealing her inner Zelda-loving, Nintendo-obsessed nerd.

Charles Mifsud, president tal-Maltese Cultural Association of Australija fi New South Wales, jitkellem ma' Joe Axiaq dwar avveniment mużikali li jiċċelebra l-kultura u t-talent Malti. Il-kunċert jinkludi żewġ artisti distinti li qed jivvjaġġaw minn Malta: il-kantanta magħrufa għall-mużika jazz Nadine Axisa, u t-tenur ċelebri Alan Sciberras, magħruf għall-preżentazzjonijiet operistiċi tiegħu fuq palkijiet Ewropej. Il-kunċert jinkludu wkoll lill-kantanta Maltija Awstraljana Katelyn Vella u reċta miċ-Ċittadini Theatre Group.

House'n It w/john vella airs on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month from 10a-12p Central Time US. Be sure to subscribe to the companion podcast at johnvella.com to hear the show without the DJ voiceovers.

Dominic Vella is the founder of Fantastic Fence which he scaled from one truck to a high-volume operation doing thousands of projects a year. Now he helps other business owners break past seven figures with practical systems, no hype, and lessons learned the hard way.Main Business Issues:Placed managers between himself and his employees to avoid necessary but uncomfortable confrontationsThe tendency to overcompensate by "fixing it himself" led to significant profit leaksDominic's Key Insights and Takeaways:Dominic discovered that a high-performing culture is built by what a leader says "no" to and what they refuse to tolerate.He understood that prioritizing his desire for approval was actually doing a disservice to his team's development.Dominic learned that he must optimize his current team through direct coaching before attempting to maximize results with more fuel.Connect with Dominichttps://www.linkedin.com/in/dominic-vella-01252130a/https://callfantasticfence.com/https://www.instagram.com/_fantasticfence/

Jake is joined by Juventus expert Adam Vella to discuss matchday 27 and all things Juve.TIMESTAMPS:00:00 Intro & Guest Introduction01:30 Weekend Overview03:00 Late Goals Across Serie A06:00 Napoli & Lukaku Discussion09:00 Inter Performance Breakdown11:15 Milan Win Analysis14:45 Milan Tactical Issues18:00 Title Race Debate20:30 Torino vs Lazio Review23:00 Bologna Late Winner Reaction28:00 Fiorentina Problems34:45 Best Italian Striker Debate40:00 Italy System & Player Roles49:50 Juventus Attack Struggles53:50 Young Players & Development Talk57:20 Bastoni Incident & VAR Debate01:02:10 Refereeing in Big Matches01:08:15 Roma vs Juventus Reaction01:15:00 Champions League Race Outlook01:25:00 Team Performances Comparison01:34:55 Stats vs Reality Discussion01:39:30 Managers & Season Predictions01:41:00 Closing ThoughtsBecome a patreon: ⁦https://patreon.com/Serieaspotlight?⁩Special Shoutout to our Media Partners Benevo Bid - Check out their collection here; ⁦https://benevobid.com/⁩#acmilan #inter #juventus #torino #napoli #atalanta #bologna #fiorentina #roma #lazio #lecce #cagliari #udinese #monza #venezia #como #hellasverona #parma #empoli #genoa #football #soccer #footballpodcast #podcast PatreonYoutube: ⁦https://www.youtube.com/@serieaspotlight⁩Instagram: ⁦https://www.instagram.com/serieaspotlight/⁩Twitter: ⁦https://x.com/SerieASpotlight?

The State of Hormone & Peptide Industry with Phil Vela Disrupting the health & wellness industry. (2:15) "It's that hard to do IT, so it's that easy to succeed once you've done IT." (2:48) What he did before he started Vita Bella, and the origins of the company. (5:00) The most applicable skills gained from his previous career. (7:41) Calling out the 'Grey Market' and its competition. (9:44) The state of the peptide industry and the fallout with Transcend. (15:54) Results & service. (25:23) Breaking down the Vita Bella membership package. (30:07) Businessman at heart. (33:34) Why he believes it should be illegal to prescribe GLP-1s by themselves. (35:13) Bad actors giving bad guidance. (43:33) His outlook for the future of the industry. (45:14) Will Ozempic and Tirzepatide ultimately bankrupt the United States? (53:27) The importance and value of having a trainer while on a GLP-1. (56:47) "I didn't build this business for money. I built it for a legacy!" (59:07) "Newer" peptides that have been impressed by. (1:03:16) Rapid fire: The best peptide for… (1:11:56) Related Links/Products Mentioned Visit Vita Bella for an exclusive offer for Mind Pump listeners! ** The first 50 signups will get a Vita Bella welcome box. You can finally achieve a top 1% all-around health at an affordable price! ** Get 20% off Kion at getkion.com/mindpump ** No code needed automatically applied at check out! ** MAPS Great 8 Launch - (Retail $127, Code: LAUNCH for 50% off!) ** Launch bonus include: MAPS GREAT 8 Nutrition Guide. ** Visit: http://mapsgreat8.com/  Mind Pump Store Mind Pump Hormones Facebook Private Forum GLP-1 Litigation: Compounder Sues Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk Mind Pump #2597: Before You Take Ozempic, Wegovy, or Mounjaro Listen to This! Federal Court Tosses Lilly's Suit Against Strive Pharmacy: Jurisdiction Still Matters Mind Pump #2125: Heal Like Wolverine: BPC 157 with Dr. William Seeds Mind Pump Podcast – YouTube Mind Pump Free Resources Featured Guest/People Mentioned Phil Vella – "Philly" (@phillyvz) Instagram Jay Campbell (@jaycampbell333) Instagram Rick Niemi (@gods.economy) Instagram Dr. William Seeds (@williamseedsmd) Instagram Peter Attia, M.D. (@peterattiamd) Instagram    

Victor Vella, awtur Malti Awstraljan iħares lejn ir-Radan skont il-poeżija tal-poeta Ingliż T. S. Elliot.

House'n It w/john vella airs on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month from 10a-12p Central Time US. Be sure to subscribe to the companion podcast at johnvella.com to hear the show without the DJ voiceovers.

The hilarious actor Vella Lovell is a put-upon director of an animal control precinct in the sitcom Animal Control, a role that involves much more animal contact than one would expect for an office job. Turns out Vella, who also played the neighbor Heather on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, has a natural knack for helping animals calm down. This was evident in her long process of introducing a new kitten, XX, to her household, which already included a veteran resident cat, YY. Sleepyheads, the process took weeks of gentle, gradual exposure under highly controlled conditions, and we're pleased to report that it was a complete success. XX and YY are, today, best buddies. We think you'll be fast asleep before you ever get to that happy friendship moment but maybe you'll sleep a little better knowing that it turned out so well.Catch Season 4 of Animal Control on hulu and the previous three seasons on Netflix.Hey Sleepy Heads, is there anyone whose voice you'd like to drift off to, or do you have suggestions on things we could do to aid your slumber?Email us at: sleepwithcelebs@maximumfun.org.Follow the Show on:Instagram @sleepwcelebsBluesky @sleepwithcelebsTikTok @SleepWithCelebsJohn is on Bluesky @JohnMoeJohn's acclaimed, best-selling memoir, The Hilarious World of Depression, is now available in paperback._________________________________________________________________________Join | Maximum FunIf you like one or more shows on MaxFun, and you value independent artists being able to do their thing, you're the perfect person to become a MaxFun monthly member.

House'n It w/john vella airs on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month from 10a-12p Central Time US. Be sure to subscribe to the companion podcast at johnvella.com to hear the show without the DJ voiceovers.

It-tagħlim tul il-ħajja għandu rwol essenzjali fit-tkabbir personali, fl-adattabilità u fil-benesseri tal-bniedem. Victor Vella, eks għalliem, kittieb u xandar jitkellem dwar l-importanza li nkomplu nitgħallmu matul il-ħajja, inżommu moħħna attiv, insaħħu l-kunfidenza fina nfusna u nibqgħu involuti f'dinja li qed tinbidel kontinwament.

Introducing you to my favourite latest discovery... Vona Vella. It's got the Jeff Buckley layered washy groove, it's sonically great with hiss and scratches in the right place - maybe even some Built To Spill in there. You should get into it ahead of their new album, Carnival - out 27 Feb. Here's Dan and Izzy on giving the thing wheels. Get in touch giles@mightymoonmedia.com Get yourself some top class Shure microphone gear: https://shu.re/3YhV7p2 Set up Your Band's merch store, for free at Distrokid Direct: https://distrokid.com/direct/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mercredi, RTL2 Pop-Rock Station met en avant l'album de la semaine signé Poppy. Avec "Empty Hands", l'artiste californienne explore la frustration et le sentiment de se donner sans retour. L'émission en propose un extrait avec "Time Will Tell", avant de rappeler ses prochains concerts à l'Olympia puis en première partie d'Evanescence. La soirée s'inscrit aussi dans un large spectre rock avec Deftones, The Smiths et Red Hot Chili Peppers. L'actualité se poursuit avec la nouveauté de Mitski "Where's My Phone", annonciatrice de son prochain album, puis la cover du soir autour de "Creep" de Radiohead revisitée par Macy Gray. Le parcours navigue ensuite entre classiques et séquences marquantes avec Cypress Hill à l'occasion de l'anniversaire de DJ Muggs, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Band Of Skulls et Vella, recommandée par Francis Zégut. La fin d'émission s'articule autour des Arctic Monkeys avec Opening Night, extrait de la compilation caritative "Help 2" au profit de War Child. La Fresh Fresh Fresh est consacrée à Snail Mail avec "Dead End", tandis que la programmation se conclut entre énergie rock et héritage avec Linkin Park, Thin Lizzy et Primal Scream. Gorillaz & Bizarrap & Kara Jackson & Anoushka Shankar - Orange County Cyndi Lauper - She Bop Starsailor - Four To The Floor (Remix 2004) Foals - My Number Otis Redding - Stand By Me Eiffel - Te Revoir T.Rex - 20Th Century Boy Jimmy Eat World - Bleed American Poppy - Time Will Tell Deftones - Infinite Source Moby - Lift Me Up The Smiths - Bigmouth Strikes Again Mitski - Where's My Phone ? Macy Gray - Creep Red Hot Chili Peppers - Dani California Cypress Hill - Insane In The Brain Vella - Somebody Else Lynyrd Skynyrd - Simple Man Band Of Skulls - Nightmares Arctic Monkeys - Opening Night The Who - My Generation Presidents Of The Usa - Peaches Snail Mail - Dead End Anthrax - Antisocial Linkin Park - Qwerty Geese - Cobra Thin Lizzy - The Boys Are Back In Town Primal Scream - False Flags Hébergé par Audiomeans. Visitez audiomeans.fr/politique-de-confidentialite pour plus d'informations.

Why does being a woman actually make Laura Vella a better building inspector?In this episode, I sit down with Laura Vella, an accredited certifier and Jim's Building Inspections franchisee, to talk about life on site in a male dominated industry and why her perspective has become a real advantage for buyers.Laura shares her journey from government and high end residential certification into franchising, what burnout taught her, and how communication, empathy, and attention to detail often matter more than people realise when buying property.We cover what buyers regularly miss during inspections, why the industry is largely unregulated, and the red flags to watch for when choosing an inspector. We also dive into pool safety compliance, common defects in houses and apartments, and why clear, plain English conversations after the report are just as important as the report itself.This is an honest conversation about property, professionalism, and why diversity in building inspections isn't a weakness. It's a strength.If you're buying property or want to understand what a quality inspection really looks like, this episode is worth your time.Learn more about Jim's Building Inspections at jims.net or call 131 546.

Former Alameda City Councilmember Malia Vella joins the show with Steve Tavares and Trishala Vinnakota for a wide-ranging conversation about the state of Alameda and what comes next for the city, and whether she has plans for a new chapter in her political service. Vella reflects on her time in office and offers a candid assessment of where Alameda stands today, from its two business districts to the ongoing evolution of Alameda Point. She weighs in on road-calming projects, the tensions they create, and how cities balance safety, commerce, and community buy-in.

The Second episode of 2026 finds Daniella and Barbaranne discussing frequency of sex and relationship rhythms. They question George Clooney's reveal that he's never had an argument or disagreement with his wife and share their opinions on what that says about a relationship. Daniella's #flicsaf is actually George Clooney's new movie, Jay Kelly. Barbaranne has an all new #barbsbagoftricks with the Women's product line Vella. Barb highly recommends Vella's Women's Pleasure Serum, an arousal and pre-play topical with 20 mg of CBD as well as their Women's Intimate Elixir and SuperSlip & Slide You can find Vella at Vellabio.com and use code HonestAF20 at checkout for 20% off your purchase. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Top Stories for January 17th Publish Date: January 17th PRE-ROLL: Kia Mall of Georgia From the BG AD Group Studio Welcome to the Gwinnett Daily Post Podcast. Today is Saturday, January 17th and Happy Birthday to James Earle Jones I’m Peyton Spurlock and here are your top stories presented by Gwinnett KIA Mall of Georgia. Gwinnett commission accused of deliberately skipping GOP member for vice chair Kemp proposes money for Highway 316 projects, fighting homelessness GCPS receives grant from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation All of this and more is coming up on the Gwinnett Daily Post podcast, and if you are looking for community news, we encourage you to listen daily and subscribe! Break 1: EAGLE THEATRE STORY 1: Gwinnett commission accused of deliberately skipping GOP member for vice chair Drama is brewing in Gwinnett County politics, and it’s all about the vice chairman seat on the county commission. Republicans are accusing the Democratic majority of intentionally skipping over the board’s lone Republican, District 4 Commissioner Matthew Holtkamp, for the ceremonial role. For years, the vice chair position rotated among district commissioners—until it didn’t. Holtkamp, now in his fourth year, has never been chosen. Instead, the board voted 4-1 to name Democrat Ben Ku as vice chair, sparking claims of “partisan gamesmanship.” Holtkamp, for his part, kept it diplomatic: “I was disappointed but respect the process.” Others? Not so much. Republicans are calling it a blatant snub. Democrat Kirkland Carden didn’t mince words, saying Holtkamp’s “partisan antics” cost him the role. But Chairwoman Nicole Love Hendrickson downplayed the drama, calling the vote a routine decision. And so, the debate rages on. STORY 2: Kemp proposes money for Highway 316 projects, fighting homelessness Gov. Brian Kemp has big plans for Georgia this year—think highways and homelessness. At the Georgia Chamber’s Eggs and Issues Breakfast, he laid out his priorities, and for Gwinnett residents, one stands out: $200 million to keep transforming State Route 316 into a limited-access highway. “Growth along 316 is incredible,” Kemp said. “We need a safe, efficient expressway.” Work’s already underway at Hi Hope Road, with more interchanges and overpasses coming. But that’s not all. Kemp’s also pushing $1.8 billion for permanent express lanes on I-75 in Henry County to ease its infamous traffic jams. And homelessness? He’s proposing $50 million for grants to fund shelters, outreach, and mental health services. Big moves, big money—Kemp’s aiming to leave a mark. STORY 3: GCPS receives grant from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation Gwinnett County Public Schools just scored big—literally. Thanks to a $6.3 million grant from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation (with help from Atlanta United, the Falcons, and PGA TOUR Superstore), middle and high school sports are getting a major boost. What’s the plan? For starters, GCPS will add field lighting at six athletic fields, meaning weekday soccer games—no more cramming everything into Saturdays. Better lighting also means safer, more flexible practices and games. The grant will also fund girls’ flag football at 14 middle schools by 2026 and help cover costs for boys’ and girls’ soccer programs, especially in underserved areas. The Blank Foundation, founded by Home Depot co-founder Arthur Blank, has donated over $1.5 billion to causes that unite and uplift communities. This grant? Just another example of that mission in action. We have opportunities for sponsors to get great engagement on these shows. Call 770.874.3200 for more info. We’ll be right back Break 2: Ingles MarketsSTORY 4: Fox Theatre delivers chart-topping year The Fox Theatre had a banner year in 2025, racking up awards and accolades that cement its place as one of the most beloved venues in the country. From ticket sales to community impact, the recognition poured in. The biggest win? Being crowned IEBA’s 2025 Theatre of the Year—an honor that highlights excellence in programming, operations, and artist relations. “This reflects the strength of our team, the artists who grace our stage, and the audiences who keep showing up,” said CEO Allan Vella. The Fox also dominated year-end charts: No. 2 Highest Grossing Venue Worldwide (Billboard), No. 1 in ticket sales for its size (VenuesNow), and No. 6 globally for ticket sales (Pollstar). Locally, it snagged “Best of Atlanta” honors and a Reader’s Choice Award from the Atlanta Jewish Times. Even the leadership shined—Vella made Atlanta Magazine’s “Atlanta 100” and Billboard’s Touring Power Players list, while team members Rachel Bomeli and Faustina Brooks earned industry awards. The Fox isn’t just a theatre; it’s a cultural powerhouse. STORY 5: Johnson-Morgan named school board chair, Simmons is vice chair Gwinnett County’s school board is shuffling its leadership roles for 2026, but keeping familiar faces at the helm. Tarece Johnson-Morgan, last year’s vice chair, is stepping up as chairwoman, while Adrienne Simmons, who served as chair in 2025, will now take on the vice chair role. Both votes? Unanimous. Not everyone was thrilled, though. Board member Steve Knudsen voiced frustration that Steve Gasper or Rachel Stone weren’t considered for vice chair—but, notably, he didn’t nominate them during the vote. In other business, the board kept its attorney and legal organ the same, readopted policies, and adjusted a few meeting dates for the year. We’ll be right back. Break 3: GCPL Passport STORY 6: Georgia Democratic lawmakers try to rein in ICE Georgia Senate Democrats took aim at the Trump administration Tuesday, introducing a flurry of bills targeting immigration enforcement and military deployments. They didn’t hold back, calling Trump’s administration a “rogue regime” and demanding state Republicans step up. One flashpoint? ICE. After an officer fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis last week, Sen. Josh McLaurin accused ICE of escalating violence. “We’ve all seen the video,” he said. “This isn’t what they’re trained to do.” McLaurin’s bill would let citizens sue ICE for civil rights violations. Other proposals include requiring judicial warrants for enforcement at sensitive locations (like schools and hospitals), mandating badges and unmasking ICE officers, and limiting National Guard deployments without the governor’s approval. Sen. Kim Jackson didn’t mince words: “If Georgia State Patrol can show their faces, so can ICE. It’s cowardice.” But Republicans, like Majority Leader Jason Anavitarte, dismissed the effort, saying, “The state can’t regulate the federal government.” STORY 7: Georgia GOP senators target Raffensperger over voter registration lists Georgia Republicans are turning up the heat on Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, demanding he hand over the state’s unredacted voter registration list to the Trump administration. But Raffensperger? He’s not budging. State law, he says, protects private voter info—Social Security numbers, birthdates, driver’s licenses. Sharing that? Not happening. The DOJ, meanwhile, has been pushing all 50 states for voter lists, claiming it’s about accuracy. They even sued Georgia last month. The resolution, led by Lt. Gov. Burt Jones’ allies, accuses Raffensperger of “obstruction.” But it’s mostly symbolic—no legal teeth. Raffensperger’s office fired back, saying they’ve already complied as far as the law allows. “He won’t risk identity theft for millions of voters,” the statement read. The DOJ’s lawsuit heads to federal court in Macon soon. Stay tuned. We’ll have closing comments after this Break 4: Sugar Hill Ice Skating Rink Signoff – Thanks again for hanging out with us on today’s Gwinnett Daily Post Podcast. If you enjoy these shows, we encourage you to check out our other offerings, like the Cherokee Tribune Ledger podcast, the Marietta Daily Journal, or the Community Podcast for Rockdale Newton and Morgan Counties. Read more about all our stories and get other great content at www.gwinnettdailypost.com Did you know over 50% of Americans listen to podcasts weekly? Giving you important news about our community and telling great stories are what we do. Make sure you join us for our next episode and be sure to share this podcast on social media with your friends and family. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home Briefing and be sure to like, follow, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Produced by the BG Podcast Network Show Sponsors: www.ingles-markets.com www.kiamallofga.com Ice Rink – Downtown Sugar Hill NewsPodcast, CurrentEvents, TopHeadlines, BreakingNews, PodcastDiscussion, PodcastNews, InDepthAnalysis, NewsAnalysis, PodcastTrending, WorldNews, LocalNews, GlobalNews, PodcastInsights, NewsBrief, PodcastUpdate, NewsRoundup, WeeklyNews, DailyNews, PodcastInterviews, HotTopics, PodcastOpinions, InvestigativeJournalism, BehindTheHeadlines, PodcastMedia, NewsStories, PodcastReports, JournalismMatters, PodcastPerspectives, NewsCommentary, PodcastListeners, NewsPodcastCommunity, NewsSource, PodcastCuration, WorldAffairs, PodcastUpdates, AudioNews, PodcastJournalism, EmergingStories, NewsFlash, PodcastConversations See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

House'n It w/john vella airs on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month from 10a-12p Central Time US. Be sure to subscribe to the companion podcast at johnvella.com to hear the show without the DJ voiceovers.

House'n It w/john vella airs on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month from 10a-12p Central Time US. Be sure to subscribe to the companion podcast at johnvella.com to hear the show without the DJ voiceovers.

House'n It w/john vella airs on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month from 10a-12p Central Time US. Be sure to subscribe to the companion podcast at johnvella.com to hear the show without the DJ voiceovers.

In this episode of Be Unmessablewith, Roy Vella pulls back the curtain on AI and shows you how to turn it from a mysterious black box into a repeatable system of leverage. Whether you're leading, selling, coaching, or creating, this conversation delivers both the mindset and the tactical tools to stay visionary while the pace of change accelerates.Learn how to move from hype to clarity and from scattered efforts to scalable impact.Key Takeaways:Clarity Over Hype: Understand the real difference between artificial intelligence and large language models (LLMs). Stop expecting a magic vending machine and start using AI as a tool for augmented imagination and compressed execution.Fast ROI: Apply a simple 80/20 prompt framework. Context first. Content second. Use it to transform requests into high-leverage outputs, from marketing copy to investor updates, in minutes.Fewer Redrafts, Better Decisions: Learn how to auto-calibrate AI by clearly setting tone, role, audience, and expertise. The result: fewer generic outputs and more on-point drafts you can actually use.AI isn't here to replace your judgment. It's here to amplify it. Download the Free Instant Reset GuideFind Roy At:LinkedIn http://linkedin.com/in/royvellaConnect With MeWebsite: beunmessablewith.comInstagram: @beunmessablewith

Alexei Vella is an artist, illustrator and game designer located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is the creator of They Feed on Fear, Liminal Space and many other games, including TTRPGs, Skirmish games and a lot more!Check out his work on the links below!https://alexei-vella.itch.iohttps://theyfeedonfear.comThank you for listening to Weird Games and Weirder People!Please subscribe to the show to keep up with new episodes!SUPPORT THE SHOW!If you would like to support the show, leave a review and/or join the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Weirdos' Cool Club⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! It will help keep the podcast going! It will help me pay collaborators! It will help me do this work more often and better! I will really help! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://buttondown.com/old_skull/archive/join-the-weirdos-cool-club/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠You can also support me buy buying one of my games!Kosmosaursgot released in print, and it is my RPG inspired by Saturday morning cartoons about Space Dinosaur Rangers defending the galaxy from evildoers!  Get your copy right here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.exaltedfuneral.com/products/kosmosaurs-pdf⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Get other games of mine on Exalted Funeral: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.exaltedfuneral.com/search?q=Diogo+nogueira⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Or buy anything at DriveThruRPG using this link: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.drivethrurpg.com/?affiliate_id=338514⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Or buy something from my itch store:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://diogo-old-skull.itch.io⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠SUBSCRIBE TO WEIRD TALES FROM THE OLD SKULL!The place where I share ideas, discoveries, weirdness, and the things I am developing, like new TTRPG books, zines, illustrations and a lot more. Lets get weird!Check out our latest post:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://buttondown.com/old_skull⁠⁠⁠⁠

House'n It w/john vella airs on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month from 10a-12p Central Time US. Be sure to subscribe to the companion podcast at johnvella.com to hear the show without the DJ voiceovers.

This episode sponsored by Vita Bella Health LightSpeed VT: https://www.lightspeedvt.com/ Dropping Bombs Podcast: https://www.droppingbombs.com/ In this Dropping Bombs episode, Phil Vella, the former Cisco software sales "godfather" who helped scale the company from $0 to $5B, reveals a data-first playbook for hormones, peptides, and performance. Now running Vita Bella Health, Vella explains the anti-aging protocols, why comprehensive bloodwork is crucial, the reasons behind low testosterone in young men, and the safe, physician-supervised use of peptides and GLP-1s—avoiding sketchy "not for human consumption" products.   Learn how to structure your health like a sales machine, the key labs that matter, and why recovery is leverage, not a luxury. You'll also hear how properly dosed female testosterone can transform energy, mood, and relationships. This episode provides a framework for entrepreneurs to sell harder, sleep deeper, and perform longer by upgrading both their business and the body that runs it.

Is the increasing investment in marketing by SMBs a sign of growth and optimism, or is it masking a deeper struggle with confidence and effectiveness? Agility requires not only adapting to the rapid pace of technological change but also understanding the core challenges faced by your customers, like SMBs struggling to measure marketing ROI. It also demands a willingness to simplify complex tools and processes, empowering businesses to achieve more with less. Today, we're going to talk about the evolving landscape of marketing for small and medium-sized businesses, the challenges they face, and how B2B marketers can become essential partners in their success. To help me discuss this topic, I'd like to welcome Frank Vella, CEO at Constant Contact. About Frank Vella I am the CEO of Constant Contact, a comprehensive digital and ecommerce marketing platform that makes it simple and effective for a business to market or sell their idea in today's complex online marketing world. We strive to anticipate our customers' needs and provide them with the tools and support they need to improve their businesses. Because when they succeed, we succeed.Prior to joining Constant Contact, I built best-in-class operations at various sized tech firms across the globe, including top-tier companies like Microsoft, GE Capital, HP Enterprise and Xerox. I have led companies through growth, transformation and successful exits while remaining focused on building a terrific culture and keeping a company's product and presence ahead of the crowd. I'm a proud Canadian expat now living in New York City, and in my free time I enjoy traveling with my family. Frank Vella on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frank-vella/ Resources Constant Contact: https://www.constantcontact.com The Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://www.teksystems.com/versionnextnow Catch the future of e-commerce at eTail Palm Springs, Feb 23-26 in Palm Springs, CA. Go here for more details: https://etailwest.wbresearch.com/ Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstromDon't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter and more: https://www.theagilebrand.showCheck out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company

Is the increasing investment in marketing by SMBs a sign of growth and optimism, or is it masking a deeper struggle with confidence and effectiveness?Agility requires not only adapting to the rapid pace of technological change but also understanding the core challenges faced by your customers, like SMBs struggling to measure marketing ROI. It also demands a willingness to simplify complex tools and processes, empowering businesses to achieve more with less.Today, we're going to talk about the evolving landscape of marketing for small and medium-sized businesses, the challenges they face, and how B2B marketers can become essential partners in their success. To help me discuss this topic, I'd like to welcome Frank Vella, CEO at Constant Contact. About Frank Vella I am the CEO of Constant Contact, a comprehensive digital and ecommerce marketing platform that makes it simple and effective for a business to market or sell their idea in today's complex online marketing world. We strive to anticipate our customers' needs and provide them with the tools and support they need to improve their businesses. Because when they succeed, we succeed.Prior to joining Constant Contact, I built best-in-class operations at various sized tech firms across the globe, including top-tier companies like Microsoft, GE Capital, HP Enterprise and Xerox. I have led companies through growth, transformation and successful exits while remaining focused on building a terrific culture and keeping a company's product and presence ahead of the crowd. I'm a proud Canadian expat now living in New York City, and in my free time I enjoy traveling with my family. Frank Vella on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frank-vella/ Resources Constant Contact: https://www.constantcontact.com The Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://www.teksystems.com/versionnextnow Catch the future of e-commerce at eTail Palm Springs, Feb 23-26 in Palm Springs, CA. Go here for more details: https://etailwest.wbresearch.com/ Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstromDon't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter and more: https://www.theagilebrand.showCheck out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

# The Dark Comedy Murder Mystery You Need to Hear AboutIn this captivating episode of TV Reload, host Ben sits down with the creative minds behind Stan Original's razor-sharp dark comedy "He Had It Coming." Creator/writer Gretel Vella and executive producer Chloe Rickard unpack their brilliantly chaotic series that blends feminist perspectives with murder mystery elements. The show follows two unlikely friends thrust into amateur detective roles on a university campus, exploring modern activism, gender politics, and shifting power dynamics through a distinctly comedic lens.The conversation reveals how the show's short, punchy episodes perfectly match the frenetic energy of its characters - two "bad feminists" navigating a murder investigation they're woefully unprepared for. Gretel and Chloe discuss their creative influences, from "Only Murders in the Building" to "Search Party," and how they crafted flawed, authentic characters that viewers can genuinely connect with.## Timestamps and Key Takeaways:**2:30** - The creators explain how the show's format (short episodes) intentionally matches its frenetic tone and energy**5:15** - Discussion of how the murder mystery serves as the perfect vehicle to explore gender politics without being heavy-handed**8:45** - Gretel reveals she identifies more with the character Elise and how viewers will likely see themselves in the characters**12:20** - Creative influences behind the show, including "Only Murders in the Building" and "Search Party"**15:40** - The importance of writing flawed, authentic characters that audiences can relate to**18:30** - How they approached plotting the murder mystery, knowing the killer before laying the clue tracks**21:15** - The creators' hopes for how viewers will connect with the show's themes**23:00** - Behind-the-scenes story about filming in 40-degree heat while actors wore full coveralls and masksIf you enjoy dark comedy with a feminist edge, murder mysteries with depth, or simply love watching flawed characters navigate impossible situations, you need to hear this conversation. The creators' insights into their creative process will make you appreciate "He Had It Coming" on a whole new level when you watch it!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Phil Vella helped grow Cisco's WebEx division into a $5 billion machine. He had the title, the power, the money. Then he walked away, no team, no plan, no identity. In this raw and uncomfortable conversation, Phil opens up about the dark side of success, the brutal transition into the unknown, and how he rebuilt his life from the ground up.We talk fatherhood, purpose, identity loss, self-destruction, and why men often wait until it's too late to change. If you're building your empire but feeling disconnected or hollow behind the scenes, this one is going to hit hard.In this episode:The crash after leaving a billion-dollar roleWhy “the exit” isn't what you think it isRebuilding identity without a titleFatherhood, faith, and facing yourselfBuilding a mission-driven company from the ashesThis isn't just about business. It's about becoming the man you're meant to be.Subscribe for more real conversations with high-level leaders navigating the next chapter of life.Connect with me www.aaronvelky.com

House'n It w/john vella airs on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of every month from 10a-12p Central Time US. Be sure to subscribe to the companion podcast at johnvella.com to hear the show without any of the DJ voiceovers.

BBC Introducing in the North East's Shakk sits in for Emily with his Introducing selection box, including Nadedja, RUBII, Tom A Smith, The Family Battenberg, Charlotte OC, Charlie Noordewier, Dodo Museum, Mared, Ralph Taylor feat. The Secret Peppers, Rhumba Club, CreezOn, Dring, Ellur, Rivkala, Smith & Liddle, and a new Track of the Week from Vona Vella

House'n It w/john vella airs on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of every month from 10a-12p Central Time US. Be sure to subscribe to the companion podcast at johnvella.com to hear the show without any of the DJ voiceovers.

House'n It w/john vella airs on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of every month from 10a-12p Central Time US. Be sure to subscribe to the companion podcast at johnvella.com to hear the show without any of the DJ voiceovers.

House'n It w/john vella airs on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of every month from 10a-12p Central Time US. Be sure to subscribe to the companion podcast at johnvella.com to hear the show without any of the DJ voiceovers.