Category: Lalla Gatta

What is Spam? How Does It Effect You as an Author?

I have run into more than one author online who has been convinced that sending promotions to groups, e-mail lists that have been opted into, tweet posts, FB posts etc. that are similar or the same are spam. My first thought when I hear an author say, “But I can’t send that promotion out on the groups again it’ll be considered spam!” is that someone hasn’t taken their marketing classes or done their research.

The truth is I’ve run into this more than once and I’m always amazed, especially since the cardinal rule of marketing is that potential readers or buyers need to see something at least seven times before they’re going to be motivated to buy it. For example, do you only see a commercial on television one time? You don’t do you. It’s often played over and over, and while that can be annoying it’s true, it is because they are following that cardinal rule mentioned above. That being said, it only makes sense to put that material or promotion in front of readers at least once weekly. Now, I’m by no means suggesting you post exactly the same promotion every single day. That would not be spam …

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Love Triangles – Tara Fox Hall guest blogger

Thank you to Laura Tolomei for having me here today at Latta Gatta J
Love is in all great stories, be they romances, westerns, fantasy, or even action-adventure. And there is no greater riveting aspect of a great story than the plot device of a love triangle. Would Gone with the Wind be such a classic without the romance between Ashley, Scarlett, and Rhett? Without love triangles, would so many people have flocked to see Titanic, Hunger Games, Twilight, or even The Return of the King?
I remember many teen novels with love triangles from my youth. Usually there was an obvious choice: the good guy and the bad one. Both guys were generally handsome, men of means, and adept at physical combat, be it swords, guns or fists. The good guy was caring, stalwart, and often blond. The bad guy was aloof, sometimes cruel, and prone to rashness that he often apologized for later, as well as often dark haired. Our heroine had a much easier time of choosing in those days, and almost exclusively the good guy in the last few pages won her heart where he asked her to marry him.
Today’s novels are much more complex, …

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Who Is Isis? Discover her also inside my book DIVINITAS

Isis was and still is in some respects, one of the most revered goddesses in history. She was so respected that the Greeks and even the Romans worshipped her just as much as her faithful Egyptians.
Isis has her roots in ancient Egyptian antiquity. Even if no one is completely sure where or when her worship began, it is far in Egypt’s past. The daughter of Nut and Geb, one of Isis’s roles was that of goddess of magic. She was also considered a funerary goddess and the protector of the dead because of her resurrection of her brother and husband Osiris.
The story of how Isis became so revered is a gruesome one in some respects. Isis loved her husband Osiris, but their brother Set was jealous and murdered and dismembered him throwing the pieces to the crocodiles. Isis put him back together and blew life back into him. It is said that after this he fathered Horus, before going to rule the underworld. Despite being ruler of the underworld, he still found time to visit Isis and his son. Isis’s ability to put Osiris back together and breathe life into him is one of the reasons she became …

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