BadRedhead Media

🌻 “Arrival” Movie Breakdown: Why Great Writers Think Beyond Linear Stories | BadRedhead Media https://lnkd.in/gd8N6m99 What a quiet sci-fi film can teach us about structure, meaning, and the stories we tell. Continuing my series on learning about writing from sci-fi movies and shows… Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival (2016) is one of those rare films that stay with you long after the credits roll. Written by Eric Heisserer and based on Ted Chiang’s celebrated novella Story of Your Life, the movie stars the fantastic Amy Adams as Dr. Louise Banks, with Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker in supporting roles. It’s not the kind of sci-fi story built on loud spectacle or giant explosions (okay, there’s one), nor is it sci-fi masquerading as horror in space (pet peeve). Instead, it leans into language, emotion, and uncertainty, inviting viewers to think about time, memory, and connection in entirely new ways. For writers, it offers a masterclass in structure and meaning, especially when stepping outside the comfort of linear storytelling. 💥 Gratitude to my exclusive advertising sponsor, the always-free Booklinker (universal book links—so helpful!), and the paid tool, GeniusLink. I love both💥 (affiliate link). Quick, Spoiler-Free Summary Arrival follows a linguist, Dr. Louise Banks, whom the government brings in to communicate with mysterious extraterrestrial visitors who appear at twelve locations around the world. As she works to understand their language, she’s pushed to rethink communication, connection, and what it means to truly know something before it happens. It’s an emotional film that blends science and mystery rather than leaning on noisy explosions or traditional bang-bang action. The tension comes from uncertainty, ideas, and the weight of human choice. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gd8N6m99 #MondayBlogs #WritingCommunity #Writing

"What's more terrifying than math? A murderer who uses it to prove his point." ~ 𝙒𝙝𝙞𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙨: 𝘼 𝙏𝙖𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙈𝙖𝙙𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙨, 𝘽𝙚𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙮𝙖𝙡, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙍𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙚 by J. Herman Kleiger, Author For fans of psychological suspense where intelligence becomes its own kind of weapon. Read if you dare https://lnkd.in/gY6pQRBV #CrimeThriller #MysteryLovers #SuspenseNovel #Fiction

🔵 NEW: How I Built a “Business Within the Business” and Turned Partnerships into Millions by Jeff Burgess via Substack https://lnkd.in/ei-y4EbC What building something inside someone else’s company taught me about ownership, trust, and real responsibility. I guess it’s fortunate that the older I get, age 68 as I write this, incidents happen that cause me to reflect on both my personal and professional life. Because I am left-handed, I’ve always felt the rest of the world was backward; it certainly couldn’t have been me. Whatever the reason, it seemed that I always looked at things from different angles. Today, that’s referred to as “reverse engineering,” apparently. Whatever its true title, as the future book states, It Worked For Me! Since around 1987, when I began my sales career, I have been enamored of building a business within a business. While the rest of the company’s sales team was selling those standard goods the company supported, one by one, or even five at a time, I was busy building an army of an external third-party sales force consisting of third-party manufacturers’ external sales teams. In essence, I was using the company’s business infrastructure as my own engine: their accounting, warehousing, and marketing. My selling. A perfect fit for both of us... Click or see bio for the rest (always free) #Business #Partnership #Success #EntrepreneurMindset

🔵 NEW: The Art of Selling: Why Trust and Confidence Win in Business Every Time by Jeff Burgess https://buff.ly/TpRuZBB The most important product a salesperson offers any potential customer is their word. This is where trust begins, and for that matter, where trust could end just as well. Confidence sells. Confidence is contagious. Confidence creates momentum. But where does that confidence come from? It comes from you! Sure, “winging it” works to a point, but it doesn’t have substance. Depth does. Why Trust Is the Real Product You’re Selling Do your homework first. It does not matter what you are selling; it could be a product or an idea. Let’s face it, every time we open our mouths, we are selling something – why we think our favorite team is going to the World Series, or what city had the best pizza? Yes, I know Chicago has the best pizza – thin (tavern-style) or thick. Notice I did not answer if my favorite team (the Cubs) is going to the World Series, because we all know it will be the Dodgers. I am, however, confident the Cubs will make the playoffs. Thus, confidence has levels. And it’s all based on your knowledge. Knowledge used to come from history, be it things in our past, things we learned in school, or even things we learned the hard way. Funny how the latter are the ones we remember most... Click for the rest. #SalesTips #Trust #Business #Confidence #Sales

🍃 NEW: The Don’t Be Stupid Portfolio https://buff.ly/gf2AHGW by Angelo Alfano, Author via Substack A quick disclaimer before we begin: Yes, I’m a clinician. Most of my writing tends to focus on psychiatry, burnout, anxiety, addiction, and the increasingly weird psychological experience of existing in a world where artificial intelligence can now summarize your annual performance review before you’ve even emotionally processed the meeting itself. Click for the rest (always free) #FinancialHealth #MentalHealthMatters #BurnoutPrevention #PsychiatryInsights

After I was conned in Hollywood, I came home ashamed, not just of losing money, but of disappointing my father. I expected anger or judgment. Instead, he told me about his own failures — big ones he’d never mentioned before. That honesty changed something between us. The distance I’d sometimes felt dissolved. We spend so much of our lives trying to earn approval — from bosses, parents, peers — that we forget how connection actually works. That experience with my father helped me see that what heals us in relationships isn’t necessarily advice or approval. It’s truth. When we stop pretending to be flawless, we make room for real connection, and often find the strength to move forward. ~ Andrew D. Kaufman, from my keynote, The Courage to Stay Human: Choosing Connection Over Fear #Connection #TheCourageToStayHuman #AuthenticRelationships #EmotionalHealing

🔒 Preorder NOW: 𝙇𝙤𝙘𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣 𝙖 𝘽𝙤𝙭 (𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙆𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙊'𝘿𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝘼𝙧𝙩 𝘾𝙧𝙞𝙢𝙚 𝙎𝙚𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙨 𝘽𝙤𝙤𝙠 2) — releasing June 16! https://lnkd.in/eNQ4hu5G by SheilaSharpe A childhood memory. A chilling whisper. The click of a lock. Kate O’Dade’s darkest secrets are about to be unleashed in the depths of New York’s Metropolitan Opera House. Will Kate survive the psychological maze that threatens to unravel her? Dive into this gripping art crime thriller and uncover the truth that refuses to stay buried. Are you ready to open the box?

🍃 It was a pleasure to be on the Big Blend Media podcast, shared here: https://lnkd.in/eXcyWnyy "This episode of Big Blend Radio features author Margaret Whitford who discusses her powerful new memoir, "The History We Carry, A Daughter's Memoir," releasing June 2, 2026 through She Writes Press. In this moving conversation, Margaret reflects on the emotional legacy of war, family estrangement, inherited trauma, and the healing power of storytelling. This episode explores how the devastation of World War II continues to ripple through generations, shaping identity, relationships, and emotional well-being..." via Margaret Whitford, Author #Memoir #WWII #MotherDaughterMemoir

💥 NEW: Visibility Helps Readers Notice You. Trust Makes Them Buy by BadRedhead Media via Substack https://lnkd.in/eFhRCNaY Readers often see our work many times before they decide to trust us. Here's why... Most readers don’t buy the first time they see a book or author. In the last series article, we talked about visibility. Readers need to notice you before anything else can happen. Now let’s talk about trust. Noticing someone and trusting them are two very different things. Visibility introduces you. Trust is what turns that attention into a real reader relationship. And we, as humans, know this instinctively. 💥 Gratitude to my exclusive advertising sponsor, the always-free Booklinker, and the paid tool, Geniuslink. Love both💥 Visibility helps readers notice us. Maybe they see our name pop up a few times online. Maybe they read one of our posts or heard someone recommend our book. At that point, they’re aware you exist. But awareness alone rarely leads to a sale. Trust usually develops more slowly. It forms when readers consistently see more of our work, recognize our voice, and begin to feel confident that what we write is worth their time. Visibility helps readers notice us. Trust helps them stay and continue the connection in the future. The cycle looks something like this: Visibility → trust → discoverability → readers → sales... Click or see bio to read the rest. Always free. #BookMarketing #AuthorVisibility

Kremlinology - aka, What Not to Do When a Potential Partner Isn’t Responding by Mike Grossman via Substack https://lnkd.in/etgMs2tD Kremlinology. The term, which was coined during the Soviet era, refers to the practice of “using public clues to decipher what is actually happening behind the scenes.” In the context of the Soviet Union, government leaders would appear together, every May Day, on a viewing stand atop Lenin’s Mausoleum. Based on what could be observed, “Kremlinologists” would then speculate about whose influence was waxing or waning. They would wonder about things like “Who is the person standing to Brezhnev’s left?”, “Why is the guy behind Brezhnev wearing a red hat?”, and “Why is the guy who stood to Brezhnev’s right last year nowhere to be seen?” Here’s the analogy to Silicon Valley... Click to read the rest (free) #Kremlinology #SiliconValley #Leadership