Shop, Social Media & Site — UPDATE!

RED & BLACK SHOP

We’re excited to announce we’ve finally opened the store and will be adding more items over the coming months. But it’s not about selling “stuff” … it’s about combining inspiring and entertaining messages (what we like to call “merchandise with meaning”) with items that are both practical and fun.

And, following a commitment we made years ago, everything is Made In The USA.

Please check it out at www.RedandBlackShop.com.

SOCIAL MEDIA

Not to brag, but our social media followers are growing faster than expected (except on Facebook, but that might be because we lost 4,500 followers … on purpose).

For those of you who use social media, we’d love it (well, Red would "love” it — Black would greatly appreciate it) if you could check us out — and if it’s not too much trouble … help us spread the word!

  • Instagram: Follow us and share in your story
  • Facebook: Follow and join in the conversation by commenting
  • LinkedIn: Follow, comment, and repost

WEBSITE

It seems we keep saying our new and totally revamped website is about to launch. Well, we’re about to finalize all the library topics, which is the last major piece. That was a major project, and I’m sure we’ll tell you all about it, as it showed both the strength and weakness of artificial intelligence (AI) to review lots of data. But we’re almost there.

Want to be one of the first to find out when it goes live? Go to the bottom of this page and sign up for our Saturday newsletter. (We promise we won’t inundate you with lots of emails.)

SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE …

The world is changing — and we’re all being inundated with opinions, politics, and misinformation. Add in AI, and more than ever, people are looking for authenticity and human intelligence. Or, at least, human connection. So, when it comes to Red & Black … what’s more “real” than real sisters?

We’re going to stay true to ourselves and continue to focus on content that will (hopefully) help people laugh, learn, and build community alongside us. (OK, there may be some eye-rolling at Black’s unexpected comments or Red’s “cluelessness” at times.) On social media. With our merchandise. In our newsletter. On this site.

authenticity
Book Bites

Who Describes Themselves With An Excel Table???

Introduction

If you want to understand Red's character, you can read the introduction of our book, where she uses four full pages and a lot of blah-blah-blah to describe herself and Black. On the other hand, Black, in typical fashion, cut to the chase and provided the book designer with the Microsoft Excel table below.

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comparing siblings
Book Bites

Talking Stuffed Animals?

Chapter 7: My Husband Gets In Hot Water – I Want To Make Soup!

Are you a talker? Or do you prefer the written word? Are you the outspoken type, or do you prefer quiet and will do almost anything to avoid conflict? Well, in the best of times, communication between spouses can be challenging. Throw in different communication preferences, and it can seem almost impossible. In this excerpt, Red's in the midst of her crisis, so communicating with her husband becomes even more critical than usual. And what does she do? She further complicates the situation by wanting to communicate differently than she usually does. Talk about a recipe for disaster!

P. S. – This excerpt is relevant whether or not you’re going through a crisis. In fact, communicating with others in a way they prefer isn’t only extremely effective but may be one of the “secrets” of good communication. Especially as you can use it in all aspects of your life — family, friends, school, and even in the workplace. Is there any place where you wouldn’t want to avoid unnecessary misunderstandings, stress, and conflict?

In fact, we have a short video on this topic that a high school student created from our presentation to his senior class. The message (or maybe it was the photo) resonated with him so much that he made the video.

Sometimes I wish I could be more like Black in that she seems to get away with being blunt, almost to the point of being rude, and yet she can pull it off because it is totally "in character" for her. There's a consistency and sense of predictability in how she handles things. And maybe that was part of Nick's and my problem right now. We were acting out of character.

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communication
Book Bites

What's A Book Bite?

Right now, these excerpts come from our bestselling book, What I Learned About Life When My Husband Got Fired! But, over time, we’ll be adding excerpts from other Red & Black books.

We struggled with which ones to include, as everyone seems to have a different favorite, and the topics in our book are so varied. (Don’t believe us? Check out the Table of Contents.)

So, we decided to start sharing what people ask for most — the stories people seem to enjoy at our speaking engagements, the ones adult literacy educators use in their classrooms, the ones you tell us are entertaining, but also get you thinking.

Book Bites aren’t just highlights. They’re stories that resonate and spark conversations.

Each Book Bite is meant to stand on its own — to be useful and/or amusing, and worth your time. We hope they not only give you some insight into the very different personalities of Red and Black (if you find Red unbelievably naïve and Black extremely sarcastic, don’t worry, most people do), but also give you different ways of looking at things.

WHY ARE WE GIVING AWAY SO MUCH FREE CONTENT?

Red initially wondered that, too. But then decided that if these stories helped others, she was good with it. For Black, she finds it very annoying when authors reference an excerpt or a story and then say, “To find out the details, buy the book.”

That said, if you do want the full story … you can find What I Learned About Life When My Husband Got Fired! in the Red & Black Shop, including autographed copies. And if you need bulk sales? It’s as easy as contacting Red (the nice one) at Red@RedandBlack.email.

excerpts