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Showing posts from August, 2018

Author Interview: Joanna Charnas

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Author: Joanna Charnas Books:  100 Tips and Tools for Managing Chronic Illness Living Well with Chronic Illness Date of Interview: August 20, 2018 Joanna Charnas has authored two books published by MSI Press. Meet the author! Who are you? What do you want readers to know about you? I've been a social worker for thirty years, and I have clinical licenses to practice psychotherapy in two states. My books are based on my professional experience with patients and my personal experience managing my own chronic illness . Why are you qualified to write this book? I've been ill since I was nineteen years old, and I've learned over the years how to have a happy life while struggling with illness. I've also listened to my patients and understand what they find helpful. What is the message of your book? What should be the take-away by readers? The message of my books is that it is possible to have a good life while chronically ill

Grandma's Ninja Warrior Diary: What's Next?

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After 7 months in fitness training, working on core, biceps & triceps, and leg strength, I was just thinking to myself, "Wow, do I have a long way to go!" Why? Because I have been watching the latest city finals and gauging how, without mistakes (which all too frequently do happen), I would do at this point. (Of course, I have four more years of training to go -- the list of training needs and the list of what I can do should take quite a different shape by then). So, obstacle 1 in Philly: the archer stairs (that replaced the floating steps) -- probably not a problem (legs have been shaping up well, including jumping, skipping, running, and movement on a the Bosu ball). Casey Rothschihld, though, got caught traveling with the rope, and that dragged her back in the water. So, my experience at the ninja warrior training session with the rope tells me that I have the same problem. Therefore, not something to work on right now, but once I get to the point in my training

Author Interview: Pat Young

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Name: Patricia Young Book: Life after Losing a Child   Date of Interview: August 5, 2018 Who are you? What do you want readers to know about you? Pat Young has written for the Daytona Beach News Journal, South Bend Tribune, Flint (Michigan) Journal, Clarkston (Michigan) News, New Mexico Magazine, Silver City (New Mexico) Life Magazine, and other publications. She earned numerous awards for her writing, including National Newspaper Association and Michigan Press Association awards. She earned two media awards while at the South Bend Tribune. One of her stories (Giant Wind Harp in Tune with Nature) in New Mexico Magazine was chosen for inclusion in SIRS Discoverer data bases. Why are you qualified to write this book? Pat, and her late co-author Joanna Romer, are both widows. Though neither has lost a child, both women understood the painful bereavement process one goes through after the loss of a loved one.   What is the message

Book Review: Blest Atheist

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“There is a clear difference between an easy life and a good life.”  Read the full book review at Readers' Favorites:  https://readersfavorite.com/book-review/blest-atheist .

Author Interview: Patricia Lorenz

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Author: Patricia Lorenz Book : 57 Steps to Paradise What possessed you to write a tell-all book about your past dates, husbands and interim boyfriends?      When I moved to Florida in 2004 I met many women who were divorced and widowed, mostly in their 50's, 60's, 70's and 80’s.  I myself was single at that time having spent the last 27 years of my life raising my four children as a single parent.  I was married, divorced and annulled twice before that.  In Florida I met a number of men and finally married one in my 60’s.  Because I had met, known and dated a number of men over the years I decided to write a book about my experiences to share with my friends and anyone who is looking for love and perhaps a second or third marriage in their mid-life and later.             What is your favorite story in the book?        My favorite story is the one titled “Mr. Underpants”.  In that story I go from dating or at least meeting over a d

Book of the Week: 57 Steps to Paradise

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About the Book Book Endorsement For other reviews of  57 Steps to Paradise , check out the  MSI Press web page for this book Looking for love in your 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's and yes, even your 80's or 90's? 57 STEPS TO PARADISE will help you navigate dating in midlife and beyond. Lorenz unzips her soul and exposes her foibles during 50 years of men weaving their way in and out of her life, providing a heap of wit and wisdom to help you make life-changing decisions about love and, perhaps, a life partner. "Patricia Lorenz has been one of my favorite writers since she began writing stories in 1995 for so many of the 'Chicken Soup for the Soul' books. As a master storyteller, she draws the reader in and always leaves us with the bonus of a great take-away message. In '57 Steps to Paradise' she provides a blueprint for dating in middle age, thanks to her own interesting, hilarious, and fruitful experiences." (Jack Canfield, co-aut

Seeking Book Reviewers Who Love Cats

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Hello, My name is Sula, and I am the parish cat at Old Mission San Juan Bautista. My first book, Surviving Cancer, Healing People: One Cat's Story , came out a couple of years ago. I am very grateful for  everyone who read and reviewed my book. All five stars! That made me so happy. More recently I have written three more books, one after the other, on slightly different topics. Many people had written to me, especially om my Face Book page , and told me that they like my books, but no one has written reviews. Reviews really help to get the word out. So, if you would like to write a review in exchange for a free copy of one of my books, just contact my publisher: info@msipress.com . Here are the books that need to be reviewed: Christmas at the Mission: A Cat's View of Catholic Customs and Beliefs Sula the Cat does it again! Sula, parish cat at Old Mission San Juan Bautista, is a cat with a special mission: to comfort people in need. Every morning, she spends time

Book Alert: Jesus Is Still Passing By

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Sent to the printer today: Jesus Is Still Passing By by award-winning author J. Bennett Easterling. Look for pre-orders on Amazon and Barnes & Noble as early as next week. This is a great book for individual devotions and for group study. From the Bible: 36 miracles, each explicated by Easterling in a background information section. Every miracle of Jesus in days of yore finds three (!) parallels in real life stories from today.Reflection questions that cause pondering and self-development accompany each of these life applications -- in all, well more than 100 study, reflection, and discussion questions. A rich resource for all Christians and those wanting to know more about the Christian religion.

Publishing Tip: Book Reviews

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There was a time, not all that long ago, when small ads would sell new books, when large ads would sell large numbers of new books, and when catalogues were the media to which librarians and bookstores looked for stocking books. Books in Print was an essential tool for everyone -- researchers, reviewers, writers, booksellers. Times have changed. Two revolutions have taken book marketing into very different directions. First, the accessibility to self-publishing for authors struggling to be picked up by a major (or any) house resulted in an explosion of books. Some of these have been as good as those published by traditional publishers; many, if not, most have not because authors lack the full range of expertise and resources available from a traditional publisher. Nonetheless, these books make it onto the shelves of bookstores or at least onto the virtual shelves of online stores in droves, droves being thousands every single day. Given relative steady and limited opportunities for

Grandma's Ninja Warrior Diary: Being Human

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The human ability to err comes through in American Ninja Warrior that I have watched. No missteps or a fixed error result in a run to glory. One simple misstep, and even the greatest warrior can fall from glory. Last night, Isaac Caldierno, one of only two ninjas to finish Stage Four at Mount Midoriyama, fell on one of the early obstacles in the Indiana city competition. Had he lost his touch? No. Had his muscles atrophied? No. Did his strategic thinking skills fail to keep up with the ever-evolving courses? No. Had he miscalculated the obstacle? No. Did he feel sick, confused, or distracted? No. He simply took a misstep—as we all do from time to time throughout life, sometimes metaphorically, sometimes literally. In other words, he is human. When Kacy Catanzaro made her way through tall poles rising from water, situated farther apart from each other than Casey could possibly reach, she did a quick calculation and jumped, managing to grab and hang on to the next pole. The c