MSI Press Blog

  excerpt from  Diary of an RVer during Quarantine  (MacDonald) -  Day 1 (Tuesday) From a carefree life of joyful activities, we suddenly feel like captives within our 38-ft. 5 th wheel.  In our RV Park in Victoria, British Columbia, people are keeping their distance from others by walking almost sideways as they pass.  Friends are greeting each other not with a handshake but with a wave, and chatting from chairs strategically placed 2 metres (6 feet) apart.  Physical distancing and hand washing are the orders-of-the-day to mitigate the spread of the highly contagious and deadly virus.  Our poodle Bella can’t figure out why we aren’t leaving the site to play fetch with her ball.  Playing with stuffed toys inside the RV is not quite the same, but she is making the best of it.  My wife Sandy and I decided we would also make the best of it … but how?   As a knitter, meditator, painter, and ukulele player, Sandy is well on her way to making constructive use of her time.  As for myself, I

  Diary of an RVer is one of 15 books prepared as part of a 2020 project to help readers cope with the pandemic, quarantine, shut down, and the fears and daily life Fifteen MSI Press authors accepted the call to prepare pandemic-related books in their specialist. For Larry, an ardent RVer and author about RV life, with a sense of humor, the challenge took the form of relating two weeks of daily life trapped inside an RV -- with a twist of humor. His quarantini has become a favorite. For more posts about Larry and his books, click HERE . For more book back stories, click HERE . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishing with MSI Press LLC? Check out information on  how to submit a proposal . Interested in receiving a free copy of this or any MSI Press LLC book  in exchange for  reviewing  a current or forthcoming MSI Press LLC book? Contact editor@msipress.com. Want an  author-signed copy  of this book

  excerpt from Diary of an RVer during Quarantine (MacDonald) -  Almost overnight, the world has changed!  Well, not really the world so much, but our place in the world.   In the world, fish are jumping and the cotton is high!  But we humans no longer seem to be in control of our lives.    In early March 2020, as full-time RVers, we left our winter resort in Mesa, Arizona and arrived at another in Tucson, where we enjoyed playing pickleball and golf, hiking in state parks, visiting an outdoor artisan market, and dining at patio restaurants.  Our intent was to meet up with friends in another week or so in Las Cruces, New Mexico for a golf holiday before heading back to Canada.  Life was good!  We were on the road to adventure.   About that time, we started receiving increasing news reports about the novel Corona Virus (later identified as COVID-19) infiltrating America.  Group activities – dances, concerts, sports, and parties – were shutting down; bars and restaurants were closing. 

San Juan Books is the hybrid division of MSI Press LLC. It allows first-time writers to become published in a traditional way through the reduction of risk by sharing publication costs. All other publishing features are traditional in nature, and most SJB authors go on to be offered traditional contracts for their subsequent books. SJB publications are available as paperback, hard cover, and e-book versions. SJB authors' books very much hold their own against their contemporaries in the traditional publishing division. Indeed, a number of them have outsold their traditional compatriots, and many have gone on to write books that have been subsequently traditionally published by MSI Press. Today, San Juan Books presents author Larry MacDonald. Larry MacDonald has a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology and over 30 years of experience RVing and freelance writing for various magazines, including  MotorHome ,  Trailer Life , and  Canadian RVinglds . His book,  RV Oopsies: 101 Dumb Things Tha

Excerpt from Diary of an RVer during Quarantine: Day 7 (Tuesday) Today, I decide to figure out why the front burner of our propane stove is not lighting with the clicker switch (Finally, a real purpose for getting out of bed!).  Have you ever taken the top cover off your stove?  Me neither!  Not once in the six years we’ve owned this rig!  Underneath were scattered pieces of dried spaghetti, macaroni, and rice that would have provided dinner for four.  The instructions on how to light and shut down the stove are posted under the cover, but I had to remove grease with dish detergent before I could read them.  A pleasant surprise!  They are in three languages, which provided an opportunity to see if my weekly Spanish classes in Arizona paid off … they didn’t!  However, I was able to understand ONE word (highlighted) in the first sentence: “Abra el suministro principal de gas a la estufa.”   Well, look there … the ignition tube to the front burner had rusted and was hanging down aw

  From Readers' Favorite -- C amping is where you spend a small fortune to live like the homeless.” Larry MacDonald is direct and cleverly witty in his detailed writing of what life can be like living in a recreational vehicle, especially during quarantine.  Diary of an RVer During Quarantine is a short book that you will find entertaining and informative. For the full review, click HERE For more posts on Larry MacDonald and his books, click HERE .

  To honor Caturday, we have been presenting pictures of MSI Press authors with their cats. Here we share a photo of Simone, Larry MacDonald's cat, who traveled around Canada in an RV with him, his wife, and his dog Elly. To read about these travels, check out posts about Travels with Elly HERE . The book is available from online sellers, kindle, retailers, and the MSI Press webstore. For information about Larry and his other books, click HERE for some great reading.

Larry MacDonald has a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology and over 30 years of experience RVing and freelance writing for various magazines, including  MotorHome ,   Trailer Life , and   Canadian RVinglds . His book,  RV Oopsies: 101 Dumb Things That RVers Do!  is a compilation of ten years of research on RV mishaps, rated from “dumb” to “dumbest,” with helpful hints on how they could have been avoided. A “must-read” for all RVers, new and seasoned, wanting to save some grief and cash by learning what  not  to do while RVing. In his subsequent t book, Travels with Elly: Reflections on Canada by an RVer and His Dog , the author travels from coast to coast in a trailer with his wife and pets, including their poodle, Elly, in order to gain a better understanding of his adopted country. An informative read for armchair travelers with a spirit of adventure, for those wanting to learm more about Canada, and for any cross-Canada traveler, especially RVers and dog lovers. Travels with Elly won t

t didn’t take me long to come up with a list of jobs that were long overdue. Washing and waxing the truck and trailer pretty much got me through the first week. Each day, I congratulated myself for a job-well-done with a “Quarantini”…which tastes just like a martini except that you drink it at home alone! And you don’t even have to wait for Happy Hour—when you’re confined in a trailer, you can be happy at 11:00 in the morning! As they say in the RV world, it’s 5 o’clock somewhere! Larry is the author of three MSI books: Read more posts about Larry MacDonald and his books HERE .

Released this week, Diary of an RVer in Quarantine by Larry MacDonald. This nonfiction book provides a humorous glimpse into a couple’s strategies for surviving two weeks of quarantine within the confines of their RV. The author’s diary includes his never-ending “to-do” list as well as the couple’s routine and unique activities, such as ordering groceries and restaurant meals online for delivery to their RV site, playing games, and learning new skills such as baking and playing the ukulele. A major portion of the book is devoted to how full-time RVers might occupy their time fruitfully while staying cooped up during the COVID-19 pandemic. Reading RV magazines and related books and planning an RV adventure when restrictions are lift ed is complemented with excerpts provided from two of the author’s books. Words of wisdom abound: “Stay at home, wash your hands, and enjoy my books.” See also Larry's other books. RV Oopsies  -- funny and helpful! One of our most popu