MSI Press Blog

  setting out for Pizza Factory In today's post, I take a moment away from our typical post topics to share a special moment. Today is the third anniversary of the death of Carl Leaver , co-founder of MSI Press LLC.  To commemorate this special day, Carl's son, CB (an MSI Press author himself), and I had lunch at Carl's favorite pizza hangout, Pizza Factory in San Juan Bautista. We each wore one of Carl's favorite caps, and then we had Carl's favorite buffet lunch and set a place (empty) for Carl to be with us in spirit.        Sign up for the MSI Press LLC monthly newsletter (recent releases, sales/discounts, awards, reviews, Amazon top 100 list, author advice, and more -- stay up to date)   Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishing with MSI Press LLC?  We help writers become award-winning published authors. One writer at a time. We are a family, not a factory. Do you have a futu...

  (Anne LaForge, left, in discussion with MSI Press managing editor, Betty Lou Leaver) Today is the funeral of one of my best friends and a long-term MSI Press volunteer, Anne LaForge. She helped out in The Literary Center, the press's outreach to the community until covid closed outreach options in 2020. She came to know those MSI Press authors who journeyed to San Juan Bautista, California to make presentations or do book launches--and she interviewed each of them. (Her voice can be heard in the podcasts on our web page.) And she helped out with all sorts of book-related activities, including, as a former literature teacher, providing feedback on books. She is definitely going to be missed in this community and at MSI Press LLC. Coincidentally, Anne's vault is in the same columbarium as that of Carl Leaver, deceased MSI Press typesetter. May they spend eternity together in peace as friends. Anne is survived by three children, two grandchildren, and absolutely scores of friend...

  Last Sunday, 3-20-2020, would have been the 52d anniversary for Carl and me had he not died in August. I make this post here and not Cancer Diary, although Carl died from Cancer, because Carl was an important member of the MSI Press staff from its inception in 2003 until the month before he died. He was still working on typesetting tasks on July 23, 2021 when he fell and was admitted to Stanford, then sent home on a very short 10-day hospice.  I am also including it here, on Caturday, because our cats were a very important part of Carl's life. Particularly Intrepid, who lived up to his name yet snuggled with Carl every night and, like Carl, died of cancer three years ago, resulting in a book named after him, and Murjan, shown here, who never know whether he was dog or human but certainly did not consider himself a cat, could be found at Carl's elbow every day, especially at mealtimes. He was a very polite cat and would wait his turn for food, and one could have a fairly long...

  Jacqueline freelances as a Public Relations/Marketing Assistant for MSI Press. She has successfully set up interviews for MSI Press authors, as well as assisting with Press Releases. Jacqueline has an MBA in Marketing Management from LIU Post and earned a B.S. in Marketing from New York University, Stern Business School. She has held several marketing positions at Fortune 500 companies such as Canon USA and Fisher Price. Currently, she works as a freelancer in the areas of marketing and project management. Jackie currently prepares our monthly newsletter-bulletin that goes out to fans on the 15th of the month. She also prepares and distributes book information through e-blasts.

  A practicing architect since 1983, Yasr (Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania; M. S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology; B.S., University of Jordan) is an international consultant in architectural design and planning, who has won top awards in several design competitions.  He is currently an urban development strategist leading multi-disciplinary teams of international consultants in the urban re-development of the central area of the Holy City of  Makka, KSA. Previously, he was assistant professor at the Department of Architecture at the Jordan and Petra Universities and a visiting scholar at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design and the American Archaeological School in Jerusalem. Professor Sakr has lectured and published widely on architectural education, design theory, and history. For posts about Yasir and his book, click HERE . Several years ago, Dr. Betty Lou Leaver, Managing Editor of MSI Press, visited Jordan on a business trip and visited with Yasir ...

Betty Lou Leaver (Ph.D., Pushkin Institute, Moscow) is Director of The Literary Center of San Juan Bautista and previously served as provost, associate provost, and dean at the Defense Language Institute. She established an international language program at NASA for cosmonauts and astronauts assigned to the International Space Station; served as a language training supervisor at the Foreign Service Institute, curriculum developer for the Federal Foreign Language Training Lab, dean and chief academic officer at the New York Institute of Technology in Jordan, president of the American Global Studies Institute, co-director of the Center for the Advancement of Distinguished Language Proficiency at San Diego State University, and founding director of the Center for the Languages of the Central Asian Region at Indiana University; and provided consultation to educational programs in 24 countries. She has published 21 books, more than 100 articles, and is currently co-editing a book,  ...

Dr. Filatova is a highly respected Russian psychologist, specializing in the area of personality. A senior professor of psychology at St. Petersburg State University, she is the foremost expert in Europe on socionics and published the first-ever book on socionics in Russia (which was the Soviet Union at the time). Since then, she has written many books on the topic and is held in high regard by socionists worldwide. Her book with MSI Press,   Understanding the People around You: An Introduction to Socionics , is the seminal work on socionics in the USA and is gathering a following. Sad note: Katya died on March 14, 2015  of a heart attack in her home in St. Petersburg, Russia. Her son wrote that her last act, just minutes before her death, was to send off an email, related to her many books on socionics. “So”, he said, “she did work right up until the last minute of life.”  Katya was a wonderful person, larger than life. A professor of psychology at St. Petersbu...