MSI Press Blog

Do You Love Me?   Arthur  Yavelberg     "Do you love me?   Most people see such a question and assume it comes from some  starry-eyed  young person, thrilled with emotion but quivering that the feelings are not mutual. Depending on the experiences of the reader, the reactions might range from a nostalgic "How sweet!" to the hardened "How stupid!" to the cynical "How naive!" There might even be the analytical "Once again the Darwinian drive to perpetuate the species rears its ugly head."   As it turns out, the question is posed by a wizened, abjectly poor Jewish farmer to his equally wizened wife of some 25 years.  In the musical, “Fiddler on the Roof,” Tevye and Goldie are contemplating the arranged marriage of the first of their five daughters in the pogrom-ridden, Russian village of  Anatevka   around the turn of the century.  They are wrinkled, rather shapeless, shabbily dressed and, maybe worst of all, just oh so tired...

  (Picture by Stacey Gentry. This year is Sula's first Valentine's Day in heaven; she crossed the Rainbow Bridge last August. MSI Press wishes her a happy Valentine's Day, a happy Caturday, and a happy afterlife without pain.) This Valentine's Day, help mend the broken hearts of unwanted and helpless animals who feel that they've been forgotten. Just $19 a month can help the ASPCA provide love and care for neglected animals across the country. Make an urgent gift TODAY. HERE is where to reach the ASPCA. You can read more posts by and about Sula and her books (six in English and one in Spanish) HERE . You can read many stories about Sula online and find some great pictures of her HERE . And, if you would like to become a Sula fan, you can interact with her on her Face Book page HERE . And, yes, even though the account is now posthumous, it continues to be active. Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram...

  On today's post, Franki Bagdade, author of IAN Book of the Year, I Love My Kids, But I Don.t Always Like Them , shares template for making Valentine's Day cards. To obtain them and more Valentine's Day gift ideas, click HERE . For more posts by and about Franki, 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? Purchase the book at 25% discount (use coupon code FF25) and concurrently send a written request to orders@msipress.com. 

  Has the upcoming Valentine's Day got you thinking about love? If so, here are some popular MSI Press books that you will enjoy. 57 Steps to Paradise (Patricia Lorenz) half-price sale get the ebook 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. Read more posts about Patricia Lorenz and her book HERE . Read more books about mid-life HERE . Read more books about aging HERE . A Movie Lover's Search for Romance (Joanna Charnas) get the book (paperback, hard cover, e-book) A diverting and informative story of searching for love in mid-life by a divorced social worker, who intertwines entertaining stories of successful love inte...

Dear Carl, Tomorrow is Valentine's day, the first one without you. I want you to know that I received the note above a couple of days after you died. I do not know why it took over a week to reach me; perhaps I was distracted with your dying and spending every minute I could with you even though you were barely aware (seemingly) of what was going on around you. I am told that with the brain fog from hypercalcemia and chemotherapy, it would have taken much effort for you to be able to get online and write this note. I am so glad that you did. That note is the centerpiece on our bureau now. Thank you, too, for the poppies. I know you loved California poppies; that is why I asked you to send me poppy flowers after you died so that I would know that you are okay. Well, even though all the flower books say that poppy season ended six months ago, you have done a good job of keeping at least a couple of the poppy plants blooming. The one at the bottom of the hill had three blossoms yester...

  Maktoub  Arabs say that from the day of your birth the name of your beloved is invisibly engraved on your forehead. Perhaps this is true and explains the mysterious flicker of recognition I felt the day we met.  December 15, 1955 was a cold, overcast Thursday, and snowflakes were swirling down from dark skies, blown by gusts of biting, cold wind. I took the earliest bus into the city, and, as I hurried up the steps of the Main Building of New York University, I glanced at my watch. Eight o’clock. Good, I thought, three hours to review for my Russian exam at eleven. I had to do well because the possibility of a full scholarship hung on my grades this semester.  Looking back, I know it was actually fate that propelled me out of bed before dawn that day. Fate, destiny–the Arabs have a better word for it. They would say our meeting was maktoub or “written”. Omar Khayyam put it nicely: “The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,/ Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit/ Sh...

  Sula is back on duty at the Mission Gift Shop at Old Mission San Juan Bautista on Sundays, but she is taking Valentine's Day off, but has sent greetings. Now in semi-retirement, in part because of health (she is fighting cancer for the fourth time), she spends Sundays ministering to people at the various Masses, helping out in the gift shop, and receiving pets, accolades, and gifts from those who love her.  On this Valentine's Day, relaxing at her godparents' house, where she is spending her retirement except for her Sunday duty days, Sula reiterates a tweet from the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA): This Valentine's Day, help mend the broken hearts of unwanted and helpless animals who feel that they've been forgotten. Just $19 a month can help the ASPCA provide love and care for neglected animals across the country. Make an urgent gift TODAY. HERE is where to reach the ASPCA. You can read more posts by and about Sula and her boo...

5. Motivational energy is something that is unique in the human condition. What is it, you may ask? One example: When you need to accomplish a task you really don’t want to do, you need to reach up and bring into your being a feeling, such as determination, which is a quality of the will, to help you do the task without procrastination. Even if the task is one that you really want to do, sometimes that energy has to be kindled in order to accomplish it. Reviewing why the task is important to do, and re-choosing it, can be helpful. The energy comes directly from your will. Will energy, used correctly, motivates a person to carry through with a project and finish it. It also helps someone to look at all the possibilities that a project may have, in order to begin and finish it.  It is an energy that needs to be learned through good, practical skills. Sometimes a person knows how to complete a project, but simply gets stuck and can’t move forward. That’s when she needs to focus ...

  Photo from "Feeling Your Life's Energy," The Light Gap https://www.thelightgap.com/feeling-hearts-energy/ HEART ENERGY – WHAT IS IT? Heart energy flows through the heart from a source in the universe. Different religious sects label this source according to their belief systems. It can be called God, Brahma, Shiva, The Divine Mother, etc. Essentially, this energy comes from a Higher source and passes through several stages before reaching an individual. It flows through the heart center in waves, very much like solar energy. These waves of energy change as they pass through the heart. They vary according to the makeup of the individual and also in the way that the individual uses them. With each use of the heart, these waves become stronger and purer. They vibrate in the heart center and affect others. Again, this energy is as strong as the individual’s capacity to contain it and use it. The heart that is activated with this energy uses it for its many functions...