MSI Press Blog

  Today's book back story is about  The Musings of a Carolina Yankee  by Wally Amidon. From the publisher: Wally's book did not land at my doorstep in the traditional way--not as a proposal in any form either via mail or email. Rather, it showed up as a self-published book literally on my doorstep, sent as a gift by childhood friend, Wally, who had moved from Yankee territory (the Maine-New Hampshire border) to redneck country (rural South Carolina). I was aghast at the production, and I often use it as a sample of the difference between self-publication (especially when authors are taken in by a vanity press that does no extra work) and a professional publication. Certainly, self-published authors can produce quality books, but that was not the case with Wally's. The vanity press had just published it exactly the way he had written it. It looked like they had just scanned typewritten pages. The content was good, and the humor could prompt out-loud laughing, but the present

  Excerpt from The Musings of a Carolina Yankee by Wally Amidon. Alone in the Swamp Have you ever had a day that you would like to forget but that seems to come back at regular intervals in your life to haunt you? I had such an adventure a few years back. I can laugh at it now, but at the time, it really tried my spirit. I have two sons, Mike and Steven, who, I think, sometimes thought of themselves as Lewis and Clark because of the way they could navigate the woods. One day, they thought it would be nice to take me to their newly found hunting area. Now, things would have been different were I built more like a Chuck Norris or Sylvester Stallone, but I am built more for comfort than for physical exertion. The boys came by the house at about 3:30 a.m. to pick me up for the adventure. I should have known the day was going to be long when they told me to hop into the back of the pickup as there wasn’t enough room for the three of us in the front of the small truck they were driving. I l

  excerpt from The Musings of a Carolina Yankee by Wally Amidon Eagle Lake Fishing Trip In the course of a man’s life, there comes a time to think back to simpler times and things that made you a little happier as the years rolled by. One of these snippets involved my father-in-law, Louis Saucier. The story begins in Eagle Lake, Maine, where Louis was born and grew up. Part of the family journeyed back to the homeland with him from our home in New Hampshire to visit his relatives and to do a little fishing. At this time, Eagle Lake was still a small town, made up mostly of small houses and camps. It was a place that appeared to be in lost in time. The inhabitants neither realized about this nor particularly cared about it. Most of them were family in some way or related to others who were related to someone in the town. I would venture to say that this was where the term, close-knit family , came from. I had never before been to Eagle Lake, nor had I met this side of the famil

                                                                                       (photo by Frank Perez) It is Tuesday. Time to tall turkey. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side. Ever wonder how books get to be accepted for publication? There is often more to any author's story than non-authors and not-yet-published authors would image.  Yes, of course, every publisher has the normal channel of proposal reading and acceptance based on the quality of the proposal, the "fit" of the book, the quality of the writing, and the perceived marketability, typically based on the author's platform. But...some books come into being in some other ways. Here are a few from the MSI Press e

TWO HUNTERS I had a red fox come visit me at my ground blind one evening. He came close, sat down in the road, and watched me. Every now and then, he would turn his head and look about. He scratched some fleas a few times, got up, and started sniffing the air. I took my rifle and looked at him through the cross hairs. Then, I zoomed in on him but, for some reason, stopped and watched for a while. The season was open on them, but I asked myself why I should kill this pretty creature. I was not going to put him in the freezer, and his fur looked better on him than hanging on my wall. He stayed for about 20 minutes and then walked on down the road. He stopped midway, sat down in the road, and looked back up to where I was sitting and watching him. He was never afraid although he kept his distance. He let me watch him in his own living room. It makes a hunter realize who he truly is when he doesn’t gun down everything he sees just because he can. I am sitting in my easy chair,

Wally Amidon Wally grew up wherever his father was stationed during his U. S. Air Force career. When his father was overseas, Wally stayed with his grandmother who was a great storyteller. Listening to the way she made stories come alive made Wally feel as if he had really been there. As he grew older, he began to write down things that made him either laugh or cry and tried to make them as real as possible. Sometimes, he finds it easier to escape into his own little world and create things he wishes were true but never can be. He knows people need an escape from reality at times so he decided to make his writings public.In his book,  The Musings of a Carolina Yankee , there are some true stories and there are some stories he doesn’t know where they came from, but he wrote them in order for readers to have fun and join him on his journey. Like his father, Wally served in the US Air Force; his military service came during the Vietnam conflict. Wally grew up in New Hampshire and

"By picking up this book, readers can replicate sitting down with the author as he spins a yarn designed to entertain and elicit a smile." US Review of Books Read the rest of the review of The Musings of a Carolina Yankee at US Review of Books .