MSI Press Blog

    Today's book excerpt comes from  When You're Shoved from the Right, Look to the Left   by Omar Imady . HONEY AND HUMILITY After all the animals had been created, many decisions had to be made. One of these decisions involved who would be entrusted with carrying an amazing substance called honey. The animals started to argue with each other, each trying to prove why it should be selected for this special task. The angels arranged for a competition to resolve the dispute.   First, the elephant stepped forward. “I am clearly the most qualified. Not only do I have an enormous belly where all the honey can be kept, but I also have a trunk that is perfectly designed for the task of inserting the honey into containers.”   Next came the lion. He roared a few times and then said: “Honey needs to be protected, and who is more qualified to protect it than the king of the jungle?”  Then the horse stepped forward. “Honey,” the horse proclaimed, “needs to be transported quickl

  Today's book excerpt comes from When You're Shoved from the Right, Look to the Left   by Omar Imady . THE SHEEP THAT NEVER LOST HOPE There once was a sheep who dreamed of walking in the very front row of her flock, but each time she tried to move towards the front, she was pushed back by her strong and mighty sisters and brothers. “Know your place, sheep,” they would whisper. “Even the very last row is too much for you.” Day after day the sheep would try to move towards the front row, and day after day she was pushed back with sarcasm. A dawn arrived when the shepherd, after having directed his flock towards the usual northern pasture field, suddenly stopped and decided he would try out a pasture field to the south which he had heard about from one of his friends. With his rod, he gestured to his flock to turn towards the opposite direction and suddenly the sheep, who had never lost hope, found herself in the very front row. For more posts by and about Omar and h

  It is Tuesday. 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.  Today's topic digresses -- into the absurd, perhaps. Today, I sent for the third time, ARC labels to wone of our authors. The first time the labels disappeared. The second time, they were inexplicably directed to an IRS office in another state. Totally insane! Fingers crossed for a safe arrival this time. Today's experience reminded me of other unexpected, funny, and heartwarming experiences that have occurred over the 20 years MSI Press has been publishing. Here are some of my favorite, somewhat inexplicable stories. When You're Shoved from the Right, Look to Your Left: Metaphors of Islamic Humanism is a great little book, trul