MSI Press Blog

  Spunky Grandmas and Other AmusingCharacters is a collection of over 100 entertaining, fictional mini stories about comical human behavior. Written in sonnet form, each of 22 chapters starts with a cartoonish illustration by Joella Goyette that introduces the theme of the stories that follow. Humorist, Ken Mogren, features grandmothers who are anything but stereotypical, as well as other folks whose behavior is best described as unconventional. For more posts on Ken Mogren, click  HERE . For more posts on Joella Goyette, click  HERE . For more posts about Spunky Grandmas and Other Amusing Characters, click  HERE . For other humor books by MSI Press, click  HERE .

  Spunky Grandmas and Other Amusing Characters , written by Ken Mogren and illustrated by Joella Goyette, is now available for pre-order at the 50% discounted sale price of $10.  Pre-order sale is available only at the MSI Press webstore. Sale will continue through release date of the book: April 30, 2022. Spunky Grandmas and Other Amusing Characters is a collection of over 100 entertaining, fictional mini stories about comical human behavior. Written in sonnet form, each of 22 chapters starts with a cartoonish illustration by Joella Goyette that introduces the theme of the stories that follow. Humorist, Ken Mogren, features grandmothers who are anything but stereotypical, as well as other folks whose behavior is best described as unconventional.

  Now you can hear all five interviews of Joanna Charnas by the hosts of OwlTail at the same time! They have been pieced together into one podcast HERE . OwlTail has some very interesting programming, including interviewing the likes of former president Obama and Elon Musk. Well worth following! Read more posts that include links to writings, interviews, and podcasts by Joanna Charnas, including her four books,  HERE . American Book Fest Best Books Awards Finalist 2917 2018 Book Excellence Award Hollywood Book Festival Honorable Mention 2021 a pandemic series book

  excerpt from Mommy Poisoned Our House Guest There's a Stranger in Mommy's Bed Sometimes Mommy gets really tired. She says that working mothers reach proportions of exhaustion that exceed the imagi­nation. In such cases, what they say and do has little resem­blance to commonsense. I guess that must be right if I judge by my mommy. For example, let me tell you what happened to her one week­end. Friday evening after a long and frustrating, to say nothing of exhausting, week at work, she fell asleep on the living room sofa. (She does that a lot. She says she is going to watch television, but she never does. She just stares at the screen for a few minutes and then topples over. I have never seen her watch a whole tele­vision show like my siblings and I do.) Anyway, she did her frequent act of screen staring and top­pling over on the Friday evening I am talking about. My daddy, of course, could not wake her up; he never can when she topples over asleep. So, my sister found her asle

Congratulations to Larry MacDonald on his book,  RV Oopsies , being selected as the  Kops-Fetherling International Book Awards  lega cy award in the category of sports and recreation.    “This practical book shows the way to live from your heart and use its potential." To read more posts about Larry and his books, click  HERE .

  A Few Licks Go a Long Way  Cat Tale: It was starting to get dark on a Saturday night. As Shelly sat nearby licking herself, I was preparing to go out and hit the bars. I wanted to spend as little time as possible to get ready. The way I looked at it, if it took more than ten minutes to make myself presentable, I was doing it wrong. I put on my favorite collared shirt, hoping no one would notice the detergent stain on the back or the hole near the armpit. I dragged a brush through my hair a single time. I slipped on my pre-tied, 4-year-old sneakers, the ones with the bottoms of the soles coming off. That’s right, I was stylin’. As I headed for the door, I noticed that Shelly was still in the same spot, still licking herself. She hadn’t stopped grooming the entire time. She didn’t even have plans that night. Either she cared too much about personal appearances or I didn’t care enough. I looked in the mirror. The problem was me.  Cat Lesson: Grooming is important. You do

  The Power of Observation Once my sister, Echo, had learned to drive, she was much more observant than my mommy was. She belongs to that group of people that Mommy calls detail-observant, so she pays very close attention to all kinds of things that Mommy does not notice at all. One night after work, my mommy and Echo were driving home together. Well, Mommy, the grande dame of detail-obliviousness, was doing the driving, and clearly, it was Echo, the de­tail-observant, who was doing the watching. That is pretty typi­cal of how they usually drive together. At the light where Mommy had to make a turn to get onto the highway coming to our town—she and Echo worked in the next town over—there was a long line of cars. That was no sur­prise. There often was a long line at this particular light, espe­cially right after work, so Mommy was sort of expecting a line, anyway. Mommy could see all the way to the intersection, and the light there was red. So, she got into line behind the cars. She wa

  From US Review of Books: Feig’s conversational style is witty and disarming. His self-deprecating humor lends charm and vulnerability to his ideas and opinions on becoming a better individual. Rooted firmly in a young, often single man’s outlook, he nevertheless manages to address aspects of life relevant to people of all ages. If you enjoy humor and love cats—the former being a prerequisite for the latter—chances are you’ll also be attracted to this fun-filled homage to felines. Read the rest of the review by Joe Kilgore  HERE . About the book: Jeremy Feig was at rock bottom - broke, alone, and living in a shoebox-sized apartment. At the same time, his cat was perfectly content. What was her secret? She couldn't say it out loud, but it was clear she had all the answers to living a good life. How My Cat Made Me a Better Man is a hilarious self-help book for guys that gals like, too, based on the lessons of an edgy cat named Shelly. It's packed with useful advice on topics lik

  Raindrops Keep Falling on Her Head Once upon a time Mommy worked at NASA in Houston, Texas for a year. She liked her work, but she did not like the Houston climate. It rained a lot. In fact, it rained off and on nearly every day in the spring. Being from California, Mommy was not used to that much rain. She figured out how to cope, however. She bought a small umbrella that folded up to fit inside her backpack. That way, if it rained, she could quickly pull out the umbrella, and if it did not rain, the umbrella would be out of the way in her backpack. This was especially helpful because Mommy walked back and forth from work. She liked walking, but she often got caught in sur­prise rainstorms. One day it was not raining when Mommy left her house. In fact, it was pretty hot. Mommy had a long walk. She lived more than two miles from NASA. When she walked, she thought a lot. She thought about work, about her family, about lots of things. So, she did not pay a lot of attention to what was

  With all the serious stuff in everyone's lives these days -- economy, covid, elections --it seemed that Friday the 13th needed a little levity. So herewith is a blog post from The 100th Lamb, a blog maintained by Elizabeth Mahlou (MSI Press author of Blessed Atheist and A Believer-in-Waiting's First Encounters with God ). Although Elizabeth no longer maintains the blog, the posts are still available. May it bring a smile to you this evening. A kindergarten teacher was helping one of her students put his boots on. He had asked for help and she could see why. With her pulling and him pushing, the boots still didn’t want to go on. When the second boot was on, she was nearly out of breath. She almost whimpered when the little boy said, “Teacher, they’re on the wrong feet.” She looked and sure enough, they were. It wasn’t any easier pulling the boots off than it was putting them on. She managed to keep her cool as they worked together to get the boots back on – this time on the r

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

Just saw this yesterday, though it was written a number of yesterdays ago. (The books remain fresh, though.) The Top 19 Publishers of Humor 15.  MSI Press MSI Press is an independent, California based publishing house that was first founded in the year 2003. Since their very inception, this publisher has been entirely dedicated to bring high-quality, gripping tales of humor; and going by their reader-base, they seem to be pretty successful. ‘Tucker and Me’ and ‘Mommy poisoned our House’ series are two incredibly amazing humorous anthologies from their brand. In case you’re confident of writing tales in a similar vein, contact them on this  page . Read more about the aforementioned books: Click HERE from more posts and experts about/from Tucker and Me . Click HERE for more posts about Mommy Poisoned Our House Guest .

Why Cats Make Better Mentors Than Dogs  1) Pet’s goal in life: Dog: Please his master. Cat: Please herself. Point: Cat 2) How pet gets what it wants: Dog: Begging for it. Cat: Taking it. Point: Cat 3)  How pet endears itself to humans: Dog: Demeaning tricks. Cat: Being herself. Point: Cat 4) Pet’s favorite activity: Dog: Long, repetitive walks. Cat: Sleeping. Point: Cat 5) Likelihood pet will eat its own vomit: Dog: Extremely high. Cat: Pretty unlikely. Point: Cat Read more excerpts HERE , along with information about the author and book. Check out the book page for How My Cat Made Me a Better Man at the MSI Press website.

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

Jeremy Feig is originally from a small town in slightly upstate New York. After graduating from New Paltz College, he moved to Los Angeles for TV and film production work before stumbling into a career in digital marketing. Jeremy spends much of his time working on creative projects, usually involving comedy. He’s written numerous screenplays and TV scripts, created original cartoons, and directed quirky short films. Jeremy lives in Santa Monica with his wife, young daughter, and large cat.  His book,  How My Cat Made Me a Better Man , has captivated men and women alike. Jeremy's book placed as a finalist in the 2016 Book of the Year award, and it has not lost its appeal since. 5 stars from Reader's Favorites Highly recommended by US Review of Books. Teena in Toronto says, "Of all the self-help books out there, this was an interesting twist." Cat blogs LOVE this book! US Review of Books calls it "fun-filled" and "novel."

"Under the guise of a "pet book," Jeremy Feig has written an excellent "self-help book." Yeah, it's that good. In fact, it should be issued to ever high school senior, boys AND girls." Read more reviews at The Cat Site.

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

 "Guaranteed to advise as well as amuse..." says the US Review of Books. Click the yes to read the remainder of the review -- the book was RECOMMENDED.   👀   Read about the other HERE .

Why Cats Make Better Mentors Than Dogs  1) Pet’s goal in life: Dog: Please his master. Cat: Please herself. Point: Cat 2) How pet gets what it wants: Dog: Begging for it. Cat: Taking it. Point: Cat 3)  How pet endears itself to humans: Dog: Demeaning tricks. Cat: Being herself. Point: Cat 4) Pet’s favorite activity: Dog: Long, repetitive walks. Cat: Sleeping. Point: Cat 5) Likelihood pet will eat its own vomit: Dog: Extremely high. Cat: Pretty unlikely. Point: Cat Excerpt from How My Cat Made Me a Better Man (Code FF25 for 25% discount at MSI Press webstore) Also available on Kindle Jeremy Feig is originally from a small town in slightly upstate New York. After graduating from New Paltz College, he moved to Los Angeles for TV and film production work before stumbling into a career in digital marketing. Jeremy spends much of his time working on creative projects, usually involving comedy. He’s written numerous screenplays and TV scripts, created ori

Released Saturday. Every year thousands of RVers hit the road for fun and adventure, but RVing has built in misadventures—backing into a tree, bending a jack stand, and more—spoiling an otherwise perfect outing. For the past ten years, the author has asked RVers the same question: “What’s the dumbest thing you’ve done while RVing?”  Each year, he has given an award for the dumbest mishap. In this funny and helpful handbook, 101 of these mishaps come together so the reader can learn from other people’s mistakes, saving them unnecessary grief and cash. ·        Always use a spotter when entering or departing a campsite. ·        Do a walk-around inspection before moving your rig. ·        Never flush out your blackwater tank after dressing for church. Practical and comical, this a great read for all RVers, both veterans and novices. #          #          # About the Author Larry MacDonald, Ph.D. and his wife Sandy have been RVing for over 30 years, the last 11 as