MSI Press Blog

  Excerpt from Parenting in a Pandemic by Dr. Liz Bayardelle Chapter 2: Personal Trainer Exercise is important for everyone, but it’s even more important for kids. Kids who get at least some activity on a regular basis are less likely to be overweight, have lower risk for degenerative diseases, have more confidence, do better in school, and are more successful when they finally become adults. [1] Who doesn’t want this for their kids? That’s why we usually make sure they participate in PE class, put them in sports, ensure they have time to play at the park, let them run around with their friends, and do fun family activities like go to a trampoline park or some other playplace. But wait, due to the rampaging virus we can do exactly none of those things. Great. Even when all you want to do is hand your kid an iPad and get about your quarantine day, it’s important that we still ensure our kids are getting at least a baseline amount of exercise. Before I go into how to do that, let me in

  Excerpt from Old and On Hold   Eating through a Pandemic The food supply chain has been turned upside down, creating unusual problems wherein some farmers are tossing milk or burying vegetables while people are lined up at food banks without adequate supplies of food. As of this writing ,we are being told that meat processing has been affected by plant workers being struck with COVID-19. A threat of meat shortage can create food insecurity and the desire to hoard which, of course, requires a way to store larger quantities of food. People without means, including elderly on fixed incomes living in small spaces, can’t hoard. We can expect that grocers will put some limits on the amount bought just as stores did with toilet paper and paper towels. I thank my grocer every time I go in for the effort to provide and, in some cases, “police” our good intentions for the good of all. Stress and boredom are triggers for overindulging. Sugary and salty foods offer temporary satisfaction and com

  We are pleased to announce the release of the hard cover edition of Parenting in a Pandemic  (Liz Bayardelle). Read more posts about Liz and her books HERE.                                                                      Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter                           Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .

Excerpt from Diary of an RVer during Quarantine: Day 7 (Tuesday) Today, I decide to figure out why the front burner of our propane stove is not lighting with the clicker switch (Finally, a real purpose for getting out of bed!).  Have you ever taken the top cover off your stove?  Me neither!  Not once in the six years we’ve owned this rig!  Underneath were scattered pieces of dried spaghetti, macaroni, and rice that would have provided dinner for four.  The instructions on how to light and shut down the stove are posted under the cover, but I had to remove grease with dish detergent before I could read them.  A pleasant surprise!  They are in three languages, which provided an opportunity to see if my weekly Spanish classes in Arizona paid off … they didn’t!  However, I was able to understand ONE word (highlighted) in the first sentence: “Abra el suministro principal de gas a la estufa.”   Well, look there … the ignition tube to the front burner had rusted and was hanging down aw

  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

  In " Pages, Prompts and Poses: Journaling Through a Pandemic ," published by Yoga Chicago , MSI Press author Julie Gentile makes the following recommendations: Choose a journal that speaks to you.   Write about what inspires you or recent observations you’ve made.   Make up your own journaling rules.   Get into a groove.   Read your words.   Read the full article to get all the helps, tips, and prompts that Julie generously offers. To read more posts about Julie and her books, click HERE .

  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. Today, we step away from our weekly format to tell a couple of stories that might be revealing and helpful to authors who think that the only ways to get a book published are through the help of a literary agent, direct contact with a publisher, or self-publishing. Likely, very few authors think they might be contacted by a publisher and asked to write a book. But it does happen. How it happens, though, tends to be an "oh, by the way" that comes up as a publisher's need or as a publisher's insight about opportunity. Thre examples come from our publishing house.  When the pandemic broke out, there seemed