MSI Press Blog

  Times were tense. I was caregiving for my husband, dying from cancer and on chemotherapy that required multiple trips a week to a distant hospital, my spina bifida daughter in a city a half-hour away who had lost her caregiver during the days of covid, and a CHARGE Syndrome adult son living at home -- and trying to run a business at the same time. The son tried to help out as best he could with his own care, but he did not always have the skills to do so. To wit, the scene above that ensued when he tried to help out by making his own breakfast -- one that at least brought a moment of levity into a too-tense life. Speaking from personal experience, the spouse (in this case wife, but it really does not much which spouse is pressed into the role) who ends up as the caregiver for a cancer patient is in a no-win situation, emotionally and physically. The role of spouse is to support the spouse and to navigate through life together, IMHO. That complicates the matter of caregiving. The ...

  This past week Typhoon Honey (Girrell & Sjogren) has received two stellar book reviews: From Readers' Favorite review: After reading Typhoon Honey, I felt I had unlocked something supernatural—a new pair of glasses that gives me a different, liberating view of the world. The idea that "what we see is filtered and tainted by our belief system" is helping me to examine learned beliefs that no longer serve me in the process of deconstructing them. Typhoon Honey is filled with several exercises, details about experiments, and examples from the authors' personal experiences and that of the people they know. I got a clear understanding of the concepts as different scientific and psychological studies are juxtaposed with several real-life examples. I believe that the mind-blowing ideas and stories in this phenomenal self-help book by Kris Girrell and Candace Klein Sjogren could help unite the world and reduce suffering as they encourage readers to heal from harmful, d...

  Six years ago this week, Sula, parish cat at Old Mission San Juan Bautista, had just embarked on her writing career when she was discovered by regional newspapers. The cutest stories appeared about her. HERE is one that appeared in the Morgan Hills Times;  HERE is one from the Gilroy Dispatch (photo above from that article, by Nick Lovejoy); and HERE is one from Benitolink . Sula went on to write six books. You can read about them HERE .

  Franki Bagdade, author of I Love Myu Kids, But I Don't Always Like Them , recently published an article AND was interviewed on a podcast The article, "Challenging Behavior Challenging You?" was published in the January/February issue of  Metro Parent. Episode 106 of the Parenting in Real Life podcast is an interview with Franki: "Extinguish Behavior Problems in Kids through Sherlock Holming." Read posts about Franki and her book HERE . You can follow Franki and her great parenting advice at www.faabconsulting.com . Read more posts about MSI Press authors in the news HERE .

  Recently, Julie Gentile's article "Journal Your Way to Wellness," was the featured article in the December 31  YOGA + Life®  newsletter, and it was published in the print version of the Winter + Spring 2021-22 issue of  CO YOGA + Life® Magazine .   Also, Julie just launched a series of YouTube video #shorts,  A Second for Yourself . Every Self-Care Sunday for the next 52 weeks, she will be highlighting one relatable, motivational mantra in video format. These mantras are little seeds of affirmations that can help listeners achieve their goals and dreams this year. Readers can subscribe to her  Stand Up for Your Self-Care YouTube Channel   to view the videos as soon as they are published. Read more posts about Julie and her books HERE . Read more posts about authors in the news HERE . Julie's book, 108 Yoga and Self-Care Practices for Busy Mamas , is on sale at the MSI Press webstore for $5 while inventory lasts. A 25% discount w...

  Introducción  Cada vez que alguien escribe sobre un tema, de alguna forma escribe sobre sí mismo. Mi nombre es Nelson Fernando Ustman S., y durante este breve espacio en nuestro planeta tierra, he sufrido, he vivido, he reído, he llorado, he cantado, me he caído, y me he vuelto a levantar. He vivido toda clase de decepciones y he convivido con todos los aprendizajes en los fríos inviernos de esta estación de la vida que me tocó transitar. No escogí a mi familia, ni a mi raza cuando llegué a este lugar de nacimiento. Quizás desde ese momento y lugar me tocó arañar la tierra con todas mis fuerzas para poder tener derecho a un espacio de convivencia y acercamiento con los demás. No fue fácil, fueron muchos los tropiezos antes de poder levantar mi cabeza y prepararme para la nueva estación. No es tan sencillo llegar a una familia donde no te están esperando y mucho menos donde no te han invitado. Razón más que suficiente para ser abordado por la soledad, y el a...

  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's topic attempts to answer questions that authors often wish they could ask about how they can get their books accepted by a published. While publishers differ in their needs for topics, specialist authors, and markets addressed, they pretty much all have the same criteria for book acquisition. Here are the major criteria that you can expect an acquisitions editor to consider in determining whether or not to take on your book: Is there a market for this kind of book?  This is one of the important questions on the proposal, and often, authors kill their chances for book acceptancy by overstatement, saying that t...