MSI Press Blog

  Today's back story is about the book, Mommy Poisoned Our House Guest  by Shenan (CB) Leaver with Betty Lou Leaver. From the co-author: CB Leaver , the author, is a mentally challenged CHARGE Syndrome adult who never learned to read or write. His mother, Betty Lou Leaver, a highly published author, who wanted her son to understand the purpose of the written word: sharing thoughts and/or information with others. It took a full year of working together to put CB's remembered stories on paper, to check that they had been accurately transcribed. CB learned a lot about the written word both in the process of writing and in getting feedback from pre-publication readers of the manuscript. CB subsequently did a book signing at the Los Angeles Book Fair. He had a great time learning about reader reactions to his book. He was also adept at using his people skills and humor to draw readers to his booth.  Book available at 25% discount with code FF25 at msipress.com/shop. Read excerpts a

  1948-2021 It is with great sadness that MSI Press notes the death of Carl Leaver, CEO of the Press and typesetter and graphic designer par excellence . Many authors have expressed not only condolences but also a sense of legacy from covers he designed that they love.  Here is his obituary: On August 16, 2021, Carl Don Leaver of San Juan Bautista passed into eternal rest. A forester with the US Forest Service in Idaho and Montana, he turned to nature photography while working in the Bitterroot National Forest. His photographs graced national magazine covers and on a weekly basis the local paper of Hamilton, MT, the Ravalli Republican. He later worked on photography projects for the US Army (AFEES) and taught photography at the New York Institute of Technology in Amman, Jordan. His final career change led him to computer graphics and publishing as co-owner of MSI Press LLC; his many typeset books and book covers have helped MSI Press authors win a large number of awards over the years,

  (photo from last year, in anticipation of changing that number this evening from 41 to 42) November 13 today is CB Leaver's birthday. CB is the MSI Press author of the popular Mommy Poisoned Our House Guest and one of the oldest CHARGE Syndrome adults in the world. He knows only three others world-wide (Ohio, Massachusetts, and Netherlands) who have reached his age of 42 years (one is actually 45, the others are 42, as well) but thinks there may be another one or two somewhere. It is no mere feat, then, that he has survived, and robustly so, after a very tenuous start in life in which he as given 0% chance of survival by well respected doctors at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh and rescued by doctors at Children's Hospital in Boston, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, Children's National Medical Center, Georgetown University Hospital, and Stanford Children's Medical Center -- it took a countrywide network to turn that 0% into 100%) and no mere feat also that

  Shenan (CB) Leaver, author of Mommy Poisoned Our House Guest , was recently interviewed by the Mission Village Voice , where his book is being serialized. From the MVV introduction to the column: "Mommy Poisoned Our House Guest is collection of anecdotes about a 'detail-oblivious' homemaker and traveler, told from the point of view of CB, her mentally challenged son. The simplicity of language has made this book a favorite with ESL students, and the humorous 'conclusion' about life from a child's point of view endears it to anyone with a sense of humor. The reason CB's mother worked with him to write the book was to teach him the impact of literacy -- why people write and why people read. Even though it has been impossible for him to learn to read and write very much, through the joint preparation of the book he did learn a lot about literacy. CB is a 42-year-old CHARGE Syndrome, on of about 4-5 worldwide his age. He was given 0% chance of living, dispro

Shenan (CB) Leaver has attended special education classes in Virginia, California, and Ohio and graduated from Hayes High School in Delaware, Ohio, where he was voted “class flirt.” A parishioner at the San Benedict (in the background) parish, he now lives in Hollister in San Benito County, California and works at a sheltered workshop, M&M, where he has many friends who like to listen to his tall tales, most of whichS are based on true stories, funny things that happen to one relative or another — or to him.     He has written a very special and very funny book about his mother,   Mommy Poisoned Our House Guest   (yes, true story). Stand by for edition 3, currently in the making. CB is also working on a similar volume about his father, tentatively titled   Daddy Waited . Shenan loves to receive email from readers! For more imformation on CB and his work, click HERE .

  CB and the late Carl Leaver, MSI Press authors Meet our author-dads who have written absolutely splendid books for fathers (and others) about all sorts of topics! (Some are no longer with us, but their works in life and in literature live on.) And, yes, of course, we continue to sell their books. Wally Amidon (deceased) The Musings of a South Carolina Yankee Read MSI blog posts about Wally . TL Brink How to Argue with an Atheist Read more posts about TL Brink  HERE . Dave Brown (co-author) One Simple Text.. KOPS-FETRHLING.INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARD LEGACY. AWARD: INSPIRATION/MOTIVATION HOLLYWOOD BOOK FESTIVAL FINALIST Read MSI Press blog posts about Dave  HERE . Dr. Frederic Craigie Weekly Soul AMERICAN BOOKFEST BEST BOOK AWARD FINALIST; INSPIRATION BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD GOLD: MIND, BODY, SPIRIT READER VIEWS LITERARY AWARDS SILVER: MIND/BODY/SPIRIT READER VIEWS LITERARY AWARDS SILVER: RELIGION KOPS-FETHERLING INTERNATIONAL BOOKS AWARDS HONORABLE MENTIONN: INSPIRATION/MOTIVATION Read M

  Shenan (CB) Leaver's book, Mommy Poisoned Our House Guest, was translated into Russia and published in Russia, with excerpts in the Socionics Journal . For those who can read Russian, hear is some fun reading!! Мама отравила нашего гостя! (фрагменты из книги) Авторы: Си Би ЛИВЕР и Бетти Лу ЛИВЕР В своей книге Си Би Ливер, один из семи детей Бетти Ливер, решил рассказать о своей Маме, которая помогла ему с редактированием текста. К сожалению, хорошей фотографии Си Би не нашлось, поэтому помещаем только фотографию героини книги. Соционический тип: как нам кажется, хорошо виден из текста Эл. адреса: CBLeaver @ aol . com и Leaver @ aol . com Хаос на кухне. Моя Мама – очень хорошая Мама, но очень плохой повар. Однажды моей сестрёнке понадобилось принести на праздник девочек-скаутов "дьявольские яйца" (обычно их фаршируют майонезом и сладким красным перцем, но Мама, вид