MSI Press Blog

  Today's book back story provides inside information about  One Simple Text.. . (Shaw & Brown).  From the publisher -  Betty Shaw and Dave Brown brought to the press a great story. One of tragedy that through patient fortitude, medical skill, and great faith turned into triumph. Of a life almost lost because of one simple text while driving. The what and who of that text I will leave readers to discover. A story that had propelled the author and the protagonist of the story, her daughter, to Oprah Winfrey's TV show. They had, however, not yet written a book. (Advice here: if you have the opportunity for world-class publicity, get your book done in advance; it is so  helpful for book promotion to have the publicity come after the book and not afterward.) They needed some help in refining the story into a book that works. That is where MSI Press came in. We do this all the time with first-time authors. We help turn their wonderful but seemingly unmanageable stories into wann

  Congratulations to Betty Shaw and Dave Brown on her book, One Simple Text... , being selected as the  Kops-Fetherling International Book Awards  legacy award in the category of inspiration/motivation.   “ In One Simple Text , Betty Shaw recounts her daughter’s frightening and arduous but ultimately uplifting and inspirational journey. Betty chronicles Liz’s ordeal from the day of the accident and provides a glimpse of their life on the speaking and television circuit. This is a poignant memoir about a young woman who triumphed over tragedy; a mother and daughter’s love; and the indomitable power of the human spirit .” Read more posts about Betty and Dave and this book  HERE .

  San Juan Books is the hybrid division of MSI Press LLC. It allows first-time writers to become published in a traditional way through the reduction of risk by sharing publication costs. All other publishing features are traditional in nature, and most SJB authors go on to be offered traditional contracts for their subsequent books. SJB publications are available as paperback, hard cover, and e-book versions. SJB authors' books very much hold their own against their contemporaries in the traditional publishing division. Indeed, a number of them have outsold their traditional compatriots. Today, San Juan Books presents authors Betty Shaw and Dave Brown. Betty and Dave published One Simple Text... . Their book has earned many (and only) 5-star ratings as well as the Kops-Fetherling International Book Award for Legacy Inspiration/Motivation. The book itself follows an appearance by Liz Marks and her mother, Betty Shaw, on the Oprah Winfrey Show. To see more posts about these authors

  The following excerpt comes from One Simple Text.. . (Shaw & Brown) - Preface   I was in a near death car accident on April 7, 2012.   My face was shattered, and I suffered a traumatic brain injury. I was not expected to live, but by some miracle I did.             My journey to recovery and acceptance of the new me was far more difficult than I imagined.             I questioned why God let me live. Begging Him to let me die, I went into a deep depression.             I had more than 16 operations to repair the damage caused to my face, ears, and eyes.   I felt left out and lonely because I lost my friends on my way to recovery.             This all happened to me because I chose to text and drive.             This is my story.   Liz Marks Liz Marks and her mom, Betty Shaw Eric Hoffer Award finalist American Bookfest Best Books Award finalist For more posts about Betty and Dave and their books, click HERE . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsle

Released today! It was every parent’s worst nightmare.  On a sun-drenched morning in April 2012, a Maryland state trooper knocked on Betty Shaw’s front door and delivered the grim news that her 17-year-old daughter, Liz, had been involved in a horrible car accident and was clinging to life.   Liz recovered from her life-threatening injuries but suffered severe and permanent effects from the accident. Texting while driving caused Liz’s crash, and she and her mother went on a mission to educate people about the perils of distracted driving. The pair began to speak before various groups, and as their popularity grew, they launched a video about Liz’s story which went viral, spawning magazine and online articles, as well as several TV appearances, including one on Oprah Winfrey’s  Where Are They Now?  show.  In  One Simple Text , Betty Shaw recounts her daughter’s frightening and arduous but ultimately uplifting and inspirational journey. Betty chronicles Liz’s ordeal from the day

Betty Shaw and her daughter, Liz, travel throughout the United States to bring awareness about the dangers of distracted driving.  She lives in Easton, Maryland with her family and their dog, Quintin. Her book with Dave Brown,  One Simple Text…The Liz Marks Story ,  is a poignant tale of the drama that Liz and her family suffered as a result of her nearly dying from an accident that resulted from texting while driving. For more information about Betty's book, click HERE .

  Excerpt from One Simple Text: The Liz Marks Story (Shaw & Brown) GETTING TO ELIZABETH I careened around Elizabeth’s room, looking for something, anything, that felt like her that I could hold onto. Then, I saw it: her pillow—her favorite, the one she slept on every night, the one with the pizza stains, blotches of makeup, and the fruity scent of her perfume. I clutched that pillow to my chest for the whole ride to Shock Trauma. The drive had taken more than an hour, a span that people tend to think must have felt like an eternity. But it didn’t. I wanted that drive to last forever. I feared that once we arrived at Shock Trauma, they would tell us Elizabeth was dead. As long as the car rolled along the road, Elizabeth was alive. Paramedics had flown Elizabeth in a medevac helicopter from a cleared crop field a half-mile from the accident scene to the roof of the R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, part of the University of Maryland Medical Center—Shock Trauma for short. There, s

Parenting has its joys; it can also be demanding when all does not go as planned or hoped, as in this picture of parents with their son and two emergency room specialists, raising up (literally) their physically challenged daughter. MSI Press offers several unique books on parenting--for the everyday difficulties and the unique challenges. Take a look! 3 65 Teacher Secrets for Parent s by Cindy McKinley and Patti Trombly See posts by and about Cindy and Patti, including book excerpts, HERE . Courageous Parents   by Dr. Haim Omer Read posts by and about Dr. Omer, including book excerpts, HERE . How to Be a Good Mommy When You're Sick by Dr. Emily Graves Read posts by and about Dr. Graves, including book excerpts, HERE . Lessons of Labor by Julia Aziz See posts by and about Jula Aziz, including book excerpts,  HERE . Life after Losing a Child by Pat Young and Joanna Romer See posts by and about Pat  and Joanna. Noah's New Puppy by Richard R

  Just in this week -- a new (great) review on Amazon on One Simple Text .  five stars:  This book was a great read and definitely Liz’s story is an inspiration to me and I’m sure everyone else who reads it!! Joining an earlier 5-star review: MUST READ Check them out HERE . Read more posts about this book and its authors HERE .

  Congratulations to MSI Press's many talented authors for a strong showing in the 2020 Kops-Fetherling International Book Awards competition . The books and their awards are listed below. We will present each individual over the next couple of weeks so that readers can get to know the books and their authors. Definitely, each book is deserving (in our admittedly partially biased opinion) of its standing in the competition. Here are the 14 MSI books that placed in the competition. Phoenix Award Best New Voice Health and Fitness: Women, We're Only Old Once by Bertha Cooper. Gold Medal, Education: 10 Quick Homework Tips by Cindy McKinley Alder and Patti Trombly. Silver Medal, Science: Rainstorm of Tomorrow by Renyuan Dong Honorable Mention, Children's Picture Book: Noah's New Puppy by Vincent Rice with Geri Henderson Honorable Mention, Inspiration/Motivation: Weekly Soul by Dr. Frederic Craigie Honorable Mention, Mind, Body, & Spirit: How to Stay Calm in Chaos b

Great coverage of Shawn & Brown's One Simple Text...The Liz Marks Story by Linda Stein of The Mercury. Take a gander and enjoy.

This moving personal memoir . . . will inspire and uMichplift as it flicks on a warning light about the dangers of distracted driving and shines a bright shimmering light on the resilience of the human spirit. It is a gift of a story for anyone parenting teenagers who believe they are invincible and indestructible even as they engage in risky behaviors like texting and driving. - US Review of Books Read the rest of the review by Michelle Jacobs   Left: Liz and her mother, author Betty Shaw Right: Co-author, Dave Brown

excerpt from Teaching and Learning to Near Native Levels of Language Learning III (Dubinsky and Butler)  Introduction of Keynote Speaker, HRH Prince Firas bin Raad of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, by Betty Lou Leaver, Executive Director, CDLC               Because I have been a resident of the extraordinary Kingdom of Jordan since January 2004, it is a singular pleasure and honor to introduce our very special keynote speaker, His Royal Highness Prince Firas bin Raad of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. His biography and international and cross-cultural experiences coincide very much with the international orientation of our audience today. Let me give you a few examples:   (1) He was born in Amman, Jordan, attended boarding school in New Hampshire, earned a BA in economics and public health in 1991 from John Hopkins University, an MA in international studies in 1993 from the School of Advanced International Studies at John Hopkins, and a Master of Public Health in 1997 fr