MSI Press Blog

  Sula is a very unusual cat. She is the parish cat for Old Mission San Juan Bautista and, beyond being beloved by the people of the parish who see her at Mass every day and have paid for three cancer surgeries through collections (a fourth surgery was provided gratis by the vet, Dr. Theresa Arteaga of the Animal Cancer Center of Monterey), she has garnered some national attention for her miraculous understanding of who needs comfort and joy -- and uncannily offering it to them at just the right time. Her story appeared in G uideposts Magazine in December 2015, and in All Creatures in Novermber-December 2017. She has also written 6 books, with the help of some of the parishioners at Old Mission SJB. The first book, which has garnered some fame, including totally selling out during the first hour of a Barnes & Noble book launch event, is called Surviving Cancer, Helping People: One Cat's Story. It is recommended by US Review of Books, and was selected as a Reviewers' Choic

  Pictures and videos by Stacey Gentry. If it is Saturday, it just might be Sula day. And if it is Christmas, it might be Sula Santa. Have fun getting to know Sula better below. (The videos, unlike the pictures, are not embedded in this post; they are linked. You have to click on them to see them.)   Sula, beloved cat of San Juan Bautista (CA) parish and author of 6 books (5 in English and 1 in Spanish, never lacks for photographers, videographcrs, and artists to portray her and her adventures. Their efforts can be found in a number of  posts about Sula on this blog  -- and definitely spread across the  Internet . This Saturday-Caturday, we are sharing a short video of Sula, taken by Stacy Gentry. She is trying to get into Mass on a day when Mass canceled. Covid has taken a toll on Sula's ministry, as well as on the life of all the parishioners as Mass has had moments of being changed, canceled, moved on lone, and the like. See poor Sula's frustration HERE . Like seeing Sula in

About the Book As Sula walks through her Mission home, she meets more than a dozen saints, In Saints I Know , she shares them with anyone who has an interest.  Saints I Know depicts the lives of 21 saints in both their imperfection and perfection--chosen based on the relationship to a Franciscan Mission, Old iMission San Juan Bautista and, told through the eyes of the Mission's cat. The sections of the book include saints related to the founding of the Mission (St. Francis, St. John the Baptist, and St. Juniper Serra), the Holy parents (Mary and Joseph), saints whose statues are behind the altar in the Mission, patron saints of animals, patron saints of children, and the favorite saints of the parish priest. In a final section, she gives some thought, as well, to future saints. Book Endorsement Pending Review of the Book This is a brand-new book so Sula is still waiting for reviews. Want to write one in exchange for a free copy of the book? Send a note to editor@msipress

  IN MEMORIAM On August 24, 2022, Sula, the beloved parish cat at Old Mission San Juan Bautista, passed away quietly in her carrier as she prepared to spend her last working day at the Mission. For about 15 years, based on the estimates of parishioners who have known her since she appeared at the Mission as a kitten, she has spent her time at Masses, exploring the gardens, and in the Gift Shop where she lived until recently, moving in with parishioners, her godparents, when covid struck and spending Sundays on duty at the Mission. She brought excitement to scores of visiting children, peace to parishioners during Mass, and healing to the hurting. As a survivor of multiple forms of cancer, including skin cancer that took her ears years ago, she served as a role model to cancer patients. Visitors came not only to visit the Mission but also to meet Sula. On her Face Book page, she had over 1000 followers, including fans from more than a dozen states and many countries. Sula, a “divine cat

  It is Tuesday. 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 is a never-ending one: how to market books, especially if you are a small press or a self-publishing author. The simple answer to that question is any way and every way you can, in small numbers and in larger quantities, over and over (keeping in mind the magic number of 22 ). Here are some ideas that have worked for MSI Press authors. Larry MacDonald, author of RV Oopsies , sells books nearly every day. He has a niche (travel humor), and nearly every day, his book turns up in the top 100 list of books of travel humor. What is he doing right? He built a following with his "dumb things RVers do" annual competition

  Sula, well known across the Internet for the general sharing of her story by Guideposts , All Creatures , and others, is listed on every Sunday bulletin of Old Mission San Juan Bautista .  Sula has survived five bouts of cancer, written a book about it ( Surviving Cancer, Healing People: One Cat's Story ). When she entered remission after her fifth bout and concurrent with closure of the Mission gift shop, her home, because of covid regulations, Sula, now 14 years ago, went into retirement, living with a parish couple that has taken care of her whenever she needed to recuperate for years. Now, she comes to the church on Sundays to be with the parishioners and lend them support as she always has. Sula's first cancer is skin cancer. The first bout required clipping her ears. The second bout required removing her ears. She remains in remission from skin cancer. Sula's second cancer was carcinoma at the injection site of a vaccination (her hip). The first time required surgi

Betty Lou Leaver (Ph.D., Pushkin Institute, Moscow) is Director of The Literary Center of San Juan Bautista and previously served as provost, associate provost, and dean at the Defense Language Institute. She established an international language program at NASA for cosmonauts and astronauts assigned to the International Space Station; served as a language training supervisor at the Foreign Service Institute, curriculum developer for the Federal Foreign Language Training Lab, dean and chief academic officer at the New York Institute of Technology in Jordan, president of the American Global Studies Institute, co-director of the Center for the Advancement of Distinguished Language Proficiency at San Diego State University, and founding director of the Center for the Languages of the Central Asian Region at Indiana University; and provided consultation to educational programs in 24 countries. She has published 21 books, more than 100 articles, and is currently co-editing a book,  Tran

Sula, Parish Cat at Old Mission and well known author to readers of this blog, has suffered from cancer for many years bow. Her first book, Surviving Cancer, Healing People: One Cat's Story , was meant to provide hope and understanding to people suffering from cancer. From the input received at the publishing office, that goal is being reached on a regular basis. Sula's skin cancer returned, as detailed in the book, and her ears were removed. After that, she has been free of skin cancer.  However, another cancer appeared. This one was at the injection site for one of her inoculations. It resulted in a cyst, which Sula's vet removed. However, with time, the tumor returned about a year ago. Her vet recommended amputation of her leg and estimated that her remaining life would be about six months if the cancer were not treated. The parish priest did not want to go to extremes like amputation and decided that it would be best to let Sula live out a normal life even if it would

  How many gift shops can boast the presence of a divine cat, always willing to meet with and pose with customers? Sure, a few can. Among them, a leader is the gift shop at Old Mission San Juan Buatista, where Sula, parish cat and a member of the staff at Old Mission, as well as author of six books, lives in residence. Well, lived in residence pre-covid. With current covid curtailments, she retired to live with her godparents nearby in Hollister and now works on Sundays, where she attends Mass to comfort people who need her and engage with customers at the gift shop next door. Among other Catholic products, such as rosaries and statues, the gift shop also sells all of Sula's books, and the proceeds go toward the restoration fund for the Mission. Sula has raised a lot of funds to help save her Mission! To read more about the Mission and the gift shop, click HERE . To see more information about Sula and her books, click HERE .

We have a few Spanish-language books and two authors, very different from each other, who write in Spanish. First, meet psychologist Fernando Ustman . Fernando focuses on transpersonal psychology; his works intersect with psychology, philosophy, spirituality, and the eternal.  His works include the books below: Read about this book HERE . Read about this book HERE . Read about this book HERE . Read more about Fernando and his books HERE . Now, meet Sula, Parish Cat at Old Mission San Juan Bautista (Gata parriquial). Sula has published six books so far on theological topics that touch on the everyday lived experiences of Catholics and others. She has one book in Spanish, with a second one, about Catholic (Franciscan) prayers planned. Here is her Spanish-language book: Read about this book HERE . Read more about Sula and her books HERE . (Yes, when the prayer book comes out, it will automatically link here.)

  Books on discount through Kindle (Kindle Countdown) All books begin (first day) at 99 cents, with amount of discount decreasing during the countdown period, so, if you are interest in the book, snatch it on day one for the best price. (Subsequent prices, though, are something to smile about.) Books return to regular price the day after the last day listed below. Survival of the Caregiver  (Snyder) 12/10-12/17 Tucker and Me  (Harvey) Hollywood Book Festival  12/11 - 12/18 The Widower's Guide to a New Lif e  (Romer) Book of the Year finalist 12/12 - 12/19 Christmas at the Mission  (Sula) 12/13 - 12/20 Heart to Heart Resuscitation  (Montgomery) 12/14 - 12/21 Blest Atheist  (Mahlou) 1/8 - 1/15 in time for Orthodox Christmas, reflected in the opening and closing scenes Think Yourself into Becoming a Language Learning Super Star!   (Leaver) 1/9 - 1/16 Publishing for Smarties  (Ham) 1/11 - 1/19 Paperback formats (and in some cases, hard cover formats) of the above e-books can be purchas

  Books on discount through Kindle (Kindle Countdown) All books begin (first day) at 99 cents, with amount of discount decreasing during the countdown period, so, if you are interest in the book, snatch it on day one for the best price. (Subsequent prices, though, are something to smile about.) Books return to regular price the day after the last day listed below. Survival of the Caregiver  (Snyder) 12/10-12/17 Tucker and Me  (Harvey) Hollywood Book Festival  12/11 - 12/18 The Widower's Guide to a New Lif e  (Romer) Book of the Year finalist 12/12 - 12/19 Christmas at the Mission  (Sula) 12/13 - 12/20 Heart to Heart Resuscitation  (Montgomery) 12/14 - 12/21 Blest Atheist  (Mahlou) 1/8 - 1/15 in time for Orthodox Christmas, reflected in the opening and closing scenes Think Yourself into Becoming a Language Learning Super Star!   (Leaver) 1/9 - 1/16 Publishing for Smarties (Ham) 1/11 - 1/19 Paperback formats (and in some cases, hard cover formats) of the above e-books can be purchas

(Christmas photo by Lovejoy Studios, Hollister, CA; originally published in The Hollister Freelance )  This Caturday, we are sharing some new pictures of Sula, parish cat at Old Mission San Juan Bautista, who has earned Internet fame and written six books (one in Spanish) and two more proposed. For today, though, thought it might be fun just to share some pictures of the author herself, as she has appeared in various interviews and stories over the years. Photo by Klimek, for Guideposts Magazine. More from that article can be found HERE . Portrait by Kat, cat artist in New York City. Drawing of Sula by Stacy Gentry, photographer and Old Mission Gift Shop manager--and overseer of Sula's care and caregivers. And the newspaper article with the photo above. And another newspaper article : "Cat's Story Is a Tale of Hope" ( The Hollister Freelancer ; photo by Nick Lovejoy). And yet another article , "Sula the Cat Is on a Mission in San Juan" ( The Gilroy Dispatch