MSI Press Blog

  Sula c 2005- August 24, 2022 Sula, parish cat at Old Mission San Juan Bautista, "wrote" six books for parishioners on religions topics. They were well received, and Sula made the news cycle now and again and was featured in national magazines and in online publications. Examples: All Creatures and Guideposts. Today, parishioners and visitors walked past her grave at the Mission and asked to know more about her. Today, the decision was made by the parish to create a 2024 calendar with her charming photos. It should be available for sale soon. The picture above was posted on her Face Book page today in memory of what she brought to the Mission. (photo by Stacey Gentry) For more info, pictures, and book excerpts related to Sula, click HERE .

We celebrate Easter by offering two previous posts about Easter: https://msipressblog.blogspot.com/search?q=Easter And here is some more information about those books and their authors -- Bennett Easterling has written three terrific spiritual books; follow the book links for more information about each book. Jesus Is Still Passing By Jesus Is Still Passing By: Study Guide Edition (by popular demand when study groups discovered the original book) Of God, Rattlesnakes, and Okra: A Preacher's Boy Tells His Growing-Up Story (a delightful, funny, warm-hearted memoir -- and award-winning) Sula, Parish Cat at Old Mission has written six books, one of which is focused on Easter. Easter at the Mission: A Cat's Observation of the Paschal Mystery  Sula received great reviews on her Easter book. Read them on Goodreads , MidWest Book Review and Readers Favorite . Learn more about her othe

  Every year, Sula, parish cat at Old Mission San Juan Bautista, who takes care of the Mission, gift shop, and parishioners, dresses up for Halloween and has a great time greeting customers at the gift shop as well as at Mass. This year, Sula has done something special for Halloween. She has written a book, Dia de Muertos , about Day of the Dead that occurs at the same time, and she lists all the differences between the two holidays. See that except HERE . Enjoy Halloween, then curl up with Sula's book and get ready for Day of the Dead. For more posts from this blog and from the Internet about Sula, click HERE . For more posts about Day of the Dead, click HERE . For more posts about Sula's books, click HERE .

  It being Caturday and all, I thought I would share a cute drawing of Sula, parish cat at Old Mission, that I saw in the Mission Gift Shop when I visited today. Sula is beloved by parishioners and visitors alike. People draw pictures of her; they photograph her, and of course they hold and pet her. Sula is known for her appearance in two Guideposts Magazines and for the six books she has written to raise money for the Mission's retrofit (it is located in California, atop the intersection of three earthquake fault). To read more on the web about Sula, including her Guideposts stories, click HERE . To see posts about Sula and her books, click HERE .

  Sula, parish cat at Old Mission, wrote a helpful book,  Easter at the Mission , with information not generally shared in books that more superficially discuss the events around Easter, that explains Catholic dogma (much would also relate to Protestant denominations).  Sula's book is informative yet delightfully illustrated and easy to understand. It can be purchased on the spot at Old Mission gift shop or at St. Francis Retreat Center, both in San Juan Bautista. Or, it can be  purchased online . Want a discount? Order from  MSI Press webstore at half price sale ; use code FF25, and get another 25% off. Cannot beat that price! But it won't last beyond Easter, so please do hurry if you want the book. Here is an excerpt about from the section on Good Friday: Veneration of the Cross On Good Friday, the parishioners venerate the cross. The veneration begins with the cross being brought down the aisle. When it reaches the altar, the cross is laid down, and the priest lies prostrate

  Check out page 24 of the January issue of the  Mission Village Voice , where Sula's grave is announced as Headstone of the Month. (Just flipping the pages is found - great Internet tech set-up.) As the article says, Sula ministered to the parish at Old Mission San Juan Bautista for 15 years, arriving there apparently Heaven-sent when she was two years old from no one knows where. The "author" of 7 books and the subject of (inter)national articles, she was always a stop on the Mission tour, where she never failed to give visitors her love. Since she passed over the rainbow bridge in August, her grave site in the Mission gardens beside her beloved St. Francis statue has become a stopping place for parishioners and visitors honoring her years of support to this community. For more posts about Sula, click HERE . For more Caturday posts, click HERE . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishi

  (photo by Martin Klimek) Long overdue is this story about Sula, parish cat of Old Mission, who was featured in the Christmas issue of Guideposts Magazine and in the All Creatures spinoff magazine in 2017 -- she was the cover in both cases.  Since that first story, which you can read online HERE , asn well as view the beautiful photography by Martin Klimek (sample above -- and more pictures at the Guideposts online site), Sula has written six books about and in support of her parish, Old Mission San Juan Bautista. They have received wonderful reviews! You can read more posts by Sula and her books HERE .

  It seems appropriate that today's daily excerpt, on Caturday, would from a cat book -- Saints I Know by Sula, Parish Cat at Old Mission -- and be about St. Gertrude, the patron saint of cats. St. Gertrude of Nivelles 626-659 St. Gertrude of Nivelles is the patron saint of cats, which is why sometimes I am tempted to say that she is my favorite saint. But I really don't have a favorite, they are all very special. Well, I talk to St. Francis each morning to find out what jobs I have that day so I suppose that does make him sort of extra special—especially since he is the patron saint of animals. If you think of my jobs as a mission, you might say I am a Mission cat with a different mission every day, thanks to St. Francis. Like St. Basil, St. Gertrude came from a family with many saints. Her mother was St. Itta of Nivelles, her father was St. Pepin of Landen, her sister was St. Begga of Ardenne. Unlike many other saints, St. Gertrude didn't come from a poor or humbl

  Well, this is not news. Sula has had a Face Book page for a few years new, long enough to gather nearly 800 followers. (You can be a follower, too.) What is on the page? Announcements about new books by Sula. She has published six. Sula's reactions to events at the Mission. Pictures of Sula with visitors. Photos and videos of Sula's adventures at the Mission. All lots of fun, endearing, charming, and heartwarming. Great pictures, great stories. Check out her FB page HERE .. Check out Sula's blog posts and pictures HERE .

  Sula, the parish cat who pens books for MSI Press, has had her cancer return recently. A cancer specialist in Monterey was so kind as to provide treatment for her for free. I suppose that is fair. Sula takes care of the whole parish for free every day. So, once more, for the fourth time, let's all offer prayers for Sula's continuing resiliency and God's continuing care. Read more posts about Sula and her books HERE. And stories about her from newspapers and magazines online HERE .

  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 .

  Sula, parish cat at Old Mission San Juan Bautista and prolific MSI Press LLC author, has her own youtube series, the Sula Diaries. Listen to one of the diaries HERE Read more posts about Sula, her battle with cancer, and her books HERE . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter.

  photo of Sula, looking for more of her books, by Stacey Gentry Sula, parish cat at Old Mission San Juan Bautista, is back in the news again. This time, an article about MSI Press LLC in the San Francisco Post details the role Sula and her books play in raising money for the presentation fund of Old Mission San Juan Bautista. Check it out! Nicely written! For more posts about Sula and her books -- and lots of neat pictures, click HERE .

  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

  Recently, Surviving Cancer, Healing People: One Cat's Story  by Sula Parish Cat at Old Mission was awarded a gold in the Literary Titan February book competition. For more posts about Sula and her books, click HERE . For more MSI Press Literary Titan award winners, click HERE . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishing with MSI Press LLC? Check out information on  how to submit a proposal . Interested in receiving a free copy of this or any MSI Press LLC book  in exchange for  reviewing  a current or forthcoming MSI Press LLC book? Contact editor@msipress.com. Want an  author-signed copy  of this book? Purchase the book at 25% discount (use coupon code FF25) and concurrently send a written request to orders@msipress.com. 

  We indeed have books about cats -- a number of them -- and welcome more. Here are some cat lovers might enjoy: How My Cat Made Me a Better Man . Jeremy Feig Book of the Year Finalist Kops-Fetherling International Book Award Legacy Award for Humor 25% discount with code FF25 at msipress.com/shop Intrepid Carl and Betty Leaver 25% with code FF25 at msipress.com/shop Sula series -- there are six books (five in English and one in Spanish) in a series of books "written" by Sula, Parish Cat at Old Mission                                         Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter                           Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .

  This morning I discovered a chat note sent to Sula, parish cat at Old Mission San Juan Bautista.  Someone had set a video of Sula to the song, "I Have You." It is beautiful. It brought me a morning smile -- I hope it will for you, too. Just click right HERE . For more posts about Sula, her seven books, her friendships, and her many interviews, click HERE . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishing with MSI Press LLC? Check out information on  how to submit a proposal . Interested in receiving a free copy of this or any MSI Press LLC book  in exchange for  reviewing  a current or forthcoming MSI Press LLC book? Contact editor@msipress.com. Want an  author-signed copy  of this book? Purchase the book at 25% discount (use coupon code FF25) and concurrently send a written request to orders@msipress.com. 

  Well, this may be the shortest book back story yet. Easter at the Mission came about at Easter time after several other Sula (parish cat). Essentially, it was Easter. Sula had already written a popular book, Christmas at the Mission . Readers reported learning things about Christmas they had not known, and the hope was, with the help of the deacon, to do the same with he Easter book -- that hope seemed to have been realized even more in the Easter book than the Christmas book. For more posts about Sula and her award-winning books, click HERE . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishing with MSI Press LLC? Check out information on  how to submit a proposal . Interested in receiving a free copy of this or any MSI Press LLC book  in exchange for  reviewing  a current or forthcoming MSI Press LLC book? Contact editor@msipress.com. Want an  author-signed copy  of this book? Purchase the book at 25% disc

  Today is the feast day of St. John the Baptist, and Sula, Parish Cat at Old Mission, has a book that is perfect for the day. The cover of Sains I Know shows the statue of St. John the Baptist in Sula's hometown of San Juan Bautista (St. John the Baptist). Here is Sula's description of SJB. St. John the Baptist Early first Century A.D. The town of San Juan Bautista (St. John the Baptist), where our Mission is located, was founded on the feast day of St. John the Baptist, June 24 (the reason that most of my books have been released on June 24), and named after him. Our Mission was founded on that day, too. In the beginning, the two were very connected. St. John the Baptist is one of the best-known saints, even to non-Catholics. Even so, his exact birth dates are not known. He was born six months before Jesus, whose coming he foreshadowed, and was murdered in the last year of Jesus’s ministry, so we do know the approximate dates—the first 30 or so years of the first century. He