MSI Press Blog

  Yep, it's Caturday, and we want to share, somewhat anonymously for privacy reasons, a bit of the recent trials and tribulations of Sula, the parish cat at Old Mission who has written six books. Sula has both a big fan club -- you can even join it on her Face Book page HERE -- and quite some renown, thanks to both own publications and publications about here, which you can read about HERE (pick and choose the ones that might most tickle your fancy). To briefly encapsulate the history: 1. Sula arrived as a kitten, perhaps somewhere around age 1, at the Old Mission, which really is the only action in her little town. 2. After a few years spending much time outdoors in this sunny California town, Sula developed skin cancer on her ears. They were trimmed. The cancer came back. Her ears were removed. You can read her story about that experience in her book, Surviving Cancer, Healing People: One Cat's Story .  3. Elizabeth Mahlou related Sula's story to Guideposts Magazine , wh

  With cancer, we tend to focus on the fight --- and sometimes losing the fight. Surviving, however, can also be daunting. "What now?" you might ask. Oxford University Press recently published two books that help answer that question: Surviving the Storm is a workbook for telling your cancer story. Psychosocial Care for Cancer Survivors is a guide and workbook for caregivers. For more posts on cancer, click HERE . Blog editor's note: As a memorial to Carl, and simply because it is truly needed, MSI Press is now hosting a web page,  Carl's Cancer Compendium , as a one-stop starting point for all things cancer, to make it easier for those with cancer to find answers to questions that can otherwise take hours to track down on the Internet and/or from professionals. The web page is in its infancy but expected to expand into robustness. To that end, it is expanded and updated weekly. As part of this effort, each week, on Monday, this blog will carry an informative, cance

  Excerpt from Surviving Cancer, Healing People  by Sula -  One of Fr. Jerry’s homilies was so very interesting that I had to get up out of the pew and go down and listen to him. He was talking about the animals and what they brought to the baby Jesus. He talked about what the donkeys brought and what the camels brought and what the sheep brought and what lots of other kinds of animals brought. That homily interested me much more than any other homily I had heard from Fr. Jerry although all his homilies are good. All the people who take care of me agree, which is almost everyone when you count all the people who love and pet me. But, he did not say anything about what the cats brought! That made me very curious. I wanted to know what the cats brought. I wanted to hear more of the homily. I wanted to hear it clearly. I really wanted to hear what the cats had brought to Baby Jesus. So, I walked up to where Fr. Jerry was standing and talking and sat down in front of him, eager to hi

  There have been many posts on Sula, Parish Cat at Old Mission , by many people, including on Sula's own page, as well as articles written about her in Guideposts and All Creatures, but perhaps the most special thing about her (at least recently) was shared by her current vet oncologist.  Sula has had an ongoing struggle with cancer, in and out of remission, for more than six years. At first, she had skin cancer on her ears. That was controlled by cutting out the cancered areas. Then, the skin cancer returned, and Sula's ears were removed. She wrote about it in Surviving Cancer, Healing People: One Cat's Story . Then, Sula got another kind of cancer: injection site carcinoma. Her vet cut out a piece of her hip to help her survive it, and survive she did. But in a couple of years, the cancer came back. This time, the vet said the only way to save Sula's life would be to remove her leg. The priest said no. Let her live out her life however long with all her legs intact. 

  Literary Titan says: "Surviving Cancer, Healing People: One Cat’s Story  is a heartwarming memoir of one special cat. Readers will learn about the Catholic faith and get a unique perspective on their practices and beliefs. Cat lovers, children, Christians, and everyone who likes a feel-good story will enjoy this short book." Read the rest of the 5-star review HERE . Read more reviews HERE . For more posts about Sula and her books, click HERE . For more Caturday posts, click HERE . 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@msi

  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

Excerpt -- I Am Not Alone (photo by Kaleena Scargill) Some of the people who form a big part of my mission struggle with cancer. I do understand them—their fears, their pain, their sometimes-sadness. I feel those things, too, at least as much as a cat can feel. I know that God made humans to have even deeper feelings and a greater range of feelings, and I am glad that some of those feelings include loving animals because it is through that love that I can connect with them and bring them the message of God’s love. I have to tell you about one of my special friends, Loryn. She understands me because she had cancer, and I understand her because I had cancer—the same way Cody and I understand, support, and love each other. Maybe it is better if I am not the one to tell her story, though. Maybe she should tell her own story. I think you will find it more interesting that way. So, here is what she wrote for my book about her experience: Over seven years ago, I

  Photo by Kaleena Scargill Some of the people who form a big part of my mission [taking emotional/spiritual care of the parishioners at Old Mission San Juan Bautista] struggle with cancer. I do understand them—their fears, their pain, their sometimes-sadness. I feel those things, too, at least as much as a cat can feel. I know that God made humans to have even deeper feelings and a greater range of feelings, and I am glad that some of those feelings include loving animals because it is through that love that I can connect with them and bring them the message of God’s love. I have to tell you about one of my special friends, Loryn. She understands me because she had cancer, and I understand her because I had cancer—the same way Cody and I understand, support, and love each other. Maybe it is better if I am not the one to tell her story, though. Maybe she should tell her own story. I think you will find it more interesting that way. So, here is what she wrote for my book about her exper

Hi, I am Sula, the Parish Cat. In honor of Caturday, I am going to invite you to join me on my Facebook Page  HERE   -- I have almost 800 friends now; you can be my friend, too, if you like read some blog posts about me HERE   -- all kinds of information: who I am, pictures of me, information about my book, and more: go discover! read the interview that Mudpie conducted with me when my book, Suriving Cancer, Helping People: One Cat's Stor y first came out HERE   -- it was fun; I think you will like it see  the stories about me on the Internet (from local newspapers, Guideposts Magazine, All Creatures Managzine, and more) read reviews about my books; you can a list of the reviews here Christmas at the Mission Dia de Muertos Easter at the Mission Saints I Know Surviving Cancer, Healing People: One Cat's Story Tale of a Mission Cat read some excerpts from my books HERE And, for some immediate reading pleasure right here, this is the Canticle of Sula that Stacy Gentry, my care pro

  Books on discount through Kindle (Kindle Countdown) Discount begins (first day) at 99 cents, with amount of discount decreasing during the countdown period, so, if you are interested in the book, snatch it on day one for the best price. (Subsequent prices, though, are something to smile about as well.) Books return to regular price the day after the last day listed below. Surviving Freshman Year  (Jones) 4/3 - 4/10 AWARDS LITERARY TITAN GOLD AWARD PINNACLE BOOK ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Surviving Cancer, Healing People: One Cat's Story 4/4 - 4/11 AWARD LITERARY TITAN GOLD AWARD Paperback formats (and in some cases, hard cover formats) of the above e-books can be purchased on discount at MSI Press webstore; use FF25 as a coupon code to get a 25% discount. Books on deep discount at  MSI Press webstore /books available while supplies last: 10 Quick Homework Tips  (McKinley-Alder & Trombly) 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents: Fun Ways to Help Your Child Succeed in Elementary School  (McKinl

  Books on discount through Kindle (Kindle Countdown) Discount begins (first day) at 99 cents, with amount of discount decreasing during the countdown period, so, if you are interested in the book, snatch it on day one for the best price. (Subsequent prices, though, are something to smile about as well.) Books return to regular price the day after the last day listed below. Surviving Freshman Year  (Jones) 4/3 - 4/10 AWARDS LITERARY TITAN GOLD AWARD PINNACLE BOOK ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Surviving Cancer, Healing People: One Cat's Story 4/4 - 4/11 AWARD LITERARY TITAN GOLD AWARD Paperback formats (and in some cases, hard cover formats) of the above e-books can be purchased on discount at MSI Press webstore; use FF25 as a coupon code to get a 25% discount. Books on deep discount at  MSI Press webstore /books available while supplies last: 10 Quick Homework Tips  (McKinley-Alder & Trombly) 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents: Fun Ways to Help Your Child Succeed in Elementary School  (McKinl

  Books on discount through Kindle (Kindle Countdown) Discount begins (first day) at 99 cents, with amount of discount decreasing during the countdown period, so, if you are interested in the book, snatch it on day one for the best price. (Subsequent prices, though, are something to smile about as well.) Books return to regular price the day after the last day listed below. Surviving Freshman Year  (Jones) 4/3 - 4/10 AWARDS LITERARY TITAN GOLD AWARD PINNACLE BOOK ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Surviving Cancer, Healing People: One Cat's Story 4/4 - 4/11 AWARD LITERARY TITAN GOLD AWARD Paperback formats (and in some cases, hard cover formats) of the above e-books can be purchased on discount at MSI Press webstore; use FF25 as a coupon code to get a 25% discount. Books on deep discount at  MSI Press webstore /books available while supplies last: 10 Quick Homework Tips  (McKinley-Alder & Trombly) 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents: Fun Ways to Help Your Child Succeed in Elementary School  (McKinl

  Books on discount through Kindle (Kindle Countdown) Discount begins (first day) at 99 cents, with amount of discount decreasing during the countdown period, so, if you are interested in the book, snatch it on day one for the best price. (Subsequent prices, though, are something to smile about as well.) Books return to regular price the day after the last day listed below. Surviving Freshman Year  (Jones) 4/3 - 4/10 AWARDS LITERARY TITAN GOLD AWARD PINNACLE BOOK ACHIEVEMENT AWARD Surviving Cancer, Healing People: One Cat's Story 4/4 - 4/11 AWARD LITERARY TITAN GOLD AWARD Paperback formats (and in some cases, hard cover formats) of the above e-books can be purchased on discount at MSI Press webstore; use FF25 as a coupon code to get a 25% discount. Books on deep discount at  MSI Press webstore /books available while supplies last: 10 Quick Homework Tips  (McKinley-Alder & Trombly) 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents: Fun Ways to Help Your Child Succeed in Elementary School  (McKinl