MSI Press Blog

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

  Here are our suggestions for Christmas book giving: Sula the Cat does it again! Sula, parish cat at Old Mission San Juan Bautista, is a cat with a special mission: to comfort people in need. Every morning, she spends time with St. Francis, patron saint of animals, and receives guidance for the day. During Masses, led by the Holy Spirit, she seeks out whomever God wants her to comfort, and they report that she brings comfort, indeed. In her spare time, she writes books. This time, she is writing about Christmas traditions and how she experiences them as a parish cat. Ever wonder where our various Christmas customs come from? Sula tells you about the history and the customs today, both mainstream American Catholic and Mexican American Catholic customs since both are part of her parish in California. Charmingly illustrated with an Eastern flavor by Russian artist, Zhenya Yanovich. Read excerpts HERE . Purchase the book HERE . People are often at a loss to find the right words to say in

  This is a series of Caturday posts on the topic of taking in  feral cats .  General information (from previous posts): For a few decades, we have rescued feral cats. In fact, with only one exception, our "domestic" cats have been ferals that we brought inside to join other ferals, already domesticated, as part of a bonded cat family. Right now, we have five cats (alas,  Murjan , the single non-feral cat we had, died from cancer last fall, and  Intrepid , closely bonded to Murjan, died three years ago from the same kind of cancer, and, most recently, Snyezhka , who had been valiantly fighting three kinds of cancer, died from a saddle thrombus, probably related to her chemotherapy but, of course, no one is going to suggest that and it really does not matter since knowing exactly what caused the reason for her death won't bring her back). All five of our feral cats get along pretty fabulously -- and they also got along well with the three predecessors. Of course, all of th

  On precerpt Fridays, we share excerpts from forthcoming books. Today, we are sharing an excerpt from Raising Happy Cat Families: the introduction to the chapter, "Alpha, Beta, and Everyone Else." Not all families will have both an alpha (dominating) and a beta (nurturing) cat. We did for many years, and that may have made it easier to keep the family together, bonded, and a receptive place when a new cat came along. Now, all four males—gentle souls all of them—take on the responsibility of welcoming the new cats. A cat rescuer, bringing our latest, Moo, to us, commented, “Your male cats are so gentle and welcoming!” They are, indeed. We expect them to be that way, and we raise them to be that way. Only Happy Cat is a beta cat. Now, because of blindness, he cannot fulfill that role. It seems as if the other three males understand that they are needed to help out, and they do step up to the plate. As a result, Moo was integrated by Bear, but Jack mentors him, as does Happy Ca

  Today's book back story is about  Overcoming the Odds,  edited by Carl Leaver. From the publisher -  At one point in time, MSI Press embraced the idea of a book of excerpts to use in book promotion. The idea was to put these in various waiting rooms, such as medical clinics, to give people something interesting to read -- and the opportunity to order the full book from which their favorite excerpts came.  Carl selected some of the most heartwarming and triumphant books we had published for excerpting in Overcoming the Odds .  That book has served its purpose. It no longer sits in waiting rooms; however, it is still available for purchase from MSI Press . For more posts about Carl Leaver and this book, click HERE . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC monthly newsletter (recentof  releases, sales/discounts, awards, reviews, Amazon top 100 list, author advice, and more -- stay up to date) Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishing with MSI Pres

  Excerpt from  Noah's New Puppy .  It is difficult for us to make excerpts from this book because each sentence has artwork. Here are a couple of excerpts we were able to make in the past along with more information about the book. Click HERE . THIS BOOK WAS AWARDED THE KOPS-FETHERLING INTERNATIONAL BOOK AWARD HONORABLE MENTION FOR CHILDREN'S PICTURE BOOKS. For more posts about this book, click  HERE . For more posts about Richard Rice, click  HERE . For more posts about Geri Henderson, click  HERE . For more posts about PTSD, click  HERE . For more posts about military families, people, and issues, click  HERE . Currently on half-price sale at www.msipress.com/shop.  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

  Women, We're Only Old Once  is  a 2023 Independent Press Award WINNER   in the category of Aging/Midlife.  Congratulations to MSI Press author, Bertha Coope Book description: With over ten years of growing into an old woman with the help of her friends, Bertha Cooper knows whereof she writes. In this book you will learn that growing old is not the slow death of our personalities, our bodies, or our relevance to the world. Someday, it will happen, but not yet! Feel the wisdom below the years we've lived and the power that comes with making our own choices about our aging selves.  Women, We're Only Old Once  offers explanations for natural changes that occur while aging and transitions we must make as we age. Women can be relieved to learn that having less endurance or word-finding problems are not signs of disease. Women are empowered to put their energy and spirit where it counts on their journey in this important phase of life. Bertha Cooper also earned the Kops-Fetherli

  The following is an excerpt from the description and history of the Day of the Dead as written by Sula, Parish Cat at Old Mission in her book, Dia de Muertos. Los antiguos mesoamericanos, quienes comenzaron la costumbre de celebrar la vida de sus antepasados =cada año (el Día de Muertos) creían que la muerte es parte del viaje de la vida. La muerte no es mala, no es el final de la vida, sino el comienzo de una nueva vida. Nueva vida viene de la muerte, al igual que los nuevos cultivos en este valle agrícola en el que se encuentra la ciudad de San Juan Bautista surgen cada año para que nuestros maravillosos trabajadores agrícolas cosechen en beneficio no solo de nuestra ciudad, valle y estado, sino también para muchas personas en muchos estados de los Estados Unidos donde nuestro producto se envía todos los días. Tal vez esta interpretación de la muerte—de que sea parte de un ciclo de nacimiento y renacimiento, es la razón por la cual San Francisco se refirió a la muerte como “Herma

  Today's back story is about the book, It Only Hurts When I Can't Run  by Gewanda Parker. From the publisher: When Gewanda approached us with her pre-publication manuscript, it was clear that here was a person who had experienced tremendous trauma as a child. That is a story, of course. A sad story. However, what was also clear was her resilience in overcoming that trauma very, very successfully. That was a story worth publishing. An uplifting story. A story that can help others. More important for us as publisher, it fit into a line of such books, the leaders of which were Elizabeth Mahlou's Blest Atheist and Geri Henderson's and Seanne Emerton's Healing from Incest -- and ultimate prompted the commissioned book by Joanna Romer, Recovering from Domestic Abuse, Stalking, and Abuse . When it was released, Gewanda's book quickly flew to the top of Amazon's hot new releases lists: #4 Hot New Releases in the child abuse category #8 Hot New Releases in the fam