MSI Press Blog

  We pause our Tuesday talks with authors to share information about to share our activities today, August 16, the one-year anniversary of the death of Carl Leaver, MSI Press co-faounder, primary graphic designer, and usual typesetter. We asked everyone who knew him to eat a piece of chocolate in his memory. It is not too late for others to do the same. Rather than repeat the in memoriam statement of a year ago, here is the link: IN MEMORIAM CARL LEAVER . More posts about Carl can be found HERE .  We began the day at the cemetery, beside his vault, and shared a rosary and his favorite breakfast -- corned beef hash -- with him, placing a favorite tablecloth from Damascus, with fine gold-thread embroidery that is unique to that area where Carl had spent time. Then we took some coffee cake bread to the firemen who so many times during the last months of his life would come and pick him off the floor or take him to the hospital. After that was lunch with friends and the priest who had org

  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

  1948-2021 It is with great sadness that MSI Press notes the death of Carl Leaver, CEO of the Press and typesetter and graphic designer par excellence . Many authors have expressed not only condolences but also a sense of legacy from covers he designed that they love.  Here is his obituary: On August 16, 2021, Carl Don Leaver of San Juan Bautista passed into eternal rest. A forester with the US Forest Service in Idaho and Montana, he turned to nature photography while working in the Bitterroot National Forest. His photographs graced national magazine covers and on a weekly basis the local paper of Hamilton, MT, the Ravalli Republican. He later worked on photography projects for the US Army (AFEES) and taught photography at the New York Institute of Technology in Amman, Jordan. His final career change led him to computer graphics and publishing as co-owner of MSI Press LLC; his many typeset books and book covers have helped MSI Press authors win a large number of awards over the years,

  It is with sorrow that MSI announces the death of affiliated author, Jim Ostdick. Jim lived in San Juan Bautista and interacted with MSI Press staff and participated in activities of The Literary Center, a local outreach arm of MSI Press. He was especially close to Carl Leaver, MSI Press typesetter from 2003-2021. They both are missed. HERE is the biographic information published in the Hollister Freelance , the local paper.  For more posts on Jim and his book, 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

  It is Tuesday. Time to tall turkey. 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 blogging as a form of marketing. Specifically, how to keep posts relevant and how to build audience, which, of course, go hand in glove. Here are some thoughts on the topic: Find a nexus between your book and a current event: Check out new health findings. Our Cancer Diary posts, for example, report on the latest cancer research in addition to our regular posts. The research can be considered a current event. If, for example, you have a book about aging, perhaps some new information on that topic has appeared in the news, or new discoveries about child development if you have a book on parenting, and

  It is Tuesday. Time to tall turkey. 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 what happens when an author dies.  I just returned from my best friend's funeral. I know that dying is a reality. (Lost my husband last year, two grandchildren the previous two years; definitely, a sad reality.) Really, though, what happens when an author dies from the legal and technical points of view? Well, there are a number of issues that have to be managed. Some things are automatic; others are required by law; yet others depend upon surviving partnerships of various sorts (including marriage, children, and the like). We have had several authors die, alas, and we always post an " in mem

  The following five posts received the greatest number of views over the past five years. Book Review: Book Review: Understanding the Challenge of "No" for Children with Autism (McNeil) (msipressblog.blogspot.com) Information about MSI Press (Ratings as a Publisher) MSI Press Ratings As a Publisher (msipressblog.blogspot.com) Author in the news MSI Press Author in the News: Joshua Shea Interviewed on Cover over Suicide (msipressblog.blogspot.com) People In Memoriam: Carl Don Leaver (msipressblog.blogspot.com) Book Excerpt Excerpt from How My Cat Made Me a Better Man (Feig): Confidence (msipressblog.blogspot.com) Sign up for the MSI Press LLC newsletter  here  or on our  home page . 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

  Murjan went over the rainbow bridge tonight after a valiant three years of fighting lymphoma and with such indomitable spirit that even on Sunday, after his hydration, he jumped down from the chair he was on, certain that he still had the springing power that he has always had. But he fell and landed on his side. Clearly, he hours were numbered.  His last days and hours were so typical of cancer patients. (Check the MSI Press website in a few weeks; there are plans for a cancer resource page for people and animals -- those questions that one can never find an answer to in spite of how much time you spend on Google; the tentative page name is Carlr's Cancer Compendium. And check out the book on cancer by Sula, Parish Cat at Old Mission ) First, the chemotherapy stopped working. Then Murjan lost interest in food, then in drink -- and then his spirit left his body. Just like his owner, MSI Press graphic designer, Carl Leaver, a month earlier. Murjan was born in Jordan and moved to S

  We regret to announce that on March 18, 2017, Boris Shekhtman passed into eternal rest after a long battle with cancer. His colleague and friend, Natalia Lord, wrote the following commentary on his obituary page: I have known Boris since 1982 as a colleague and friend. He was a genuine trailblazer in foreign language teaching, caring not only about what bits of language his students had acquired, but also focusing on how to help them effectively use their language in face t o face communication with native speakers. His belief that an instructor is responsible a student's proficiency, spurred him to come up with his Rules of Communication and eventually his own method of teaching. He continued to learn from his student's challenges and pass along the findings to the broader foreign language teaching community through his writings. The full significance of his contribution to the field probably won't be understood for quite some time because he was so far ahead of most of

  We have learned that one of our authors, Dr. Syed Arshad Husain, passed into eternal rest last fall. According to his official biography,  Dr. Syed Arshad Husain M.D. , former Chief and Director of Training of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Missouri and the Senior Vice President/Medical Director of Psychiatry Services of Compass Health, died peacefully the morning of September 24th, 2022 at his home in Columbia, Missouri with his wife of over 50 years, Jennifer Devine Husain, at his side. He was 84 years old. A titan in the field of Child Psychiatry and a foremost expert in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Dr. Husain’s greatest impact was the result of his decades-long worldwide humanitarian work serving the most vulnerable as they coped with the grief and trauma in the aftermath of the unimaginable destruction of both natural disasters and human created war zones. To read the rest of the obituary, click HERE . Dr. Husain was co-author (with his son) of th

  It is with a good deal of sadness that we announce the death of beloved MSI Press author, Dr. Peter Jonas. From his obituary: Peter Mark Jonas, PhD passed away unexpectedly on April 22 at the age of 64. He is survived by his wife Nancy; daughters Katie (Andre) and Melanie (Sean); son Kevin (Katie); grandchildren Elyse, Clara, Davis, Nina, Ian, and Cole; one grandchild-to-be; mother Nancy; sister Sara; and brothers Jack, Tim, and Dan and their spouses. He was preceded in death by his father Jack. Peter was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and professor. His greatest pleasures in life were helping and spending time with his family, the Green Bay Packers, and his Harley motorcycle. Peter was born and raised in Ripon, Wisconsin, before earning a bachelor’s degree from Carthage College and doctorate from Marquette University.  Peter was committed to his career in higher education and loved using humor in his teaching pedagogy. He served in a number of roles during his 41 years at S

  (Anne LaForge, left, in discussion with MSI Press managing editor, Betty Lou Leaver) Today is the funeral of one of my best friends and a long-term MSI Press volunteer, Anne LaForge. She helped out in The Literary Center, the press's outreach to the community until covid closed outreach options in 2020. She came to know those MSI Press authors who journeyed to San Juan Bautista, California to make presentations or do book launches--and she interviewed each of them. (Her voice can be heard in the podcasts on our web page.) And she helped out with all sorts of book-related activities, including, as a former literature teacher, providing feedback on books. She is definitely going to be missed in this community and at MSI Press LLC. Coincidentally, Anne's vault is in the same columbarium as that of Carl Leaver, deceased MSI Press typesetter. May they spend eternity together in peace as friends. Anne is survived by three children, two grandchildren, and absolutely scores of friend