MSI Press Blog

We like to think that MSI Press is a family, but sometimes, we have families among our authors. One such family is the Imady family from Damascus, Syria. Elaine Imady, the mother, met her sweetheart in New York and moved with him to his home country of Syria, where she raised three bicultural children. Her love story is told in Road to Damascus . Read more about Elaine and her book HERE .     Muna Imady, the daughter, wrote a beloved and popular book,  Syrian Folktales . Not long after, she died following heart surgery, leaving a mostly finished, unpublished book, Damascus amid the War, due out in August 2020. Elaine and daughter #32, Sausan, put the finishing touches on the book, including a touching memorial to Muna that had been published in the  New York Times . Read more about Muna, her life, and her books  HERE . Dr. Omar Imady, the son, is a professor of political science who has written a number of fiction and non-fiction books about Syria, Middle Ea

Congratulations to Julie Gentile, who has been selected as a finalist in the Book Excellence Awards competition. To read more information about Julie, her book, and her life, click here . To order Julie's book, visit our webstore: Gentile . The code FF25 will get you a 25% discount as a fan or friend of MSI Press. Other Book Excellence Award winners among MSI Press authors include: Nanette Hucknall. How to Live from Your Heart.  Geri Henderson % Seanne Emerton. Healing from Incest Irit Schaffer. Good Blood Joanna Charnas. !00 Tips ad Tools for Managing Chronic Illnes s All Book Excellence Award books are available from the MSI Press webstore at 25% discount, using the code FF25.

We were delighted to discover recently that MSI Press, quite unbeknownst to us, has been included in a list of the top 19 book publishers in California. We are listed as #5 -- truly a cool experience when you stumble across the listing on the Internet. After all, who does not like positive surprises? Anyway, see for yourself. Click here for the whole list. And if you are looking for a publisher and don't quite know how to go about it, we do have some resources, like: B L Ham's book, Publishing for Smarties: How to Find a Publisher, with insider information from an acquisitions editor and highly rated by MidWest Book Review Critique: Exceptionally practical, 'real world' insightful, packed from cover to cover with specific tips, tricks and techniques, "Publishing for Smarties: Finding a Publisher" should be considered a 'must read' for anyone seeking to have their work, fiction or non-fiction, successfully published on terms as advanta

1961 The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious.  It is the source of all true art and science.  Albert Einstein  As soon as I looked into his blue eyes, every cell in my body bubbled with joy. Yes, this must be love. I am in love for the first time. His are the bluest eyes I have ever seen. They are like the deep blue of the ocean on a clear and sunny day. My mom is sitting to my left, my sister, Edna, to my right, and I am falling in love. Ari Ben Canaan is his name. He is in charge of taking a boatload of people to Palestine. The boat, Exodus, is filled with Jewish Europeans planning to make their home in the soon to be independent State of Israel. Unfortunately, the British authorities have detained the boat in Cyprus. They are not allowing Exodus to complete its voyage to Palestine, and Ari has to take charge. His confidence is portrayed in his thin and muscular 5’9” frame. “We can go back, or we can go on a hunger strike,” he says, “but before

Tonight, husband Carl brought home three large bags of groceries and needed help bringing them up the stairs to our second-floor living space. I reached for all three. "Be careful," he said, pointing to one bag. "It is very heavy." I lifted it. "No, it's not," I told him. "Yes, it is," he insisted. Well, actually, no, it was not. It would have been a year ago, but not now. I easily carried all three bags together, two in one hand, and the supposedly heavy bag in the ohter, up our 17 stairs, held all in one hand to open the door, and then lifted them all easily onto the counter which is almost chest-high for me. If I needed an assessment, there I had it. Of course, though, I want something a little more formal albeit informal, meaning my own assessment. Beginning from this point, though, I think I will pull my trainer into helping me develop a formal assessment. She says that I have made significant progress, both vi

4-minute cardio from Strong Fitness Magazine For the past several months, slogging best describes my physical training efforts. Yes, my trainer kept pointing out ways in which I had made progress, and I kept at my " homework " that she gave me. Still, it did not FEEL like I had made progress. FEELING engages motivation. Motivation can keep you going, but will power fuels it during the blah-nothing times. Sometimes, you just need to FEEL  progress. And that happened this week! In two ways!! I was able to do 100 iterations of abs and laterals exercises, nonstop, with raised legs and 8-pound kettle ball. Not all that long ago 25 iterations were almost impossible; then 50 iterations were onerous. Now, 100, with the energy to do another 100 right away. Yes, FELT progress. Thne, Strong Fitness Magazine (great online magazine for women who want to be fit) published an article about a 4-minute cardio exercise that builds cardio quickly. Right--if you can do the fo

The American Library Association Annual Exhibit took place in Washington, DC. The following MSI books were on display. Can you find them in the photo? 100 Tips and Tools for Managing Chronic Illness (Charnas) How to Live from Your Heart (Hucknall) Jesus Is Still Passing By (Easterling) The Rose and the Sword (Hucknall) Thanks to these authors for giving MSI Press a presence at the ALA.