MSI Press Blog

  THIS EXCERPT FROM THE OPTIMISTIC FOOD ADDICT SEEMS APPROPRIATE FOR WHAT MANY PEOPLE ARE EXPERIENCING FROM THE "QUARANTINE FIFTEEN" COUNTRY-WIDE AVERAGE POUNDS GAINED OVER THE PAST YEAR.              For a good half an hour before falling asleep, I would try to force my mind to coerce my body to burn itself alive. I hated my fat so much that I would imagine it sizzling like bacon in a skillet, dripping like hot wax off my bones and into the ether. I was determined to will my fat to melt away.              The next morning I would wake up, disappointed to find my thighs and ass still too big to fit comfortably in my third-hand Jordache jeans. And later that night, I’d lay prone in my bed, visually imagining my flesh liquefying in my skin once again.              This dour wishful thinking would go on night after night from the time I was 11 until well into my 20s. And yet many people asked me, nearly as often as I asked myself, if being fat bothered me so much, why couldn’

  Recent polls indicate that, for the first time since such records have been kept, less than 50% of Americans are affiliated with religious institutions. Just when the challenges are more daunting than ever-- pollution...terrorism... wars...pandemics... political polarization--the question for most people is not so much “Does God exist?” as it is “Is religion relevant anymore?” That is not to say that Americans are not interested.  Similar polls consistently show that the vast majority of Americans believe in, well... “something.” However, access to that “something” for too many people amounts to seeing a couple of lines about “all is love” on some idyllic poster.  Man may not live by bread alone, but spiritual life cannot survive on Facebook memes alone, either. Read the full article on Tikkun HERE . For more blog posts about Arthur and his book, click HERE .

  Crafton Hills College published a very nice profile of Dr. Brink on his 30th anniversary of teaching psychology at the college. In part, the profile reads " Psychology itself is a tough course to tackle, but Brink said he enjoys the subject because it is “at the center of everything” and opens a lot of doors to students thinking about entering the fields of social work, nursing or, perhaps, politics." You can read the whole profile HERE . For more posts about Dr. Birnk and his book, How To Argue with an Atheist, click HERE .

  (photo by Frank Perez) 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 shares an important reason for a book being turned down by an acquisitions editor. While there are almost as many reasons for turning down a manuscript as there are manuscripts submitted, there is one reason that has nothing (or very little) to do with the manusciprt. It has to do with the author, and it comes across in the proposal, the cover letter, or the enote (if emailed), or in all of them. That trait is arrogance, and it will turn off an editor before the editor even reads the manuscript. After all, a publisher has to work with an author, and if they dynamics are poor, it wi

  In " Pages, Prompts and Poses: Journaling Through a Pandemic ," published by Yoga Chicago , MSI Press author Julie Gentile makes the following recommendations: Choose a journal that speaks to you.   Write about what inspires you or recent observations you’ve made.   Make up your own journaling rules.   Get into a groove.   Read your words.   Read the full article to get all the helps, tips, and prompts that Julie generously offers. To read more posts about Julie and her books, click HERE .

  As the subject line says, Life, Liberty, and COVID-19 is on pre-order sale at our webstore. Check it out HERE . And, as a follower of this blog, take an additional 25% off the sale price by using the coupon code FF25. (This discount code can be used on any book in our inventory.) For more posts about Dr. Dennis Ortman and his books, click HERE .

Cats -- especially unique cats that contribute in special ways to their families' lives -- deserve to be mnemorialized. MSI Press can help you put together and publish a pet memoir of your pet.  And, for fun, just because it is Saturday, here are pictures of the five cats of one of our staff.  Goodness, they are able to form a play circle better than some children, Aw, the Turkish van alpha cat was coming to groom the others, not to play. Wonder if they really are not circling to play but lining up to be groomed? These are the kinds of pictures that cat parents will love to have preserved in a book -- we can help. Contact editor@msipress.com.