ABOUT OUR AUTHORS
Meet our authors. Write to them. Join their blogs. Visit their websites. Information for communicating with our authors, as well as a short bio, is provided below. Check back with us from time as we will be presenting more authors and additional contact information. Where authors have provided them, photos are included. Where authors have allowed, we have provided their personal email addresses (click on their names). To contact authors without personal email, send a request to info@mispress.com.
Wally grew up wherever he was stationed during his U. S. Air Force career. When he was overseas, he stayed with his grandmother who was a great storyteller. Listening to the way she made stories come alive, made Wally feel as if he had really been there. As he grew older, he began to write down things that made him either laugh or cry and tried to make them as real as possible. Sometimes he finds it easier to excape into his own little world and create things he wishes were true but never can be. He knows people need an escape from reality at times so he decided to make his writings public. In his book, The Musings of a Carolina Yankee, there are some true stories and there are some stories he doesn't know where they came from, but he wrote them. Have fun, and join him on his journey.
Julia Aziz is a licensed clinical social worker and a mother of three children. She is also an accomplished speaker on topics such as “The Soul of Service,” “Holding Intention While Jugging It All,” and “Motherself,” a monthly mother’s group. In addition to this personal and professional experience in working through motherhood transitions, she has also written for and served as general editor for Dovetail Journal for interfaith families. She shares her motherhood observations, both professional and personal, in her book, Lessons of Labor: One Woman's Self-Discovery through Birth and Motherhood. See her website: Lessons of Labor.
Dr. Bach, seated on the left, is a psychotherapist, writer and artist. She co-founded the Berkshire Center for Psychosynthesis in Massachusetts, and, later, the Psychosynthesis Institute of New York and for many years was a Psychosynthesis trainer, a therapeutic approach that recognizes and works with the creative and spiritual dimension of an individual. In addition to her long-time private practice and her work as a trainer, Dr. Bach has presented seminars in the United States, Austria, Switzerland and Germany. She is the co-author, with Nanette Hucknall, of The Rose and the Sword: Balancing Your Feminine and Masculine Energies.
Bennett earned a journalism degree from University of Southern Mississippi and an MS in Business Administration. He worked as a Management Intern by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (TN), U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (MD), and as a staff advisor to then Congressman Trent Lott (with whom he is shown here), helping develop a national policy for nuclear waste disposal. The last ten years of his career was spent searching for a safe disposal site for high-level radioactive waste—much of this time was spent speaking to State and local governments, American Indian Tribes, and the public. He edited the Jones County Junior College newspaper, wrote for the University of Southern Mississippi Student Printz newspaper, and taught a freshman journalism course at USM. He served as sports copy editor for the Bristol Herald Courier (VA/TN). His professional career included writing speeches for Presidential appointees, congressional testimony, and public relations. He and his wife lead a worship team, teach church classes, and sponsor a home bible study, and visit hospitals and shut-ins. Check out his website for more information about him.
Dr. Filatova is a highly respected Russian psychologist, specializing in the area of personality. A senior professor of psychology at St. Petersburg State University, she is the foremost expert in Europe on socionics and published the first-ever book on socionics in Russia (which was the Soviet Union at the time). Since then, she has written many books on the topic. Her book with MSI Press is the seminal work on socionics in the USA.
Joanna J. Charnas is a social worker with twenty-six years of experience as a licensed mental health provider. She received her master’s degree from Boston University School of Social Work in 1988 and has earned the highest level of social work licensure in Massachusetts (Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker, 1991) and California (Licensed Clinical Social Worker, 2001.) She has worked in numerous service sectors, all of which placed fragile people in her care and enhanced her clinical acumen and skills. Since 1995, she has worked specifically with people with mental and physical illnesses. Charnas has written numerous academic papers as well as manuals for program and department employers. Living Well with Chronic Illness (forthcoming in Spring 2015) is her first effort at writing for general publication.
Seanne Larson Emerton, L.M.F.T., L.I.M.H.P., is one of our newest authors. She has been in private practice for over twenty years. She loves her work and life in the Heartland including practicing yoga, spirituality and health, and enjoying music, travel and time with her sons and families in Boston and Denver. The power of relationships fuels her desire to help others. She is grateful for her grandparents and parents who were her first teachers. She and her husband, Tom, live on the land her great-great-grandfather homesteaded. Family is her greatest joy. Her book, co-authored with Dr. Geri Henderson, Healing from Incest: Intimate Conversations with My Therapist, will be published in April.
Dr. Graves (Ph. D., Texas Tech University) is an education expert well-published in peer-reviewed journals and textbooks. During pregnancy, she suffered complications due to RA that resulted in kidney failure. After personally experiencing the traumatic change from career woman to a chronically ill, stay-at-home mom, she has actively cultivated strategies to balance her ongoing health battles with her desire to be a great mother and wife while staying professionally active. Her forthcoming book, How to Be a Good Mommy Whem You're Sick: A Guide to Motherhood with Chronic Illness, will be released in early February. Visit her website on Chronic Illness & Motherhood and FB Page.
B. L. Ham is an acquisitions editor for a small press and has served as a reader and advisor for more than one leading publisher. She uses a pseudonym in order not to be overwhelmed with queries and questions from the tens of dozens of first-time authors looking for advice (the reason why she wrote the book, Publishing for Smarties: How to Find a Publisher), but she does answer those that come her way. She has a second book in production -- help for authors with the legal aspects of publication.
Dr. Geri Henderson considers herself, first and foremost, a teacher and mentor but loves her roles as sister, aunt, and friend. Geri has taught in a number of places such as the Caribbean, Jordan, Bahrain, LIthuania, Lebanon, and the US. Her interests include a passion for music which she studied and subsequently taught for 30 years before beginning her second professional career in higher education. She is probably teaching literature and writing somewhere in the world right now. Her book, Thoughts without a Title, was edited while she was teaching in the Middle East and contains the stories and essays of Middle Eastern college students and their views of the world. Her second book, co-authored with Seanne Emerton, Healing from Incest: Intimate Conversations with My Therapist, will be published in April.
Nanette (right) is a psychotherapist, career therapist, writer, and artist. She is available for lectures and workshops and has designed and facilitated workshops on “Karma, Destiny and Your Career,”and “Living From Your Heart,” which she has presented in the United States and in Canada. Nanette has a BA from Cooper Union and is trained in Psychosynthesis. She is a co-founder of The Center for Peace Through Culture, and is the founder and President of Higher Self Yoga. She co-authored The Rose and the Sword: How to Balance Your Feminine and Masculine Energies with Dr. Judith Bach. Check out her website for more information about her.
A. Darius Husain is the Executive Director of Face to Face Academy, a charter high school in St. Paul, Minnesota whose mission is to graduate students considered most at risk for dropping out of high school. The Minnesota Department of Education named F2F a “High Quality Charter School” for its work in graduating students and closing the achievement gap. Newsweek named F2F as one of American’s Top High Schools 2014 in the category "Beating the Odds 2014 – Top Schools for Low Income Students." Mr. Husain serves as the Director of Research for the International Medical and Educational Trust in Missouri. He holds a B.A. in psychology with an emphasis on experiential education from St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota and has completed Master’s course work in school counseling at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota. His book, Roadmap to Power, co-authored with Dr. Syed Arshad Husain, will be released in Spring 2015.
Elaine (shown here at a door of the Abdallah al Azem Madrasa) comes from a small town on the Hudson River which her Dutch ancestors pioneered in the 18th Century, but after converting to Islam, in 1960 she left it all behind and went to live in Damascus with her Syrian husband, Mohammed Imady, whom she met as a student at New York University. There she raised her three children, two of whom are also MSI Press authors, learned Arabic, taught English and music, and traveled the world with her husband, who became a Syrian cabinet minister. Her first book, Postscripts from Palisades, was published in Syria by Dar Tlas and in the USA by the local historical society of her hometown as well as by iUniverse, Inc. Now, after more than fifty happy years of marriage, Elaine, tells her story in Road to Damascus. Her Facebook pageincludes more information and the opportunity to interact with her.
Muna was born in Damascus in 1962 to an American mother and a Syrian father. She has a BA in English Literature and a diploma in English-Arabic Translation from Damascus University as well as a Maitrise from the Sorbonne. She has written several textbooks for teaching English as a second language to children. She has also written and translated many short Arabic stories for children which were published in several Arabic magazines. She lives in Damascus with her husband Dr Nizar Zarka and their three children and teaches English as a second language to young children. Her book, Syrian Folktales, relates stories she has heard from her grandmother and gathered from other local sources. She has a very active FaceBook page and delights in interacting with readers of her book.
Omar Imady was born in Damascus to an American mother and a Syrian father. Educated at Macalester College (B.A.) and the University of Pennsylvania (Ph. D. in Middle Eastern Studies), he is a poet of long standing in the Middle East and the author of several books in Arabic and English. For over twenty-two years, Imady was the disciple of Bashir al-Bani (1911-2008), a Damascene Muslim scholar and a renowned Sufi mentor, a relationship that continues to influence Imady's creative writing. The Gospel of Damascus, a Book of the Year Award 2012 finalist and his first novel has been published in French, and Spanish and Arabic translations are forthcoming. A former professor of political science and academic dean at New York Institute of Technology in Amman, Jordan and currently visiting professor elsewhere, he has also authored When Your're Shoved from the Left, Look to Your Right: Metaphors of Islamic Humanism and The Rise and Fall of Muslim Civil Society. Check out his FB page and website.
Susan Jane, who prefers to remain anonymous, is a writer and a supporter of falsely accused priests. She is also a Roman Catholic parishioner, a catechist, leader of a prayer & faith formation group, and a member of a lay Franciscan order. She has two books, Accused: How to Help When Your Priest Is in Trouble and Abandoned (for accused priests) that are planned for release in Summer 2015 and another int he works, which keeps her busy splashing ink and curmpling paper. She has some of the most extensive, personal experience in this area, having supported three falsely accused priests: one who was exonerated early in the process, one who was exonerated but not returned to ministry, and one, for whom she testified, who was found not guilty by a jury in a criminal court case. She is well positioned to write these books, but she wishes to remain anonymous because priest support is not popularaly accepted and she has experienced some negative repercussions.
Shenan (CB) Leaver has attended special education classes in Virginia, California, and Ohio and graduated from Hayes High School in Delaware, Ohio, where he was voted "class flirt." A parishioner at the San Benedict (in the background) parish, he now lives in Hollister in San Benito County, California and works at a sheltered workshop, M&M, where he has many friends who like to listen to his tall tales, most of which are based on true stories, funny things that happen to one relative or another -- or to him. He has written a very special and very funny book about his mother, Mommy Poisoned Our House Guest (yes, true story), and is currently working on a similar volume about his father, tentatively titled Daddy Waited. Shenan loves to receive email from readers. Click on his name to link to his email account.
Dr. Elizabeth Mahlou wishes to remain anonymous because she speaks candidly about childhood abuse while avoiding naming names in order to shield the innocent from more emotional harm. However, using her pseudonym, she is willing to communicate with readers who enjoy her books, A Believer-in-Waiting’s First Encounters with God and Blest Atheist. She is now hard at work on a follow-up book, Raising God’s Rainbow Makers. She maintains a blog, 100th Lamb, and has often used a tiger, a kindred spirit, as an avatar.
Multi-published author and freelance editor, Cynthia MacGregor, also hosts a TV show, "Younger Every Day," seen in the South Florida area, where Cyn (as most people call her) has lived since 1984. In addition to the more than 100 books she has published, Cyn also writes plays, both for adults and for kids, and has had all but one of them produced in her community. In addition, one show, for kids, was produced in New York. Cyn works seven days a week at her craft of writing and editing and loves every minute of it. Calling herself "arguably the happiest woman there is," she says, "There's no one in the world I'd want to trade lives with." Cyn's book, Everybody's Little Book of Everyday Prayers, will be released in Spring 2015. Visit her website to learn more about her.
As both a parent and a teacher, Cindy McKinley has devoted her career to helping not only her students but their parents as well. Her 22 years of teaching elementary school children gave her the inspiration for her book, 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents. “Parents always ask me what they can do to help their kids at home,” she says. “This book is the answer.” Cindy has also written two award-winning children’s books: One Smile and One Voice. Her articles and photographs have been featured in several magazines. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and a Master’s Degree in the Teaching of Reading. She currently teaches English at Oakland Community College in Michigan. Check out her website for more fun things to do with kids.
Anais Mora lives in San Juan Bautista, where she is a member of the Old Mission San Juan Bautista Parish and the OMC SJB prayer group; she also is an active member of the Spanish-language prayerg group, El Rosario. She works as a legal assistant and is currently completing her final year in law school. Her forthcoming (Fall 2015) book, co-authored with Dr. Elizabeth Mahlou, Angel or Demon? Is her first venture into professional publication.
Patt Pickett, Ph.D.
For two decades, Dr. Pickett has listened to and learned from thousands of couples determined to strengthen their marriages. As a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, she believes in the power of couples to create great relationships and feels privileged to witness the amazing changes possible. In The Marriage Whisperer: Tips to Improve Your Relationship Overnight, Dr. Patt offers readers practical tips for relationship enrichment. Dr. Patt has appeared on a number of radio and television shows. Catch her on her website for more tips and information about her past and upcoming events.
Gewanda Johnson Parker
Gewanda is the founder and CEO of Hope and Healing Corporation, serving the needs of the marginalized of society locally and abroad to orphanages in Haiti and Africa. In 2003, she started an organization to help young girls and teens suffering with self-esteem and identity issues. Gewanda is a featured concert soloist, and her natural talent in music and praise and worship has offered her the opportunity to minister and travel singing throughout the US, Canada and Bahamas. Levitical Praise was birthed out of these true authentic worship experiences. Johnson holds a Master of Divinity degree from Asbury Theological Seminary. Gewanda has worked with multiple multicultural and diversity assemblage of both professionals and laity groups in various settings. Most notable, in 2003, she was asked to speak to the highly Militant Religious Divides between the Protestants and Catholics in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Gewanda hosted a weekly radio show called "Message of Hope," which directed its content to reconciliation and healing of the family, community, spirit, soul, and mind. Her book, It Only Hurts When I Can't Run, is due out in Summer 2015. Get to know Gewanda at her website.
Joanna Romer‘s writing has appeared in The New York Times, Cosmopolitan, Mademoiselle, and other publications. With her late husband, Jack Milton, Romer wrote and produced the 1972 feature film, Please Stand By. For the past 14 years, she has taught communications at colleges and universities in Florida and New York. Currently, Joanna Romer lives in Daytona Beach, Florida, where she has written, to date, three books for MSI Press -- Widow: A Survival Guide for the First Year, A Widower's Guide to a New Life, and, with Cheryl Vassiliadis, Creative Aging: A Baby Boomer's Guide to Successful Living. Her next book, Divorced: Survival Techniques for Singles Over 40, will be released in Spring 2015, while she works on another book, A Woman's Guide to Self-Nurturing: How to Build Self-Esteem by Being Nice to Yourself. You can also find Joanna on the Creative Aging Facebook page and the Facebook page for Widow.
A practicing architect since 1983, Yasr (Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania; M. S., MIT; B.S., University of Jordan) is an international consultant in architectural design and planning, who has won top awards in several design competitions. He is currently an urban development strategist leading multi-disciplinary teams of international consultants in the urban re-development of the central area of the Holy City of Makka, KSA . Previously, he was assistant professor at the Department of Architecture at the Jordan and Petra Universities and a visiting scholar at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design and the American Archaeological School in Jerusalem. Professor Sakr has lectured and published widely on architectural education, design theory, and history.
Everyone has at least one story to tell; Alfred Stites has a lifetime’s worth. Candid, humorous, thought provoking and interesting, his writings delight both young and old. Writing is a passion for Alfred… he writes because he loves to tell a story. If you’re fortunate enough to sit in his presence whilst he weaves a tale or two, blue eyes a’ twinkle, you’ll not forget neither the story told nor the storyteller. His book, Forget the Goal, the Journey Counts...71 jobs Later, relates a lifetime of interesting meetings, unusual endeavors, and tales worth relating and reading.
Michael Tosto is a theological and spiritual writer and a former leader in the Christian church. A graduate of the University of Missouri with a degree in history, he spent ten years researching the history and evolution of humanity’s theological consciousness. Joshuanism is a culmination of that research; a work of theology and spirituality, his book details an alternative to the current manifestations of Christianity yet still rooted in the same Son of God.
Cooper Thompson grew up in the United States. In 2003 he moved to Germany, mostly for love. At first, he thought he had made a big mistake. Losing My Voice and Finding Another began as a journal, as a way to help him understand why he was having such a difficult time living in Germany and learning German. His work has focused on challenging oppression and helping people learn how to live cooperatively in a multicultural society. As a senior consultant with (VISIONS), he led workshops and wrote about sexism, homophobia, racism, and other forms of “isms” in the US and Europe. He is now an elected representative on the Immigration Council in Nürnberg, Germany, has a counseling and coaching practice (Cooper-Thompson.com), and continues to write. Many of his published essays and other works can be found at his website.
Shai Tubali is the author of fourteen books in the Hebrew language, among them bestselling and prize-winning fiction and non-fiction. For the last twelve years, he has taught spiritual transformation and spiritual therapy in Israel, Germany, and India. His knowledge of chakras and subtle anatomy derives from the Yogic Nityananda tradition through the American Yogi, Dr. Gabriel Cousens, and from working with thousands of people in hundreds of workshops. He developed the White Light method, which enables people to utilize their subtle anatomy and chakras for psychological and spiritual balance. Sha's book, The Seven Wisdoms of Life, was a 2013 Book of the Year finalist. His book, A Guide to Bliss, is due out later this year. Find out more at his website.
Patti Trombly has a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and a Master’s Degree in the Teaching of Reading. Even after 20 years of teaching in elementary school, middle school and college, she still looks for teachable moments in everyday life and for new ways to help children learn. She is a parent of two, a teacher and a business owner -- and the co-author of 365 Teacher Secrets for Parents: Fun Ways to Help Your Child Succeed in Elementary School. Check out the book's website for more "fun ways."
Fernando Ustman is a consulting psychologist from Colombia, now living in San Diego. He holds a master’s degree in transpersonal psychology from the South American School of Transpersonal Psychology as well as an MBA from the University of Phoenix. He has studied in Argentina, the United States, and Spain. He specializes in levels of consciousness, holotropic respiration, dynamic meditation, and archetypal psychology – applications that improve the quality of life -- and conducts workshops and lectures on these topics. He also has produced videos on Neurolinguistic Programming. He has published three books through MSI Press: Las Puertas de la Eternidad, El Poder de lo Transpersonal, and Las Historias de Mi Vida. There have been plans to translate these books into English; English speakers, check in periodically to see where these plans stand.
Cheryl lives in an over-55 lifestyle community outside Atlanta that offers a an abundance of life-enriching activities. She dances for herself and teaches dance to others. In the past year she added tai chi instructor to her resume. She started a Flowing Rhythm Dance Class in her community and also teaches dance movement for sit-down classes for those without the ability or balance to dance while standing. In order to give back to others, Cheryl also takes her sit-down Flowing Rhythm class to an adult daycare facility to bring a sense of joy and fun to their lives. All these dancers are an inspiration in what they achieve. With Joanna Romer, she co-authored Creative Aging: A Baby Boomer's Guide to Successful Living.
NOTE
Listed below are authors whose books were transferred to Virginia Institute Press and are still waiting next-edition publication. The MSI Press edition of their books is available online.
Donna Butler, Coalition of Distinguished Language Centers, Inna Dubinsky, Dina Kupchanka, Betty Lou Leaver, Richard Robin, Boris Shekhtman, and Yalun Zhou.
To communicate with these authors, contact VIP directly or send a note to info@msipress.com.
Syed Arshad Husain is a child psychiatrist known worldwide for his work with children living in war zones and disaster areas. Dr. Husain founded the International Center for Psychosocial Trauma at the University of Missouri, and counseling centers in Bosnia, Kosovo, and an Afghan refugee camp in Pakistan. He has published scientific articles in major peer-reviewed journals in the U.S. and Canada, and has written five books including Hope for the Children: Lessons from Bosnia. He has received numerous awards from major professional societies including the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry; 2014 awards include the National Council for Behavioral Health Doc of the Year and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Catcher in the Rye award. He was given an Honorary Ph.D. by the University of Tuzla, Bosnia. Currently he is Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry and Child Health at the University of Missouri–Columbia and serves as a medical director of a large behavioral health organization in Missouri. His book, co-authored with A. Darius Husain, Roadmap to Power, will be released in Spring 2015.
