Anything to say <i><b>that you'd like to read,</b></i> that is. You know the magazines and the Website. You know and follow your favorite authors on the site. Maybe you participate in our forums or use our Buyer's Guide to gather information about products and companies. But you probably don't know those of us who work behind the scenes to bring you the product that you see.

I'm Merrikay Lee, and I'm the president of MC Press and the publisher of the books that you find on the site. I'm the one who cajoles professional programmers and analysts like you into sharing the knowledge they have developed over the years into a book. Often they have already written articles for us, but sometimes it's someone whom I meet at a trade show or who simply contacts me with an idea. Once we have an author and a book idea, I along with others at MC Press work with that author to get the book written, through the production phase, and into the trade so that you can buy it and benefit from it.

So in this, our first blog entry, I'd like to talk about one of our newest titles, <a href=http://www/mc-store.com/5096.html>The IBM i Programmer's Guide to PHP</a> written by Jeff Olen and Kevin Schroeder. This book is one of the fastest selling titles we've ever had. It seems that you IBM i programmers are clamoring for information on PHP. When Zend and IBM announced their PHP partnership in early 2005, it didn't seem to have much effect on the IBM i community. But it certainly is popular now. I'm curious to know what you think have been some of the catalysts that have brought this about.

Based on the popularity of this title, we are working on follow-up titles for you. What topics do you want more in-depth information on? Would you like to see a "cook book" type of book with examples of complete applications? How about more how-to on the Zend tools? Let me know and I'll start working on it.

And here is an open invitation to contact me with book ideas. Even if you don't have the expertise to write it yourself, I'm always looking for new title ideas. You can respond in this blog, or email me at mlee@mcpressonline.com.

All the Best,
Merrikay