Book Two

For all of you who've asked me: when's the next John Paul 2 High Book coming out?

Right now Book Two is written and it's at the publishers. I don't know yet when they will be bringing it out: but I know this much: if they hear from you readers, they'll probably speed up the process!

So please direct any and all inquiries about the release date for Book Two to: orders@sophiainstitute.com or call 1-800-888-9344.

Here's hoping for Book Two early in the New Year! Merry Christmas!

Review on Catholic Pondering!

Wow! Check out this great review of Book One on "Just another Pondering Catholic..."

My favorite aspect of this book was the fact that, despite having “Catholic” in its title, this book would be great for ANY teen or young adult. There’s no “secret Catholic stuff” included - you don’t have to be a Catholic or even understand anything about the Catholic Church to enjoy this book. One of the main characters isn’t a practicing Catholic and isn’t very familiar with things Catholic, and when the kids at her new school mention things - such as the Divine Mercy Chaplet - she doesn’t understand. And though she does sometimes feel like an idiot, we readers get a natural explanation (and a reminder of just how hard it is to be a teen, and to feel like you don’t fit in) that’s not ponderous or overly cerebral. Read more...

If you're an adult thinking about buying Catholic Reluctantly for your teen, you should read this one.

Interview with Time With Tannia

I forgot to mention earlier that I'm the featured author for September on the blog Time with Tannia by Tannia Ortiz-Lopes. It was a lot of fun to do the interview: she asked very thought-provoking questions! You can find it by clicking here. Here's an excerpt:

Are you working on new projects?
Right now I'm in the thick of launching the John Paul 2 High series for teens (www.johnpaul2high.com). It's a kind of fun "pulp fiction" series, about the adventures of seven kids in a new Catholic high school. I'm the overall editor for the series, and I love it. The first book, Catholic, Reluctantly is out on amazon now. It's not pious tripe: it's a pretty gritty story about real teens with real issues. I think Catholic teens from any kind of background will find it speaks to them where they're at.
Going back to missing Joshua, after he died, I found myself drawn to start writing another series of novels, which is now in the planning stages. Read more...

Catholic Reluctantly for Bookstores!

Up until now, Catholic, Reluctantly has been a print-on-demand book, but this week I learned that sales are such that Sophia Press is about to do a traditional print run on the book and enter it into their bookstore program: hooray! This means wider distribution for us and hopefully more sales! I'd like to encourage readers who liked the book to ask their local Catholic (or secular!) bookstore to consider stocking Catholic, Reluctantly. It's distributed through Ingram.

Bookstores not on Sophia Press's regular bookstore program can click here for terms of sale and wholesale prices. For bookstore terms, for our terms). And any youth ministers or teachers who want to order the book for use in their classroom can get a discount for orders of 5 or more books. Email Sophia Press if you're interested!

Two Neat Sites for Teens and Their Parents

Hi all,
Just had to tell you about two cool sites I discovered this summer for teens and their parents. The first is Maureen Wittman's blog No Question Left Behind. Blog author Maureen says,

This is a place where teens can go and feel comfortable talking about heavy and not-so-heavy topics. It is a peer-to-peer platform where teens can trust that their fears, struggles, and questions will be heard and answered by those who struggle with the same issues.I put together a team of teenagers and young 20-somethings to answer the questions of teens. The team worked to answer all inquiries in the framework of Catholic teaching. I already have 200 Q&A's ready to roll so you can count on this blog being around for the long term.Please pass the word along. If you work with youth in your high school, parish, or diocese, please link from those websites or mention in your bulletins.

So check it out!

Earlier this summer my daughter and I attended a great day conference by my friend Doran Richards on Maidenhood: it was a good, Scriptural, very positive presentation of the changes that take place in a girl's body that make her a woman. Doran did such a wonderful job of presenting the material discreetly and beautifully: my daughter's reaction was not "ick!" but "Wow!" I wish I had gotten this presentation when I was twelve years old: I can still remember the uncomfortable classroom lecture by a health teacher on menstruation, down to the smell of the lineoleum. But at the Blessing God's Way presentation, we spent the day making raspberry leaf tea, discussing ways to take care of the body God gave us, reading Scripture, and making a fun scrapbook. Really much more memorable. Just so you know, this isn't a "sex education" talk: not at all! My eleven-year-old daughter was very comfortable (and she freezes up pretty quickly when she's not!).

One of my favorite parts of the talk was when Doran, (who is totally pro-life and anti-contraception as well) explained how the birth control pill alters and disrupts the cleansing cycle of our bodies, and my daughter was disgusted by the very concept of the thing. I think Doran's right on the money when she perceives that the best way for Christians to raise kids who are pro-life and Christ-centered in their thinking on fertility is for Christians to tackle this part of a girl's education. She does a wonderful job! So if you have a pre-teen daughter, check out this program!

Review in The Florida Catholic

Check out this great review of the series in The Florida Catholic. Here's a snippet:

Have you ever been lured into a bakery by its delightful aroma and beautifully decorated delicacies? You fall in love with that mouth-watering chocolate cake, but when you take that first bite it tastes like nothing.
How disappointing! The piece is dry, stale and you feel the beginning of indigestion.
That is the feeling I got when I read the popular teen series “The Clique,” written by Lisi Harrison, about a group of girls who are materialistic and backstab each other but still remain a “clique.”
Fortunately, this type of book is not the only choice for teens and their parents. Something genuinely appetizing has arrived in the form of a fiction series for teens: “John Paul 2 High,” published by Sophia Institute Press, a Catholic publisher. read more...

The Passing of a Young Knight

Marc Girard, 18, looked like your ordinary Catholic teenager. But he was not.

He had a Facebook page. He was a part of the Fairy Tale Novel Forum (even though, like most guys, he hadn't read the books :) ). He was careless about spelling. He hated having his picture taken. His avatar was a man making funny faces. To his four younger siblings and to most of his friends, I am sure he sometimes seemed very ordinary. Even though he took his Catholic faith seriously, and sometimes challenged his high school friends on different issues.

His friend Paul Ethier was surprised when Marc told him that he was planning to join the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, who had a friary near the Girard home in Griswold, CT. Marc was accepted as a postulant, and was going to join the Maine, NY friary in August.

The Girard family had been through a lot. Last year they suffered two hardships in a row: first, their home burned down. The only thing in Marc's room that survived the fire was his picture of Padre Pio.

The family lived on a trailer through the winter, but then this spring, the property was foreclosed.

Marc's father Thomas was working hard to keep the family together. In his free time he helped the Friars of the Immaculate on their outreachs: this past spring he was "Grand Master" knight for their group, The Knights of Lepanto, as Catholic fathers and the friars "initiated" their sons into Catholic knighthood. The photo at the top shows Marc carrying a "penance pack" of 15 pounds of rocks during the "intiation."

Thomas found a new house for the family, and they were going to move on the first day of July, yesterday, in fact.

The day before the big move, Thomas took his two sons, Marc and Lucas and daughter Hannah swimming at a pond down the street from their old house. There was an island a short distance from the shore, and they decided to swim out to the island.

Marc took his younger brother Lucas, 11, along and they swam safely to the island. Mr. Girard took their daughter Hannah, age 7, in his arms and came along behind them.

Hearing his sister Hannah screaming, Marc turned back and the boys saw her bobbing in the water. Their father was gone. Marc stopped several feet before reaching the island. He sent Lucas ahead and went back for his father and Hannah.

Marc swam out to Hannah. He pushed her towards shore until she was safe, told her to pray, and then dove back in to find their father.

He died trying to save him.

Rescue personnel speculate that Mr. Girard died of a heart attack suffered while swimming. Marc was brought to the hospital, barely alive. His mother Carol, some of his friends, and the Friars of the Immaculata prayed with him. He received the Annointing of the Sick and was blessed with a relic of St. Padre Pio. Then at 1:50 AM, on the Feast of the Precious Blood, he died.

It is terrifying how fast death can come. Earlier this past month, Marc was on the forum (screen name: The Illustrious Marceg) and on his blog, joking and laughing with his friends, running for "President" on the forum against Barak Obama and Mr. Darcy, and offering "words of wisdom" about following one's vocation:

Topic: Lord, what are You calling me to do? (Read 460 times)
Illustrious Marceg

Peasant

member is offline
Joined: Feb 2008

Gender: Male

Posts: 30
Re: Lord, what are You calling me to do?

Jun 19, 2008, 10:35am

I was so happy to find a thred wich focased on vocations. Just some words of wisdom, First, you are so right when you say long and short term vocation. Like being a good student was mine and being a good son, but now that I'm done with school. It's now to be a good son as well as a good friend. In August I will be leaving to enter the FI (Fransican Friars of the Immaculate) and am very excited about doing so. The thing is though, in my case, I'm almost poitive that this is Our Lords will for me, but as I grow closer and closer to the day i leave, I get spiritually attacked more and more (with emotions and worries such... I'm not talking about Emily Rose stuff ). I was warned by two very holy Friars about temptation and think it would be very helpful to everyone on this fourm especally for those who are looking into religious life. And that is that you will be tempted in ways you didn't think were possible, and if you do end up entering religious life it's still pretty hard. Its the transistion of being more contempt and 'unplugging' your self from the world. Many of the Saints went trough temptation and trial so just be prepaired and persivere. This also goes for those who are asking the question "what do you want from me". Satan will try to lead you against your vocation, just pray, hope, and don't worry and you'll end up doing His will.

Marc was ready to follow his call from God. But this week, he was called to be a hero. And he answered, without hesitation.

I am so sorry that Marc couldn't save his father, and that he couldn't save himself. But I am struck by his courage, and I will always remember him. Marc's friends were unanimous in calling him, immediately and from the start, a true knight.

I'm a novelist: I write modern adventures in which young adults carelessly tagged as "knights" and "ladies" battle modern demons and dragons. My friends and I play games and hold ceremonies similar to that of the Knights of the Lepanto: serious but always a bit tongue in cheek. We have to ask ourselves at some point: is any of it real? Are we really knights and ladies, or are we just moderns playing an odd game?

And then life overtakes us, and for a moment I recognize that for some of us at least, it is real. For Marc, it was real. He truly attained knighthood.

Just now I went on the Fairy Tale Forum and voted that Marc be elected president-forever of the Forum. Post mortem yes, but I think his qualifications are out of this world.

I love to write about young men who are heroes: it's one reason why I retell fairy tales. Marc Girard is a hero to me, a real knight of Our Lady and the Sacred Heart. I am so honored that he was part of our little online group and that our paths intersected for a short time.

Please pray for Carol Girard, and for the remaining children, Adam,17, Jaqueline, 15, Lucas, 11, and Hannah, 7. Pray especially for Lucas, who witnessed the entire tragedy.

As the Girard family has been under such financial stress, I can only imagine that this tragedy has left them even more at risk. I would like to ask the Christian community to consider helping them during this hard time. I know how much it helped our family when we suffered the loss of our son Joshua: please let this family know that they are not suffering alone.

Condolescences and donations can be sent to:

Carol Girard
c/o the Ethier Family

133 Lake Shore Drive

Pascoag, Rhode Island

02859

UPDATE: a fund has been set up for the Girards at the local Bank of America.

Bank of America

590 West Main St (Rt 82)

Norwich, CT 06360

Until I find out if they have a way to make donations online, I will continue to collect donations through my PayPal account and send them to the Bank of America fund.

My husband and I attended the funeral at St. Mary's Church in Connecticut. It was beautiful. I hope to post more about it later.

St. Padre Pio, pray for us. The first martyrs of Rome, pray for us.

For more about the Girard family, see this link from the Friars of the Immaculate.

Update: Since some of you have asked, by all means feel free to copy or excerpt this post for your own blog or email. And yes, the family does need financial help. If you would like to make a donation through Paypal, you can send a donation to me at regina@reginadoman.com. Attach a note saying that your donation is for the Girard family and specify the amount in your email. I will make sure it gets to them.

I am looking into finding out if they have a paypal account of their own that we can use instead: when I find out anything, I will post. But for now, feel free to use my address, and I will have the money sent to them. Thank you!

Christian Frank on Catholic Moments!

Hey check out Christian Frank's interview on the Catholic Moments podcast! His interview is about halfway through the podcast.

Listen Here.

Book Two: Vengeance, Sort of

Q: When is Book Two coming out?

A: Soon!!! The book is written, and I'm working on editing it now. We're hoping to get it done in time for Christmas. (Great present, hey?)

Q: What will it be about?

A: Some threads (but not all!) that were left unresolved in Book One will be picked up, namely: what happens to Tyler Getz. Is he going to stand for Allie dumping him for Catholic guy, George? And is George going to stand for what Tyler does next?

The best part of this book is that we get to find out what Celia Costain, principal's daughter, thinks about everything at John Paul 2 High. Is she really "perfect Celia?" Or is there more going on beneath the surface?

And as for the other questions -- who's the shooter? Where's the poltergeist? -- you'll have to wait and see because if I say more, I'll spoil something!

Keep the book in your prayers: as I know from being a writer myself, prayers really do help the story.

Peace out,
Regina Doman,

Series Queen

PS: Any other burning questions? Post in the comment boxes. We'll answer - if we can. ;)

John Paul 2 High mentioned on the Rosary Army Podcast #227!

Regina Doman talked about the John Paul 2 High series on the Rosary Army Podcast #227! The interview begins at about 15:50 into the show.

Cha Cha Moment

So my brother Joe and his friends are fooling around with the Cha Cha service on their cell phones (text 242 242 with any question, and you'll get an answer). They're asking things like, "When did the Great Papal Schism occur...?" "Who founded the Catholic Church?"... "Who's cuter, me or my friend?"

...They ask, "Who is John Paul 2?"

The answer comes back: "John Paul 2 High is a new Catholic book series written by Christian M. Frank...."

Everyone in Joe's class (he works at a Catholic high school) said, "What did it say?" since Joe's jaw had dropped.

"Dude, my sister worked on that book! That's her thing!"

"No way!"

So go figure. Of all the things they could have said about John Paul the Great...

...well, I guess I'm honored.
:)

Last of the Blog Memes: J.P.

Here we go, the last of our student memes. This one is from J.P. Flynn:

(1) PLEASE WRITE OUT, PHONETICALLY, HOW YOU WOULD PRONOUNCE THE WORD, "MEME."
i actually participated in a government program where we were taught the correct pronunciation. unfortunately, if I told you, I’d have to kill you.

(2) WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR?
Clear

(3) WHAT CARTOON CHARACTER WOULD YOU EAT?
The Roadrunner. Kinda skinny, but I’ll bet he’s still delicious. Plus, a lot of protein. Besides, he annoys me with all that "MEEP! MEEP" thing. He deserves to be eaten.

(4) IF YOU COULD HAVE ONE, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
A cold one.

(5) WHAT IS THE FIRST "BUCKET"?
Scientists generally acknowledge the bucket from Nantucket to be the *first* bucket. That explains why it is still celebrated in limericks even to this day.

(6) DESCRIBE 3 WORDS.
Well, I would have to describe 3 words as almost being a sentence, but not quite there yet. Try to work on it. Consider using four or maybe even FIVE words next time.

(7) WHAT PLANT IMMEDIATELY FINISHING?
Fichus is immediately finishing.

(8) HEMINGWAY ONCE SAID THE BEST STORY HE EVER WROTE WAS ONLY SIX WORDS LONG: “FOR SALE, BABY SHOES, NEVER USED.” WHAT STORY COULD YOU WRITE IN ONLY SIX WORDS?
Cut the red wire not the

Blog Meme: Brian

Okay, we're almost done. If you're wondering what we're doing, there's an explanation HERE

Here's Brian Burke's meme:

(1) PLEASE WRITE OUT, PHONETICALLY, HOW YOU WOULD PRONOUNCE THE WORD, "MEME."
I read once that the word is derived from "gene," as in something that is prone to mutation or adaptation, so I guess it would have to be pronounced analogous to the word “gene,” i.e, "MEEM"

(2) WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR?
Blue

(3) WHAT CARTOON CHARACTER WOULD YOU BE?
Jason Fox

(4) IF YOU COULD HAVE ONE SUPERPOWER, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Time Travel

(5) WHAT IS THE FIRST ITEM ON YOUR "BUCKET LIST"?
Invent something

(6) DESCRIBE YOURSELF. USE 3 WORDS.
work in progress

(7) WHAT DO YOU PLAN TO DO IMMEDIATELY AFTER FINISHING THIS MEME?
Catch up on my reading. Or complete the next mission on Lost Odyssey. I haven’t decided yet.

(8) HEMINGWAY ONCE SAID THE BEST STORY HE EVER WROTE WAS ONLY SIX WORDS LONG: "FOR SALE, BABY SHOES, NEVER USED." WHAT STORY COULD YOU WRITE IN ONLY SIX WORDS?
A man went on a journey.

Blog Meme: Liz

Now it's Liz Simonelli's turn:

(1) PLEASE WRITE OUT, PHONETICALLY, HOW YOU WOULD PRONOUNCE THE WORD,
"MEME."
Asgjnbadfvnbaskjrh;arousivnae;r

(2) WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR?
Plaid

(3) WHAT CARTOON CHARACTER WOULD YOU BE?
SPONGEBOB!!!!!!!

(4) IF YOU COULD HAVE ONE SUPERPOWER, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
invisibility

(5) WHAT IS THE FIRST ITEM ON YOUR "BUCKET LIST"?
I don’t know what a "bucket list" is. A list of buckets?

(6) DESCRIBE YOURSELF. USE 3 WORDS.
Awesome, awesomer and awesomest.

(7) WHAT DO YOU PLAN TO DO IMMEDIATELY AFTER FINISHING THIS MEME?
WORLD DOMINATION!!!

(8) HEMINGWAY ONCE SAID THE BEST STORY HE EVER WROTE WAS ONLY SIX WORDS LONG: "FOR SALE, BABY SHOES, NEVER USED." WHAT STORY COULD YOU WRITE IN ONLY SIX WORDS?
She shoots! She scores!

Blog Memes: Celia

Over halfway through the class, now. Here's Celia Costain's meme:

(1) PLEASE WRITE OUT, PHONETICALLY, HOW YOU WOULD PRONOUNCE THE WORD, "MEME."
Meh-MAY

(2) WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR?
Brown. Yeah, it’s weird, but I like brown. What can I say?

(3) WHAT CARTOON CHARACTER WOULD YOU BE?
*sigh* Charlie Brown, probably

(4) IF YOU COULD HAVE ONE SUPERPOWER, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Either the ability to run around at super fast speeds, or else the ability to be two places at one time

(5) WHAT IS THE FIRST ITEM ON YOUR "BUCKET LIST"?
Get all the stuff on the rest of my lists done.

(6) DESCRIBE YOURSELF. USE 3 WORDS.
"Who am I?"

(7) WHAT DO YOU PLAN TO DO IMMEDIATELY AFTER FINISHING THIS MEME?
Fold laundry

(8) HEMINGWAY ONCE SAID THE BEST STORY HE EVER WROTE WAS ONLY SIX WORDS LONG: "FOR SALE, BABY SHOES, NEVER USED." WHAT STORY COULD YOU WRITE IN ONLY SIX WORDS?
"I feel sad for the baby."

Gettin' Back to Blog Memes: James

I've neglected this for the past couple days, so I better get cracking.

George's meme is HERE, and Allie's is HERE.

And this is James Kosalinski's:

(1) PLEASE WRITE OUT, PHONETICALLY, HOW YOU WOULD PRONOUNCE THE WORD, "MEME."
It’s pronounced, "Meme." Duh.

(2) WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR?
What if I were colorblind? Huh? Did you ever think of how insensitive this question would be?

(3) WHAT CARTOON CHARACTER WOULD YOU BE?
I don’t watch cartoons

(4) IF YOU COULD HAVE ONE SUPERPOWER, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
I wish I could fry the brains of people who clog up my inbox with idiotic memes.

(5) WHAT IS THE FIRST ITEM ON YOUR "BUCKET LIST"?
Convince the world of their errors.

(6) DESCRIBE YOURSELF. USE 3 WORDS.
Better. Than. You.

(7) WHAT DO YOU PLAN TO DO IMMEDIATELY AFTER FINISHING THIS MEME?
Wish I could have back the time I wasted on this stupid thing.

(8) HEMINGWAY ONCE SAID THE BEST STORY HE EVER WROTE WAS ONLY SIX WORDS LONG: "FOR SALE, BABY SHOES, NEVER USED." WHAT STORY COULD YOU WRITE IN ONLY SIX WORDS?
Alone he ventured. Bears ate him.

Congratulations!

John and Katie, two members of the JP2 High writing team, got engaged this weekend.





Best wishes for their future happiness!

More Stuff on the JP2 Website...

... in between wrestling with the opening chapters of The Midnight Dancers, I've been updating the John Paul 2 High website. There's now more stuff on the character pages and a little more information on the overall series-- and more is coming. Check it out if you have a moment. Plus Christian Frank is (finally!) answering some questions on the blog.

Some Answers

Hi-ho, C. Frank here, the erstwhile author of CR. Regina has been emailing me twice a day asking me to come over here and answer some questions. It's been a busy week, but I managed to get over here...now, let's see.

Was Celia supposed to be St. Cecilia for the All Saints Day party?

Yes. She just assumed that Allie would recognize her costume, forgetting that Allie's not exactly an expert on saints.

Is there any hope for Tyler? Will he ever become a nice person who isn't a sick jerk? Preferrably a Catholic person? I know this is a rather spoilery question, but I just need to know if there's hope. It seems like there's a part of him that wants the truth, even though he's currently too lazy to actually look for it.

There is hope for everyone. It really depends on Tyler. But I can't say more just now. It is kind of a spoilery question (I think you just coined a new word there!) but I will say that the path Tyler is going down doesn't look good.

Are any of the kids confirmed? I'm guessing Celia is at least, but I'm not so sure about George and Allie and the rest. If not, will we get to see anything like that? I'd love to see Allie's confirmation.

All the kids at JP2 are confirmed, except for Allie. Allie's mom and stepdad aren't practicing Catholics, so she hasn't really practiced her faith at all, ever, at the start of the story. As far as whether we'll see it....well, keep reading!

Will there be more students at JP2H with each book? Every few books? At all? Will we get to know any of these kids, or will they just be there to make the school bigger?

Well, a school really can't stay that small and stay in business, so yes! More kids will join! And there will be some strange additions to our cast of characters, let me tell ya.

Will we get things from Celia's perspective sometimes? Or any of the other JP2H-ers?

Yes. In fact, Book 2 (which is already in the works) will be from Celia's perspective. In fact, there will be a different perspective with each book.

Well, I hope that helps. Thanks for your support. Seriously. It's really cool that you guys are enjoying the book so much. Keep spreading the word! More is on the way.

CR reviewed on Love2Learn.net's Blog!

...The first in a fascinating new series created by a team of young Catholic authors....The book reads very well; it’s a definite page-turner with lots of surprises and events that keep the reader going. Because it’s trying to be realistic, this book doesn’t solve all the problems and mysteries within the 300+ pages. You’re meant to end the book, shaking your head, wondering “but what about...”

Thanks to Mary G. at Love2Learn.net for a great review of Catholic, Reluctantly!

Blog Meme: Allie

Here's part two in our series of character memes

Today is Allie Weaver's turn:

(1) PLEASE WRITE OUT, PHONETICALLY, HOW YOU WOULD PRONOUNCE THE WORD, "MEME."
Meam rhymes with bean… Sort of.

(2) WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR?
You mean to wear? Black. Colors in general, a pale, strong blue.

(3) WHAT CARTOON CHARACTER WOULD YOU BE?
When I was little, I wanted to be Wonder Woman.

(4) IF YOU COULD HAVE ONE SUPERPOWER, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Sometimes, I wish I had x-ray vision. But I would also need x-ray hearing to know what the people were saying. Does that count as one superpower or two?

(5) WHAT IS THE FIRST ITEM ON YOUR "BUCKET LIST"?
Yikes! This is morbid. Get married, I guess.

(6) DESCRIBE YOURSELF. USE 3 WORDS.
I’m a "PIG."—"Pretty Intelligent Girl!" :P

(7) WHAT DO YOU PLAN TO DO IMMEDIATELY AFTER FINISHING THIS MEME?
Text Madison.

(8) HEMINGWAY ONCE SAID THE BEST STORY HE EVER WROTE WAS ONLY SIX WORDS LONG: "FOR SALE, BABY SHOES, NEVER USED." WHAT STORY COULD YOU WRITE IN ONLY SIX WORDS?
That top looks cute. Charge, please.

Blog Meme: George

Okey doke. Like Regina said in the last post, we're going to be posting a few memes over the next few days so you can get to know the characters a little better.

If you have an email account, you've probably encountered memes like this. The concept is simple: a list of questions that you answer and then forward to your friends. Each person who recieves the forward will delete the previous answers, fill in his own and then forwards them on. Ideally, your answers give your friends the chance to learn a few things about you they might not have known.

So what we've done is have the JP2 high school students all fill out the same meme. We'll be posting one student per day. (If you want to fill out the meme yourself, feel free to do it in the comments box.)

First up is George Peterson:

(1) PLEASE WRITE OUT, PHONETICALLY, HOW YOU WOULD PRONOUNCE THE WORD, "MEME."
Mee-Mee, I guess

(2) WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE COLOR?
Green

(3) WHAT CARTOON CHARACTER WOULD YOU BE?
Jerry the mouse

(4) IF YOU COULD HAVE ONE SUPERPOWER, WHAT WOULD IT BE?
Flying. Definitely flying

(5) WHAT IS THE FIRST ITEM ON YOUR "BUCKET LIST"?
If you mean, what I'd like to do before I kick the bucket then: make the world somehow better than it was before I got here.

(6) DESCRIBE YOURSELF. USE 3 WORDS.
Doof. This is hard. I guess I'm a GUY who takes ACTION and stands up for JUSTICE. Yeah, I know it sounds lame, but how do you sum up yourself in three words?

(7) WHAT DO YOU PLAN TO DO IMMEDIATELY AFTER FINISHING THIS MEME?
Work out.

(8) HEMINGWAY ONCE SAID THE BEST STORY HE EVER WROTE WAS ONLY SIX WORDS LONG: "FOR SALE, BABY SHOES, NEVER USED." WHAT STORY COULD YOU WRITE IN ONLY SIX WORDS?
'I can’t write six word stories.'

Meet the Characters

Just a web admin note to say we updated the character profiles on the website. Check them out if you want.
Peace out,
Series Queen

Some Reactions and Questions

I'm going to post this letter from a fan and ask Christian Frank to answer some of the questions within it. Like I said, we can't answer questions that would spoil the plots of the other books, but we'll try to tell you what we can!

Feel free to post in the comments boxes!

Hi Regina! I just read John Paul 2 High: Catholic, Reluctantly and I thought I'd let you know what I thought! I also have some questions. Most of them aren't spoilery, so you probably won't have to be coy, as you say. ;)

When you said that the series would deal with things that Catholic teens deal with... I didn't realize how much I would be able to relate, or understand what those kids were going through. The dialogue was so real, and way to go on having photographs of the characters! The story just played out like a movie for me, because the characters didn't look like drawings in my mind. The only thing that bothered me (and I know you've heard this before) were the IM conversations. Yes, I know some teenagers use "2" for "to." As if the extra letter will kill them. But Celia spelled correctly, at least! My IMming tends to be more like hers, but I capitalize letters.

I loved the characters. I had read the first few chapters online a few times, and it was so weird to realize suddenly that there was MORE to the book than that! And that these people were characters... real characters... I don't know how to explain it, and I'm doing a horrible job of it, but I loved them.

The book was really funny. I loved J.P. :D He had me laughing almost anytime he said something!

Now for my questions:

Was Celia supposed to be St. Cecilia for the All Saints Day party?

Is there any hope for Tyler? Will he ever become a nice person who isn't a sick jerk? Preferrably a Catholic person? I know this is a rather spoilery question, but I just need to know if there's hope. It seems like there's a part of him that wants the truth, even though he's currently too lazy to actually look for it.

Are any of the kids confirmed? I'm guessing Celia is at least, but I'm not so sure about George and Allie and the rest. If not, will we get to see anything like that? I'd love to see Allie's confirmation.

Will there be more students at JP2H with each book? Every few books? At all? Will we get to know any of these kids, or will they just be there to make the school bigger?

Will we get things from Celia's perspective sometimes? Or any of the other JP2H-ers?

That's all. Thanks for working so hard to get good Catholic books out there for teens! :)

Introducing the John Paul 2 High Team

The John Paul 2 High team: from left to right: top row: Andy A+Hat, Johnny
bottom row: Ry, Regina the Series Queen, small child mascot, Token "Teenager", Julian
Missing: H, Craig and Jamie Spiering, Fr. Christopher Pollard, Jaime, Ann (and Bowman the Black is not in the picture because he was taking it).

These are some of the people who brought you the John Paul 2 High series. As you can see, I have a hard time getting them all in one room at the same time, but these were the ones who were able to make the last meeting: mainly our writers (all the guys in the picture are writers). The Token Teenager (in pink) is now 21 and thus no longer a teenager, but she still gives us feedback on how realistic our characters sound. Some of the others not pictured are editors and idea people. Fr. Chris Pollard is our chaplain and checks the books against Church teaching. Everyone is an important part of making this series work. It's been a lot of work thus far, but also a lot of fun.

Anyhow, in the coming weeks we're hoping to post more about the characters on this blog and on the website, and to give you all a chance to get your questions about the series answered.

So stay tuned, and if you think of it, say a prayer for us! Thanks!

Review on SpiritualWomanThoughts.blogspot.com

Catholic, Reluctantly is the first in what is hoped to be a long-running series of books focused on John Paul II high. Editor Regina Doman (Waking Rose, Angel in the Waters) is working with a group of talented young writers to bring young Catholics books about people like them. Christian M. Frank has done a great job with this one! The story is engaging and interesting and leaves you wanting more. I, for one, am looking forward to the next installment. Read more...

Catholic Reluctantly on CatholicMoments.com!

"Series Queen" Regina Doman was interviewed about Catholic Reluctantly and her other books on the CatholicMoments podcast. Click here to listen!

Regina Interviewed by Catholic Moments

Last week I had a great interview with Lisa Hendey (http://www.catholicmom.com/) for her podcast, Catholic Moments. We talked about the Fairy Tale Novels, Angel in the Waters, and of course, John Paul 2 High. Click here to listen (my interview is about 1/3 of the way in). It would be great to get some comments on the podcast on Lisa's site, so if you have a question, comment, etc. leave it on her page.

Thanks for listening! Lisa's hoping to do an interview with John Paul 2 High author Christian Frank sometime soon, so check back!

What did you think of Book 1?

By now some of you blog readers have finished the book: please let me know what you thought! Post your reactions in the comments boxes if you want!
Peace and good
Series Queen

Catholic, Reluctantly on Amazon!

Catholic Reluctantly is now on Amazon.com! To buy it, click here. And could I ask a favor? If you've read the book and liked it, could you go to Amazon and post a short review? Those things really help! Thanks very much in advance!

I'm up at Steubenville now and getting ready to talk about "Writing in the New Millennium." Say a prayer for me, because I've lost my voice. :( And if you're in Steubenville, I hope you can come to the talk! I'm going to be talking about pointers for Catholic writers trying to get published in today's market. And I'll have copies of Catholic, Reluctantly on hand if you want to buy one.

It's on Amazon!

Catholic Reluctantly is now on Amazon.com! To buy it, click here. If you've already read the book, would you consider posting a review at Amazon? Thanks so much!

It's Here!

After three years and countless setbacks, it's HEEERRREEE!!!! Book One of John Paul 2 High is finally out! I haven't yet held it in my hands, but the publisher has, and he says he experienced the same surreal feeling as authors do: "Wow. After all this work, it's actually in print!"

So go and order it -- and spread the word! Although the website still says "on back order," Sophia Press tells me that they are within a week of sending out copies. And those of you who've already ordered will have your orders filled first.

I'm almost too delirious with joy (or is it the painkillers from surgery?) to be nervous about what you all will think of it. I really, really hope you all like it. Just a heads up that this is Book One in the series. So if the ending feels a little open-ended, that's because Book Two should be coming out on the heels of this one (hopefully by Christmas if not sooner!). Anyhow, I've been working hard for years to get this book into your hands, so I hope you enjoy it and if you do, it will signal the launching of a very good, long story that I'm anxious to tell you.... did I mention we have fourteen books plotted out in this series? So the big experiment begins! I pray it goes well!

FINALLY.

After three years and countless setbacks, it's HEEERRREEE!!!! Book One of John Paul 2 High is finally out! I haven't yet held it in my hands, but the publisher has, and he says he experienced the same surreal feeling as authors do: "Wow. After all this work, it's actually in print!"

So go and order it -- and spread the word! Although the website still says "on back order," Sophia Press tells me that they are within a week of sending out copies. And those of you who've already ordered will have your orders filled first.

I'm almost too delirious with joy (or is it the painkillers from surgery?) to be nervous about what you all will think of it. I really, really hope you all like it. Just a heads up that this is Book One in the series. So if the ending feels a little open-ended, that's because Book Two should be coming out on the heels of this one (hopefully by Christmas if not sooner!).

Anyhow, I've been working hard for years to get this book into your hands, so I hope you enjoy it and if you do, it will signal the launching of a very good, long story that I'm anxious to tell you.... did I mention we have fourteen books plotted out in this series?

So the big experiment begins! I pray it goes well!

Order John Paul 2 High Now!

The book's on the Sophia Press website!
If you want to reserve a copy, you can preorder it now. Just Click here.