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!
Monday, December 29, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
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.
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.
Monday, September 15, 2008
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...
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...
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
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!
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!
Monday, August 25, 2008
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!
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!
Monday, July 28, 2008
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...
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...
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
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:
Peasant
Gender: Male
Posts: 30
Re: Lord, what are You calling me to do?
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.
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
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!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
