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Author, editor, and conference speaker Regina Doman has edited adult and young adult fiction, has written a children’s book (Angel in the Waters, which has sold over 100,000 copies ) and a graphic novel (Habemus Papam! Pope Benedict XVI), and is currently co-authoring a modern fiction romance series (Catholic Philosopher Chick), among many other projects. Her dominant genre, however, is young adult fiction. She describes her style for this genre as fairy tales retold; she recreates Grimm’s fairy tales in a modern setting.

Biography
Regina Doman was born on January 5,  1970, in Havertown, Pennsylvania. The oldest of ten children,  she graduated in 1992 from Franciscan University of Steubenville, where she majored in television production and theatre arts. After graduation, she worked with Catholics United for the Faith as assistant editor of Lay Witness magazine until her marriage in 1994. She enrolled in Franciscan University’s graduate program and with her husband, Andrew Schmiedicke, began working for Human Life International. Schmiedicke now works from home as co-owner of a web-development company  and has written a book, Our Fairytale Romance, about how he met and married his wife. The couple currently lives on a farm in Front Royal, Virginia,  where they homeschool their seven children.

Influences
Regina knew from a young age that she wanted to be a writer. G.K. Chesterton was her main inspiration; his novel The Man Who Was Thursday particularly made an impact on her. In addition, Chesterton’s novel Orthodoxy, C.S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity, and Maximilian Kolbe’s The Immaculate Conception and the Holy Spirit all played important roles in her formation as a writer, particularly since theological and philosophical works act together as the driving inspiration behind her writing. Literary criticism has also offered her significant ideas.

In actual writing style rather than content, Regina was chiefly influenced by The Art of Dramatic Writing by Lajos Egri, Walking on Water by Madeleine L’Engle, and a variety of poetry by T.S. Eliot, Shakespeare, Chesterton, Tolkein, Keats, the prophet Isaiah, and others. Memorizing poetry is a favorite hobby of hers.

Author
Regina’s first published novel, Snow White and Rose Red: A Modern Fairy Tale, was released in 1997 and republished in 2002 under its current title, The Shadow of the Bear. It was the first in a trilogy that focuses on the modern counterparts of Snow White, Rose Red, and their princes. Its sequel, Black as Night, a modern spin on Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, was released in 2004.

A family tragedy forced Regina to take a year off from writing before she could complete the trilogy. Her four-year-old son, Joshua, was killed in a car accident in July 2006,  so the trilogy’s conclusion, Waking Rose, based on the tale of Sleeping Beauty, did not emerge until 2007. The next fairy tale book, The Midnight Dancers, involved one of the characters from Waking Rose but followed a new plotline with new characters. Her most recent fairy tale, Alex O’Donnell and the 40 Cyberthieves, which also features characters from Waking Rose, won the Catholic Arts and Letters Award in 2011 for Best Young Adult Fiction.

When asked why she writes fairy tales, Regina answered that fairy tales are universal; they’ve been handed down for generations, and each generation sees something so fascinating and impactful in the fairy tales that they can’t help but pass them down to the next generation. In an interview with Kimberly Heatherington, correspondent for the National Catholic Register, Regina shared the following about why she deals with modern and often dark issues in her fairy tales:

"My books are not necessarily ‘safe.’ I’ve had people say, ‘Why do you have to go into these dark places?’  And I’ve said, ‘Because my heroes fight real dragons.’  These are real dragons that are out there.  We could wish our kids lived in a better world—but the fact is they’re going to have to grow up in this environment; they’re going to have to face these dragons.  The whole reason I deal with these things is not just to show that I know they’re out there, but to give kids actual tools to deal with them."

Regina Doman, her fairy tales, and creative articles inspired by her books were featured extensively in the online magazine Ink and Fairydust, which is currently edited by Neri Preslin  and has been dubbed “the official FTN magazine” by the Fairy Tale Novels website. In 2008, Regina permitted the magazine’s previous editor, Elizabeth Hausladen, to direct a student-made film of The Shadow of the Bear. Filming and production endured through 2010, and on June 23, 2011 the finished project was premiered at the St. Anthony Main Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota. DVDs are being sold by Andrew Schmiedicke via Chesterton Press.

Other books Regina has written include Angel in the Waters, a children’s book illustrated by Ben Hatke;  ''Habemus Papam! Pope Benedict XVI, a graphic novel illustrated by Sean Lam;  and Catholic Philosopher Chick Makes Her Debut, the first novel in the modern fiction romance series Catholic Philosopher Chick'', which is being co-authored by Rebecca Bratton Weiss.

Current Projects
Regina is currently in the process of creating two more fairy tale novels, one of which, entitled Goldspinner, is based on Rumplestiltskin and would chronologically follow Black as Night but precede Waking Rose. The other one, Rapunzel Let Down, based on Rapunzel, boasts a new set of characters and will be released soon, possibly within the next few months.

In the realm of adult fiction, Regina is working with Rebecca Bratton Weiss to produce the second Catholic Philosopher Chick book, tentatively entitled Catholic Philosopher Chick Ups the Stakes.

Speaker/Teacher
Regina’s success as a writer eventually led her to teach fiction writing classes, which she plans to sell on video in the future. She also travels to speak at various conferences and events about topics such as evangelizing the imagination,  how to create effective villains,   and more.

Editor
Regina Doman works as editor for Sophia Institute Press,  a company that has been publishing Catholic books for 25 years. In 2009, Regina and Andrew were both working as freelance editors and agents for the Chisel and Cross Books from Sophia Institute Press when the company added a new division to their product line: adult fiction. The first of these books, Bleeder by John Desjarlais, was edited by Regina and released in August that year. Its sequel, Viper, was released soon after. Regina and Andrew now own Chesterton Press,  a publishing company whose slogan is “Fiction that Evangelizes the Imagination.”    Chesterton Press was created by Regina and her husband as an extension of Chesterton Publications, which released the audio dramatization of Regina’s novel, The Shadow of the Bear. This complete, four-hour drama won Best Audio Drama of the Year in 2009.

When Sophia Institute added the adult fiction genre to its store, Regina pitched an idea for a young adult fiction project. John Barger, founder and president of Sophia Institute, approved her proposal for the John Paul 2 High series. Regina designed the John Paul 2 High series to be written by grad students from Christendom College and the Franciscan University of Steubenville. She believed the students could be writers if they had the chance, and she wanted to give them the opportunity. Regina edits the books but does not write them. The group of writers who creates them uses the penname Christian M. Frank. The series is currently four books long: Catholic, Reluctantly; Trespasses Against Us; Summer of My Dissent; and Undercover Papist.

Additional books edited by Regina Doman include Awakening by Claudia McAdam, Bleeder and Viper by John Desjarlais, Christopher by David Atley, The Spanish Match by Brennan Pursell, and Rachel’s Contrition by Michelle Buckman. Rachel’s Contrition won the Catholic Arts and Letters Award in 2011 for Best Adult Fiction. In 2010, it was also Amazon’s bestseller in the women’s fiction category and is still high on the list. Manga Hero, a company that produces graphic novels, has recently hired Regina Doman for editing work.

Current Projects
Regina is presently editing two graphic novels for Manga Hero, one about Fr. Vincent Capadanno, the Father to the Marines, and another about St. Maximilian Kolbe. Book 5 of the John Paul 2 High series is pending under Regina’s direction, though as of now it remains untitled. In collaboration with Chesterton Press, Regina is also constructing at least two new series in addition to working with some authors from Sophia Institute Press.