Newest from Deborah Heal

About the book:

A modern retelling of the Old Testament story of Ruth—a sweet romance about courage, loyalty, and second chances.

When Julia passes through the small town of Coldwater, driving her screeching pickup with her mother-in-law and everything she owns in the RV they’re towing, all she wants is to get Helen settled on what’s left of the family farm and hurry back to civilization.

Julia’s still mourning her husband, and so romance is the last thing on her mind. But whenever Neil Ashe shows up, the attraction between them flares—even though his divorce has left him leery of city women, and she’s not interested in muscle-bound farmers, no matter how handsome they may be.

Julia soon realizes she’s going to have to stick around to help Helen hold on to her forty-acres because someone is after them. Besides, how could she leave her mother-in-law to the tender mercies of the legalistic bullies who have taken over Bethel Church? They pick at Helen like Job’s “friends,” telling her God has cursed her. Why else would her husband and both sons die in tragic accidents?

Julia is determined to deal with everything on her own, just as she’s been doing ever since Lucas died. But Neil thinks it’s his job to make all their problems go away. Will Julia stubbornly go it alone, holding on to both her pride and the memory of her husband, or will she ask Neil to come to the rescue—and into her heart?

Lisa's review:

I was a Deborah Heal fan before I learned she was working on a series of Biblical fiction set in contemporary times. This story of Ruth and Naomi is a beautiful and timeless story perfectly fit for today. I learned a lot about the setting and fully enjoyed the characters as they played out the loyalty, despair and love that go along with making a forever commitment. I adore too-good-to-be-true heroes, even though they make me sigh into tomorrow and realize they're not perfect. That only makes them sweeter. We don't get to know Boaz's inner angst in the Bible, but the author of Holding On made an excellent and determined effort to show it.

No, it's not the time traveling adventure of her earlier series, but show Heal's versatility, and you know...in a way, we do time travel here in this story that parallels the biblical romance of Ruth and Boaz. Recommended for teens and up. Told from multiple viewpoints.

3.99 eBook

11.99 Print

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New from author illustrator Lisa Hainline

Polly’s Pink Piggy Parlor

Written and illustrated by Lisa Hainline

Children’s literature

Hardcover $18.99

Paper $14.99

Coloring book $8.99

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Buy on Barnes and Noble 

About the Book:

Once upon a time, there was a piggy...with a comb.

Polly is a lovable pig who just wants to do what she loves to do, and would rather play with her dolls than play in the Mud. With the encouragement of friends, Polly ends up starting her very own beauty salon, to help her friends feel unique and beautiful in their own special way. Polly's Pink Piggy Parlor encourages young girls to not only look their best but to discover what their talents and giftings are and develop them…no matter what anybody thinks.

My review:

Polly is a most unusual pig. Instead of the usual mud play, Polly prefers to brush her dolly’s hair, and fix the coiffeurs of other farmyard and zoo animals. She helps her barnyard friend Sally who wants to be “hip” for her trip to town and encourages Polly to practice her talent. No creature was too difficult to beautify – from a fly to an elephant, Polly used her gifts, pampering the animals with their special requests, dyeing, plucking, curling, and even nail/claw treatments. She became so well known that she started her own beauty treatment parlor, the culmination of her hard work and dreams. The story encourages readers and listeners to follow their hearts and work to achieve their goals.

Charmingly illustrated in shaded pastels, Hainlines a/a, b/b, c/c, d/d rhyme scheme will be sure to have kids begging for another read. Accompanied by an outline coloring book, youngsters can color along while listening to their favorite reader. A unique addition to the story is “finders keepers,” a counting list of specialty items found in the illustrations to help Polly put her shop in order. Printable activity papers are available free to download from the author’s website, http://www.lisahainline.com/.

About the author

Lisa Hainline is an award-winning and gifted graphic designer, art director and illustrator, producing/directing for ad agencies, major corporations, radio stations, hospitals, banks, manufacturers, magazines and other small boutique businesses. 

With over 40 years in the advertising industry, for the past seven years, Lisa has turned her focus to helping other authors self-publish their works, designing some of the covers seen on Amazon. You can see her book cover design work at her studio www.lionsgatebookdesign.com, where she merges her design and marketing experience with her spiritual gifts to help Christian authors promote the message God laid on their hearts. 

Founder and author of http://www.thehealingsource.org, Lisa also ministers to the hurting through her blog, articles and praying with others in street ministry.

Born and raised in Wisconsin, Lisa now enjoys the continual sunshine in California near her daughter and son-in-law and plans to bring more of her own books to the surface. You can reach Lisa at Lisa@lisahainline.com and through her websites above and at http://www.lisahainline.com and http://www.lionsgatebookdesign.com