Lisa Hainline and children's lit

Polly’s Pink Piggy Parlor

Written and illustrated by Lisa Vento Hainline

Children’s literature

Hardcover $18.99

Paper $14.99

Coloring book $8.99

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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 Vento 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@lisavento.com

http://www.lisavento.com

Catherine Finger and Jo Oliver thrillers

Catherine Finger

Elk Lake Publishing

May 2017

Print ISBN 978-1946638113

$12.99

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About the Book

A Dead Body, A Cryptic Clue—Will Jo Oliver Solve the Riddle in Time? Police Chief Jo Oliver needed a little time to herself. But when her escape to Wisconsin turns deadly, she teams up with FBI agent Nick Vitarello, hoping to catch the Bow Tie Killer. Their romantic past and complicated present leads them into uncharted territory as they match wits with a psychopath bent on destroying everything they hold dear.

My Review

The third installment of the Jo Oliver mystery thrillers takes place in Wisconsin. In this story, Jo, or Josie to her friends, is ordered to take some vacation time after a harrowing run-in with a murderer and near death experience. Her vacation ends abruptly on the sixth hole of an early-morning solitary round of golf when she runs after a cap sailing in the wind and traces it back to its owner, buried upright at the edge of an Indian mound.

This is the first book of the series for me. I stop trying to figure out what I’d missed with all the graphic references and obvious romance, and just started to read the current mystery. Apparently Chief Jo has an active romantic life and is widowed, and is well-known to several branches and members of law enforcement. She grew up in Wisconsin and is taking some R&R on inherited property which abuts a golf course. She also has a cabin in the woods and close friends. After a reference to Michelle Obama, I wasn’t sure about racial identity, but that didn’t seem to be part of the story.

Jo had gotten involved in the past with the FBI, and one agent in particular, a gorgeous agent named Nick. She has mentors and friends and also sometime in the not-too-distant past became a Christian. Her golf course victim, she learns, is one of a bizarre series of crimes targeting specific profiles of people. With her friend the local sheriff who has a romantic and lengthy friendly interest in Jo, and the FBI love interest agent, Jo helps hunt down the killer, but not without nearly falling prey a couple of times.

Told in first person throughout, the character is a sassy, lovestruck gal with a reputation of being able to befriend and pray through danger-fraught situations. The romantic angles seem pronounced in this mystery, and those who prefer their Christian mysteries pure and chaste will need to put on blinders for some heavy duty but fairly clean kissing and lots of thinking about kissing, as well as alcohol use. Some of the characters seems like filler, like Jo’s Wisconsin neighbors, though I’m sure they were more important in the earlier books. When using real names and places, it’s always best to use real geography. If you happen to live in the area mentioned in the book, like I do, you may not appreciate unnecessary liberties taken with the setting.

Readers of spicy, dicey mysteries featuring lots of romantic angles and some procedural detective work will enjoy the Jo Oliver series. The first two books  are Shattered By Death and Cleansed By Death.

About the Author

Catherine Finger is recently retired from a wonderful career in public education. Follow her on Facebook, CatherineFingerAuthor, and Twitter, @BeJoOliver.