Bio: Cindy K. Sproles is the author of What Momma Left Behind and the cofounder of Christian Devotions Ministries. A popular speaker, Cindy teaches at writers’ conferences across the country and directs the Asheville Christian Writers Conference in North Carolina. She is the executive editor of ChristianDevotions.us and freelance editor for Iron Stream Media. Cindy has a BA in business and journalism and lives in the mountains of East Tennessee with her family.
Cindy has received high praise for her captivating and emotionally
powerful storylines set in the South. Now she combines her love for the Appalachian Mountains
with an unforgettable tale about secrets in her new novel, This Is
Where It Ends.
At only fourteen years old, Minerva Jane Jenkins moves to the
mountains with her new husband. Among their few possessions is a small box that
he claims holds gold. On his deathbed, he makes her promise to keep his secret,
telling no one of the box or its supposed treasure.
About the Story: Thirty years later,
Minerva has kept that secret, even as she nears the end of her own life. Rumors
still find a way to spread, however, and Minerva finds herself the subject of
interest for Del Rankin, a reporter with a desire for the truth. By his side is
a friend who wants to know where the gold is hidden. Neither of them can even
begin to guess the challenges they will face by trying to get what they want
from Minerva.
Despite her dedication to keeping her late husband’s secret, Minerva
finds herself thinking about sharing what she knows with Del. Can she truly
bring herself to break such a long-held promise? Even if she does, the truth of
what’s really in the box may be hidden even from her.
Can you please provide a brief summary of This Is Where It Ends?
This is the story of Minerva
Jenkins, an elderly woman living alone on a mountain in Kentucky, who made a
promise to her dying husband that ruled her life. She is a faithful widow who
comes to grips with a wasted life in her final days, until she meets a reporter
who ends up being the family she didn’t know she had. The question becomes, How
long do you keep a promise, even if it is detrimental? To the grave.
What do you hope readers will gain from reading your book? My hope is the reader will see the value found in
our elderly. There is great treasure in our aging seniors—great wisdom, life
experience, and strength. I hope that through this book, readers will
experience aging, its joys, and its frustrations through the eyes of an elderly
woman and that through that experience, they will find great compassion for the
aging.
What was the inspiration behind This Is Where It Ends? The inspiration comes from my
twenty years in the eldercare business and hundreds of senior clients who
impacted my life by their own life experiences. I’ve held the hand of a dying
senior who has no family by their side, and the impact that has made on my life
is significant.
What type of research was required to write your novel? Of course, there is the historical research—we have
Del, who is a reporter, and I needed to know the closest newspaper to Minerva
and how reporters worked in that time period. The research on aging came from my
experience in the eldercare business and working one-on-one with seniors and
their families.
How does your own
background influence your writing? My mountain heritage
plays a huge part in my writing. I was raised in the mountains of East
Tennessee, and my family carried those mountain values and abilities that make the
culture so rich. I’ve learned from the experience of deep-rooted family members,
and that is something they don’t teach in school anymore. I don’t want it
forgotten.
Can you share more information about Minerva Jenkins, one of the main
characters? Minerva was inspired by two sweet elderly women in my life,
one named Rowena and the other named Aileen. Both were well into their nineties
at their going home but were filled with stories, wisdom, humor, and sassiness,
and they’d faced many hardships. Minerva is a classic example of a faithful
mountain wife—so faithful that she ignored the obviously detrimental things in
her husband’s life. Things that would affect her. She is stubborn, but that is
how mountain women survive. She is determined and truthful—attributes that made
her strong—but those same attributes force her to live a life she could have
chosen to be different.
Readers will see repetition throughout this story, as
well as some confusion, and rightfully so because I am telling it through the
eyes of a 94-year-old woman. I want readers to experience the aging process in
a very real way—the way Minerva would have.
Minerva develops an unlikely friendship with Del Rankin. What is
their connection? In the beginning, Del is a
problem who Minerva thinks she must rid herself of, but as time passes, Del
befriends her and she grows to love him as a son. Is he family? You’ll have to
read to find out.
This Is Where It Ends follows a plot of holding on to secrets. What inspired you to explore this theme? My own grandmother was married at the age of fourteen. She never loved my grandfather, and he never loved her. Theirs was a marriage of convenience. In her own writings, my grandmother stated she took a vow when she was married, and though she and my grandfather did not live together the last years of his life, they remained married and faithful to one another. She made a promise that when she said “I do,” it bore meaning and respect. Again, how long do you keep a promise? For my grandmother—to the grave.
Are there any other lessons that you hope readers will gain from
reading This Is Where It Ends? I hope they walk away seeing the value in our elderly. Our
country is one of the few in the world that have little respect for our aging
seniors. We toss them into the care of institutions and strangers rather than
stepping up and caring for them as we should—as our family. I hope readers will
grasp the golden value in our seniors and, if they have seniors in their lives,
that they will embrace them, learn from them, and love them to the end.
What do you love about writing historical fiction? I love bringing to light the hidden things of our
past—those things that drop into the crevices of the forgotten but are golden
nuggets that will enrich our lives. Our history is our guide to the future. We
need to know what lies in the crevices of our past.
What are you
working on next? In the works—mineral springs. I’m developing a story around
the sulfur springs in the mountains and the healing benefits used by the
mountain granny women. (A granny woman was that one woman on the mountain who
knew all the medical benefits of roots, herbs, and mineral waters. She was the
midwife, the doctor.) The working title is The Eyes of River.
How can readers connect with you? Readers can find me at www.cindysproles.com or by emailing me at cindyksproles@gmail.com.
Thank you, Cindy, for sharing this book with my blog readers. I'm eager to read my copy
Readers, here’s a link to the book.
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9 comments:
Enter me in your awesome giveaway!!
Nichols SC.
Thanks for the lovely author and book spotlight! I've heard a lot of great things about this book. Thanks for the chance to win a copy.
Winnie T. from Utah
This book sounds fascinating. Would love to read. Blessings from Lucy in WV.
Captivating and unforgettable novel. A real treasure. Anne in NM.
I'm always on the lookout for new to me authors.
Thanks for entering me in your giveaway.
Janet Estridge.
Florida
Cindy's books are so good! I just finished reading Mercy's Rain. :)
Elizabeth Litton
Maryland
Brenda from Mississippi. Oh I have been wanting this book. Thanks for your giveaway!
This is an unforgettable treasure. Pearl-NM.
I'm interested in this one for sure. :)
-Melissa in TN
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