THIS IS WHERE IT ENDS - Cindy K Sproles - One Free Copy
Bio: Cindy K. Sproles is the author of What Momma LeftBehind and the cofounder of Christian Devotions Ministries. A popularspeaker, Cindy teaches at writers’ conferences across the country and directsthe Asheville Christian Writers Conference in North Carolina. She is theexecutive editor of ChristianDevotions.us and freelance editor for Iron StreamMedia. Cindy has a BA in business and journalism and lives in the mountains ofEast Tennessee with her family.Cindy has received high praise for her captivating and emotionallypowerful storylines set in the South. Now she combines her love for the Appalachian Mountainswith an unforgettable tale about secrets in her new novel, This IsWhere It Ends.
At only fourteen years old, Minerva Jane Jenkins moves to themountains with her new husband. Among their few possessions is a small box thathe 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. Rumorsstill find a way to spread, however, and Minerva finds herself the subject ofinterest for Del Rankin, a reporter with a desire for the truth. By his side isa friend who wants to know where the gold is hidden. Neither of them can evenbegin to guess the challenges they will face by trying to get what they wantfrom Minerva.
Despite her dedication to keeping her late husband’s secret, Minervafinds herself thinking about sharing what she knows with Del. Can she trulybring herself to break such a long-held promise? Even if she does, the truth ofwhat’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 MinervaJenkins, an elderly woman living alone on a mountain in Kentucky, who made apromise to her dying husband that ruled her life. She is a faithful widow whocomes to grips with a wasted life in her final days, until she meets a reporterwho ends up being the family she didn’t know she had. The question becomes, Howlong 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 inour elderly. There is great treasure in our aging seniors—great wisdom, lifeexperience, and strength. I hope that through this book, readers willexperience aging, its joys, and its frustrations through the eyes of an elderlywoman and that through that experience, they will find great compassion for theaging.
What was the inspiration behind This Is Where It Ends? The inspiration comes from mytwenty years in the eldercare business and hundreds of senior clients whoimpacted my life by their own life experiences. I’ve held the hand of a dyingsenior who has no family by their side, and the impact that has made on my lifeis significant.
What type of research was required to write your novel? Of course, there is the historical research—we haveDel, who is a reporter, and I needed to know the closest newspaper to Minervaand how reporters worked in that time period. The research on aging came from myexperience in the eldercare business and working one-on-one with seniors andtheir families.
How does your ownbackground influence your writing? My mountain heritageplays a huge part in my writing. I was raised in the mountains of EastTennessee, and my family carried those mountain values and abilities that make theculture 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 itforgotten.
Can you share more information about Minerva Jenkins, one of the maincharacters? Minerva was inspired by two sweet elderly women in my life,one named Rowena and the other named Aileen. Both were well into their ninetiesat 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 faithfulmountain wife—so faithful that she ignored the obviously detrimental things inher husband’s life. Things that would affect her. She is stubborn, but that ishow mountain women survive. She is determined and truthful—attributes that madeher strong—but those same attributes force her to live a life she could havechosen to be different.
Readers will see repetition throughout this story, aswell as some confusion, and rightfully so because I am telling it through theeyes of a 94-year-old woman. I want readers to experience the aging process ina very real way—the way Minerva would have.
Minerva develops an unlikely friendship with Del Rankin. What istheir connection? In the beginning, Del is aproblem who Minerva thinks she must rid herself of, but as time passes, Delbefriends her and she grows to love him as a son. Is he family? You’ll have toread to find out.
This Is Where It Ends
followsa plot of holding on to secrets. What inspired you to explore this theme? My own grandmother wasmarried at the age of fourteen. She never loved my grandfather, and he neverloved her. Theirs was a marriage of convenience. In her own writings, mygrandmother stated she took a vow when she was married, and though she and mygrandfather did not live together the last years of his life, they remainedmarried and faithful to one another. She made a promise that when she said “Ido,” it bore meaning and respect. Again, how long do you keep a promise? For mygrandmother—to the grave.Are there any other lessons that you hope readers will gain fromreading This Is Where It Ends? I hope they walk away seeing the value in our elderly. Ourcountry is one of the few in the world that have little respect for our agingseniors. We toss them into the care of institutions and strangers rather thanstepping up and caring for them as we should—as our family. I hope readers willgrasp 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 ourpast—those things that drop into the crevices of the forgotten but are goldennuggets that will enrich our lives. Our history is our guide to the future. Weneed to know what lies in the crevices of our past.
What are youworking on next? In the works—mineral springs. I’m developing a story aroundthe sulfur springs in the mountains and the healing benefits used by themountain granny women. (A granny woman was that one woman on the mountain whoknew all the medical benefits of roots, herbs, and mineral waters. She was themidwife, 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 alink to the book.
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