1) Tell me about yourself?
I am recently retired. (Yeah). I work as a lead managing editor for Ironstream Media/LPC Books, heading up the imprints of Straight Street Books and SonRise Devotionals. I am married 34 years to my prince. We have 4 adult sons and two grand. I am the co-founder of Christian Devotions Ministries and executive editor of ChristianDevotions.us and InspireaFire.com as well as the director of the Asheville Christian Writers Conference. My fourth Appalachian Historical Novel has been contracted by Revell.
2.What are your favorite books to read? All things Appalachian from novels to life in the Appalachians.
3. When did you decide you were going to write a book?
Oh boy...let me see. I suppose when I sat on the floor of our local library at age 10 while my mom got her hair fixed next door. I remember pulling book after book from the shelves and pretending my name was on the cover. I actually followed through when my children were grown and I felt I could focus on learning the craft. My first novel (published) entered the scene in 2017.
4. How did you come up with the name of your book?
My newest release, What Momma Left Behind, was originally called All Momma's Children. Publishers do what publishers do and they tweaked the title, but when I came up with All Momma's Children it was because the story dealt with the multitude of orphaned children this woman cared for. For me, I come up with a title long before I come up with a story. One day, I was talking about my own mother and how she had mentored so many of my friends through scouting and just how much they still love her - that the title came from a conversation. I referred to all those kids as All Momma's Children. It was a great title that fits perfectly when the story came shortly thereafter.
5. What are you working on for 2021?
My new work was just contracted with Revell and it's the story of a 94-year old mountain woman who made a promise to her dying husband. It wasn't a promise she asked for, nor one she wanted, but she made it. The premise is how long do you keep a secret and when is a secret detrimental to the keeper? She develops a relationship with a young reporter searching out answers to what he suspects is her secret. The story then becomes about the valuable relationship we have with our elderly and the gold found in their wisdom and experience.
6. How long have you been writing?
25+ years seriously
7.What advice would you give other authors? Don't get the horse before the cart. You can't sell a book that hasn't been written, so learn the craft. Study the writing of others, and write the story. Worry about selling it AFTER you learn the craft and write the story.
8. Where can people find you online? www.cindysproles.com
9. What is your favorite coffee drink?
Not a coffee drinker. I'm a coffee smeller. I love the smell but never developed a taste.
10. What is your favorite coffee shop?
I
like Starbucks but only for the hot chocolate!
11. Do you plan on making a new book in the future?
Oh yes. I have three in the works.
12. How many books have you written? A total of ten novels but only the last 5 were ready enough for publication. It took me a few to learn the craft. New writers need to learn that that first book may not be the one ready for publication. That may be the learning book. The more you write, the better you get. I had a well-published friend tell me that once you come to a point in your writing that you write the book, do your edits and then move on...that will be the book that publishes. Her theory was...it does take a few books to learn the craft well enough for it to be publishable. When we reach that internal point that we are able to let go, then we know we've done the best we can. The rest lays in timing and the market, not to forget...God's plan for the work. When I'd finished my 5th novel, she asked how I was doing on the work. I told her I'd finished and handed it off to my agent then started a new work. Hadn't thought about it anymore. She laughed and said for me to get ready - this would be the first contracted novel. Oddly enough, she was right. Not only was she right but it became and remains a best-selling novel. I agree with her theory. When we have mastered the craft well enough to trust we've done our best, then let it go...it will publish. :)
13. Did you go to college to be a writer?
The first time, no. I didn't know I could be a writer. The second time, I gained my college diploma one month before I turned 50. That degree was in Business and Creative Writing. (By the way, I was a much better student at 49 years-old than I was at 20. I graduated with a 3.996.
Cindy K. Sproles
LPC Books/Ironstream Media
Author, Speaker, Conference Teacher
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