Sharing Tuesday with Cindy Sproles

On this Sharing Tuesday, I’m excited to highlight Coal Black Lies (Kregel, June 2024) by Cindy Sproles.

Bitter lies or the sweetness of truth?

Coal miner Joshua Morgan managed to do the impossible–he broke away from the stranglehold of the iron-fisted Barton family and the Company Store, to whom all the miners in the Appalachian Mountains are indebted. But it cost him the life of his young daughter, who was run down by a posse led by Thomas Barton while coming to collect Joshua’s payment to the store.

Five years later, a sweet but slow-witted young girl lands on his doorstep, and Joshua’s desire to protect her from the clutches of the Bartons increases his thirst for vengeance. Joshua sets out to discover where the girl came from in order to take down the Barton family once and for all.

Sharing Tuesday highlights Cindy Sproles and her latest novel, Coal Black Lies. Share on X

His journey leads him to the truth about the day his daughter died, a reality he finds hard to accept. But when confronted by Thomas Barton himself, Joshua is forced to rethink the dark lies brewing in his heart. If he broke away, could Thomas have also? Despite his misgivings, can Joshua join forces with a man he once despised to free the miners from the tyrannical Barton family and forge a future of peace for both the young girl and himself?

Endorsement for Coal Black Lies

True to form, storyteller Cindy Sproles has done it again. Coal Black Lies keeps readers turning the page, hungry for more of her authentic Appalachian dialect, descriptive setting, and well-developed characters. This author not only keeps us on the edges of our seats, she touches deep places in the heart, inviting readers to experience her story through vivid details stirring the senses. I love this book, probably even more than any of her others, though that’s difficult. (They’re all so good.) Coal Black Lies is brilliant, and I’ll be buying this one for friends and family, knowing they too will love it.

Cindy Sproles

Cindy K. Sproles is an author and speaker. Raised and living in the mountains of East Tennessee, she spins tales of life in the deep crevices of the Appalachian mountains. Cindy is proud of her mountain heritage and her desire is to see this culture live on in history. Cindy’s desire is to continue to weave the stories, despite their hardships, that show the resilience of the Appalachian culture.

Cindy teaches at Christian Writers Conferences, ladies retreats, and ladies conferences across the country. She serves as the executive editor of ChristianDevotions.us, a writing mentor, and life coach. Treat yourself and take time to get to know Cindy.

Writers honoring writers. Consider being a part of Sharing Tuesdays. robin@robinluftig.com

Can a woman on the run find herself again?

Ladies of the Fire brought us to the late 1960s as we met the newly-widowed Lily-Rose Pembrick reeling as she fled Lincoln, Nebraska, with her children. Only taking the cash from the house safe and what she could get her hands on at the family bank, she left the recently-inherited and successful Pembrick Transportation company behind. Exhausted from driving all night, she stopped in Applegate, Ohio, and decided to start a new life on Norwood Street. There, she met Fiona Kasey, an African-American no-nonsense housekeeper/companion to an elderly white woman, and Sugar Bowersox, a Southern spitfire who has lost herself in motherhood.

Together, they enjoyed Lily-Rose’s backyard fire pit, where dreams were spoken and secrets revealed. As they embraced a kinship they never would have sought, Lily-Rose began thinking her past could finally be laid to rest—until someone ended up dead.