About the Author
I was born in Detroit, Michigan to Verl and Aimee Sparling.  Throughout my youth, I lived in Detroit, Ferndale, and Owosso.  As a child, summer vacations were always spent in the "Thumb" and to this day I feel emotionally drawn to the area.  I still have family in Michigan and it will always be home to me.
 
For as long as I can remember, my relatives told stories about the "Dying Sparlings."  This unsolved mystery has puzzled me since childhood and I've always wanted answers.  I never even considered writing a book, but the opportunity to combine my love of family history and historical research appealed to me.
  
This is my first book.  I also enjoy reading, volunteer work, playing the piano, and especially being a proud wife, mother and grandmother.  I currently reside in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia with my husband, Bob.

​​About the Book
J.W. and Carrie Sparling were happy newlyweds in 1882 with a promising life ahead of them.  They lived and farmed in the rural "Thumb" of Michigan.  Nine years later their family had grown to include one daughter and four sons.  By all accounts, the family was happy and prosperous. 

Starting in 1908, however, the Sparling family was plagued by the unexplained deaths of four family members, one by one.
  
What was happening to the Sparlings?
 
This was my question as I gathered information.  After researching the story through court records and testimony, newspaper articles, medical records, insurance forms, and oral history, I had accumulated the foundation for this book.  "The Thumb Pointed Fingers" can best be described as historical fiction.