Teacher publishes first novel
by Patricia M. Albrecht
Junior High Language Arts teacher Christine Moore, who always kept a diary and wrote poetry as a child, recently experienced the debut of her first novel, Dancing Eagle.
Moore, originally from New England and who now resides in Sugarcreek, went to college at Notre Dame in Manchester, New Hampshire to receive her Bachelors in Behavioral Science with an undergraduate in Psychology. She later attended Easter Connecticut State University to pursue graduate work in Adolescent Literature and also received her teaching certification.
I did social work, said Moore, for ten years in Florida that involved infants to the elderly. I decided to then go on to teaching and have taught in New England and Ohio for the past 10 years. I really wanted to accomplish something when I began working on a novel. I was doing a period piece and had problems getting it to flow. It was at that time that a boy I had met 20 years ago came to mind. I was subbing in Connecticut. His name was Dancing Bear. I dropped the other novel and began writing about a Native American boy.
Dancing Eagle took two years to complete. The story focuses on a young Native American boy who is abandoned at an early age by his father and forced into a world where he doesnt belong. Guided by his uncle and grandfather, he learns how difficult it can be to keep a promise.
The story is a lot about the Golden Hills Paugussett tribe, said Moore. Although this is a fictional novel, much of the information about the Native American tribe is factual.
The Golden Hill Indians of the Paugussett Indian Nation inhabited hundreds of miles of land from Connecticut to the Massachusetts border. In a 1659 hearing, the Paugussett Indians received an 80-acre tract of land known as Golden Hill. This transaction is how the Paugussett Indians came to be known as the Golden Hill Indians. The name has been with the tribe for over 300 years.
In addition to the Paugussett tribe, said Moore, the book is more importantly about Dancing Eagle growing up. Its about family, morals, lessons learned, and the message of not giving up. It is aimed at ages 7-14; however, many adults have read it as well.
Although the book is about the Native American culture, there is still a universal theme running through it.
Almost all teens, said Moore, go through certain things as they grow up. This is how, not only boys but,
all children deal with those struggles.
Moore, who currently teaches in the Canton City school district, previously taught at Sacred Heart Elementary in New Philadelphia. She is now working on a sequel to Dancing Eagle. Whispering Wolf is about a girl who lives on the same reservation as Dancing Eagle.
Moores book, Dancing Eagle, is available at Amish Collections in Sugarcreek, and through Amazon.com and Kindle.
