A Friend of "On Layton" Publishes Her First Novel

Cindy Noonan, Clarks Summit resident and
author of Dark Enough to See the Stars.

Cindy Noonan, a Clarks Summit resident and a member of my writers' group, published her first novel in June with Helping Hands Press. Of course, our group is thrilled for her. She may be the mother of the novel, but those of us in the writers' enclave feel like the mid-wives who helped to bring it into the world. Consequently, we want to brag on the baby a bit.

Fortunately, bragging on the novel is not an exercise in blindly extolling the merits of the book just because we offered help with comma placement and plot development. The novel can stand for itself in quality and readability.

Dark Enough to See the Stars is an historical fiction story of a boy's escape from slavery on a plantation in Maryland. The heart-wrenching separation of young Moses from his mother, who is being sold South, propels the initial action of the book as he squeezes Mama's pillowy arms for the last time at the railroad station and takes off into the frightening unknown of life on the run from the slave catchers.

The reader follows Moses across the border into Pennsylvania and freedom, only to discover that slave catchers roam the countryside in search of escaped slaves, even in this "free" state. He spends days in "hidey-holes" in logs and caves, traveling by night. Moses is aided by abolitionists in Pennsylvania and New York who transport him secretly from mills, to barns, to homes with hidden cubby holes and safety. Always, he follows the North Star, the ever-present guide and comfort Mama told him would be his direction to freedom in Canada.

Moses' adventures along the Susquehanna River and other familiar places in PA and NY bring home state geography and history alive for the reader. Cindy spent several years writing the novel, due in no small part to her extensive research into the places, people, and events of the Underground Railroad. The result is a novel that will be a living history lesson, not only for the young adult reader but also for anyone interested in the making of freedom in America.

The novel offers admiration for the black slaves who faced beatings and torture, the dissolution of their family units, and a relentless daily cycle of fear. The novel also offers inspiration for anyone facing the difficulties of life. It reassures us that in the trials of life, there is hope. Life's dark moments only served to highlight direction and hope.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote, "Trouble is in the land . . . But I know, somehow, that only when it's dark enough can you see the stars. And I see God working . . ."....


Author Cindy Noonan has given us a novel of worth and value because she has given history a heartbeat.

Visit Cindy's website to purchase a book: www.cindynoonan.com or visit her page on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Enough-Stars-Cindy-Noonan-ebook/dp/B00KRPWHLS/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1405389068&sr=1-1&keywords=cindy+noonan


The first four chapters of the Dark Enough to See the Stars are available at http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Enough-Stars-Cindy-Noonan/dp/1622085345/ref=la_B00KRT5RAC_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1405389383&sr=1-1