WELCOME AUTHOR CLEO LAMPOS

WELCOME AUTHOR CLEO LAMPOS
Thursday, August 18, 2016 by Patti Shene

FEATURED BOOK: A Mother's Song

AUTHOR: Cleo Lampos

PUBLISHER: Createspace

GENRE: Historical fiction- Orphan train

SERIES OR STAND ALONE: Stand alone

TARGET AGE: Adult women 30-60

I AM PLEASED TO WELCOME AUTHOR CLEO LAMPOS. CLEO SHARES WHY THE OLD ADAGE “WRITE WHAT YOU KNOW” ENABLES HER TO SHARE THE VERY CORE OF HER HEART.

CLEO IS OFFERING A GIVEAWAY OF TWO COPIES OF A MOTHER’S SONG . SIMPLY LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW TO ENTER THE DRAWING.

When to “Write What You Know”

Cleo Lampos

The standard advice to most writers is “write what you know.” At age 51, what did I know? Where had life brought me? What voice could speak from this tattered heart? Was it even worth the effort?

Initially, my halting words formed from splintered thoughts, shards of partially formed stories. Soon they spilled over into personal narratives. These were written as fillers in Sunday School take-home papers. I could handle two hundred fifty words. I wrote about my son’s stint in drug rehab and how music from past vacation Bible schools pulled him through. The behavior disordered students in my classroom sleeping in bathtubs all night as the gangs shot up their neighborhood. My own battle with forgiveness for a childhood spent with an alcoholic stepfather. Eventually, the length of the manuscripts increased until full length articles were sandwiched between the covers of denominational magazines. As the emotions poured out into print, my soul centered more on a God Who had been walking with me all through the rough times and the good ones. The perspective at over fifty years had filled me with the providence of God.

I wrote what I knew. What I knew was foster care, fractured homes, struggling single mothers, gangs and addiction. Oh, yes, and the classroom where I taught for 26 years. The challenges of the students in the schools where I poured out my life, tumbled into the imaginary world of a group of urban teachers in the Diamond Projects School of inner city, Chicago. Each book is a stand-alone, but all center on the housing projects near a Gothic architecture school in a gang infested neighborhood. Using the stories of my own experiences, those of fellow teachers, and others swapped with relatives, classrooms emerged in my mind. Three books in a series have been published which reflect my teaching philosophy, values, struggles, heart aches and successes. All those years of classroom experiences culminated in “write what you know”. Kids. Teachers. Broken promises. Shattered dreams. Faith. Deliverance. Hope. It took over a half a century of living to pen these urban romances, but it has been worth every minute.

As a retired teacher, a lot of effort goes into writing original material for two colleges where classes are presented to seniors. Many of the biographies that I read to my students have been rewritten by me to fit an hour of motivational information for an audience of people needing a reason to keep going. Working with local retired musicians, I write stories that are wrapped by songs. A series on the authors of hymns, sessions on child rescuers, another set on the people of World War II, and, my favorite, the Dust Bowl era, complete with music which brought comfort to those of the Great Depression. After a lifetime of difficulties, my writing reflects the hardships that are confronted by every generation, but are resolved in the hands of a loving God.

Time gives perspective. Time allows a writer to reflect. Time provides content worth reading or speaking. “Write what you know” and bring hope to a lost and broken world.

Available on kindle or in print on Amazon.

DON’T FORGET TO LEAVE A COMMENT TO BE PLACED IN THE DRAWING TO WIN A COPY OF A MOTHER’S SONG BETWEEN NOW AND WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 24TH AT MIDNIGHT MDT. (AND REMEMBER, THERE WILL BE TWO WINNERS CHOSEN!)

Cleo Lampos is a retired school teacher who enjoys speaking to senior groups, book clubs, geneology and quilting guilds about the orphan train and other topics. She helps her husband can and freeze from their urban farm. Both participate in the Community Garden that supplies local food pantries. They are active in their church’s activities. Visit Cleo at her website.

Comments

Patti Shene From SE Colorado At 8/27/2016 2:04:51 PM

Hi Glenda. Thank you so much for stopping by and leaving a comment. Glad Cleo''s post was an encouragement for you.

Glenda From WA state (via the JBJ Writing Guild) :) At 8/27/2016 1:52:50 PM

I turn 50 next month, and previously used my writing skills in news stories, non-profit newsletters, ""newsy"" letters to family (snail mail) and other miscellaneous ways. This post was a wonderful encouragement as I dust off dreams and copious notes for a current/AND future manuscript(s). Thanks!

Patti Shene From SE Colorado At 8/24/2016 10:03:27 PM

Hi Sylvia. Thank you so much for visiting and leaving a comment for Cleo. Yes, we all draw on our experiences as writers, which makes our stories as unique as we are.

Sylvia A. Nash From Tennessee At 8/24/2016 9:22:25 PM

Cleo, I can imagine the book fodder your teaching years provided! I can''t imagine any writer''s work not being infused with their experiences, thoughts, desires, intentional or not. I know writing my books now instead of 40 years ago makes them so different from what they might have been!

Patti Shene From SE Colorado At 8/24/2016 2:13:35 PM

Gail, thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment for Cleo. I am fascinated by her wide range of experience. No wonder she''s a writer!

Gail Kittleson From Iowa At 8/24/2016 1:59:43 PM

Cleo, thanks for sharing about your writing. We have a lot in common - teaching and writing make such a great fit! I''ve written a little about orphan train children, so am looking forward to discovering this book.

Patti Shene From SE Colorado At 8/19/2016 3:59:17 PM

Hi Laura. Thank you so much for stopping by and leaving a comment for Cleo.

Laura From La Grange, Ill At 8/19/2016 3:52:21 PM

For over 40 years I''ve known you. Through reading your books and talking to you, I am blest. ""I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue His work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns."" Phil. 1:6 Thanks for expressing yourself through books

Cleo Lampos From Oak Lawn, Illinois At 8/19/2016 12:13:29 PM

Lorry, I really appreciate you comments. It took us a long time to have something to say, but now we just can''t shut up. Congratulations on you books. I am going to look you up!!!

Patti Shene From SE Colorado At 8/19/2016 12:10:45 PM

Thank you so much for stopping by, Lorry, and leaving a comment for Cleo.

LORRY lUTZ From hIGHLANDS rANCH, cOLORADO At 8/19/2016 11:05:24 AM

You have caught the trigger for writers over 50-- write what you know. Those memories, experiences, travel, raising a family -- all have left in-depth colorful pictures of life. My eleventh and twelth books will be published in the next year -- and i''m 88.

Patti Shene From SE Colorado At 8/18/2016 4:20:03 PM

Linda, thank you for stopping by and sharing your knowledge of Cleo. It sounds like she knows a lot about the dust bowl days.

Linda Rabbitt From Downers Grove, Illinois At 8/18/2016 12:53:31 PM

I enjoyed this interview with Cleo Lampos, and have enjoyed reading some of her writings and attending a program she presented about the Dust Bowl at Trinity Christian College.