Learning to
Love Yourself
By Cleo
Lampos
 |
| Image provided by author |
Ever stand
in front of a mirror, then look away with dissatisfaction?
When a
photographer is snapping pictures, a quick getaway is made?
Clothes are
bought that fold and drape over the body?
These are signs
of body image uneasiness. A condition that is characterized with how the
appearance of the body interferes in the way a life is lived. Most people can cope on the surface but
suffer on the emotional level.
In the
novel, Miss Bee and the Do Bees, Veronica
(Roni) Bagedonas suffers from body
dysmorphic disorder. Although known as the most successful teacher of
children with emotional and behavioral problems, Roni cannot overcome her
embarrassment of her large thighs. A colorful tee shirt tops the long skirts
that hide her legs. Her work is her life.
Enter into
the picture, “Sunny” Vanderpool. This former beauty queen will now be Roni’s
classroom aide. Perfect hair, manicured
nails, flawless make up, and a coordinated wardrobe set her apart from Roni. The
comparison is unsettling to Roni who does not know how hard it is for Sunny to
keep up appearances.
What is more
unsettling to Roni is Joe Milanchovich, who has been assigned to the school as
the fire department’s educator for fire safety. Joe suffers from PTSD after
serving as a medic in Afghanistan. His
wounds are all internal. But real. Although Joe admires Roni as a teacher, he
feels inadequate to tell her how he feels.
The conflict
between inner wounds and outer wounds is brought to a climax when Sunny’s fiancé’ is sent back to the United States
severely wounded. As Sunny views him in
massive bandages and hooked up to IVs, she must decide whether to walk away
from the relationship, or stay.
Can’t Miss Novels
by Cleo A. Lampos
* * *
Contemporary Romance
TEACHERS OF THE DIAMOND PROJECTS SCHOOLS
Second Chances
Diamonds in the Tough
Miss Bee and the Do Bees
The
Story Behind the Novel
This novel
draws on the Chicago urban school system, so it includes the dangers of the
neighborhood, foster care, gang activity in the community and fires. Author
Cleo Lampos taught behavior disorder/emotionally disturbed students, which
brings reality to the classroom plot line. She is familiar with both body dysmorphic
disorder and PTSD. The fire-fighting scenes reflect stories she gleaned from
her fireman son-in-law. The shoot up of the school bus occurs all too often on
the streets of Chicago.
Cleo Lampos
has written three books in the series The
Teachers of Diamond Project Schools.
Each novel is a stand-alone, but occur in the same make believe building. However, the conflicts in the book are based
on events that happened in the urban areas of Chicago. Fiction and news events
are melded into realistic fiction. The underlying emotions are personally from
the author. The characters in Lampos’ books delve deep into their faith to find
strength and integrity.
As a retired
educator, Lampos lectures at adult extension classes at nearby colleges and at
senior gatherings. She quilts and cans the food that her Urban Gardener husband
grows on their suburban lot. Eleven grandchildren fill their lives with
joy. Lampos stays in touch with
educators and their challenges.
Cleo is giving away a copy of this novel to one of the persons who comments on this
blog. To enter, just leave a comment with your name and contact information (so we can notify you if you win) in the comment section below. Giveaway ends one week from today on Sept 17, 2020, at Midnight, Central Time.
Thanks for being my guest today, Cleo. God bless you and your writing.
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