What started out as a dream for Vera Cleveland later manifested into a series of poems. She is now the author of Visions of Love from Heaven, a book of poems about purpose and the different types of relationships that people face.
On Dec. 14, 2019, Vera Cleveland celebrated the launch of her book. During the celebration, Vera explained how dreams inspired her to write her book. “I would have a dream and then I would wake up and a whole poem would be in my head,” she said. “The first time that happened, I said I would remember it in the morning.” However, Vera did not remember the dream when she woke up. “From that point, I said if it happened again, I would instantly write it down.”
The first poem that Vera wrote was in 2014. By the end of 2018, Vera had about eight poems written. She decided to seek out a publisher, Lindsy Bivens, founder of The Author’s Pen, to help her develop more content. “She was able to ask me different questions like my why behind what I was doing,” Vera said. She credits Bivens for helping her understand that her book would be about relationships, purpose and love.
Vera believes that her book is for every audience including those who are married, desire to be married, friendships, parent-child relationships, and even work relationships. “It is over different seasons of your life. This book literally does not leave anyone out,” she said. One of her favorite poems from the book is “The Greatest Gain from Pain” which covers broken relationships that may result in the individual feeling broken even if they did not cause it. “Basically it is saying that those pains that you go through, there is something greater behind that pain.”
Since writing her book, Vera believes that her relationship with God is stronger. “There were times when I would write it and the next day I would read over it and I could not believe that I wrote that,” she said. “I would literally start crying because God trusted me that much to give me that.”
On Dec. 30, Vera announced in a Facebook post that two of her books will be on the shelves at the Eula and David Wintermann Library in Eagle Lake, TX. “I’m very excited about having my books in my hometown library! Small town but individuals making a BIG impact,” she said.
In a Facebook post on Jan. 2, The Author’s Pen announced that Vera is now an Amazon bestselling author. Vera commented, “Glory to God!! Reached top 10 in 2 categories: #5 in Inspirational Poetry and #6 in Christian Poetry.”
Vera’s advice to aspiring authors is to continue to write and to not get trapped in comparing themselves to others. “What you have is for a different audience. What you have can help the next person bypass what you went through,” she said. “Everybody has a story, so focus on your story and your message.”
Follow Vera Cleveland on Facebook and Instagram and visit her website: https://www.veracleveland.com
Watch the Visions of Love from Heaven Book Launch Celebration below to hear more about her story and book!
Feature Photo Credit: Shayla Kuykendall
