Leta Rae Pereira is a local author who resides here in Hollister. She and her husband Joe re-located from San Jose to this area is 2005. She is the mother of a daughter and son, and the grandmother of three grandsons and two granddaughters. She has served as a peer counselor at Hollister Pregnancy Center since 2008, and is involved in the activities of her church home, Hollister Christian Fellowship. These are all rolls she has cherished. Yet, there’s one other she never anticipated. She had never imagined that writing poetry was going to become a part of her life’s story. Even so, it happened … suddenly!
On January 3, 2009, she awoke from a sound sleep to hear words echoing in her spirit. There was no time to wonder what was happening … all she knew was that she had to get up and start writing. There was an “insistence” that could not be denied. As she made her way to find something to write on, the first phrase she had heard became the beginning of a verse … and this verse flowed into another … and then another. Within minutes, what had begun with a few words had grown into nine stanzas. She stared at the piece of paper she held in her hands, holding these words that had been whispered in the night.
She never expected to “hear” anything else. This occurrence had been incredible in itself. However, there was much more that would be “said.
For over the next few days, additional verses came, just as spontaneously as the others, all connected and flowing, until a completed poem of 24 verses had been created. She had no idea of what was to come … that over the course of the next four years, she would be receiving at least one more poem a month, most written within minutes … all beginning in the same spontaneous way.
As she began sharing these with others, she found people were being touched
in a profound way through the messages held in each one. She started frequently hearing the question “When are you going to publish these poems?”
Without a doubt, she knew this was the step she had to take. And so it was that The Message Maker came to be…her book of 56 poems…each containing a message that “speaks” directly to the reader. Is it a coincidence that the book was published on Christmas Eve of 2012? No…not at all. There are no “coincidences” here…only miracles. And isn’t Christmas the perfect time for miracles?
There is so much more connected with the writing of these poems that the author would love to share with you. From the first words…through the publishing process … and beyond … there are connected experiences that can only be explained as supernatural. If you would like to take the opportunity to hear more, here it is!
Leta will be participating in the Downtown Hollister Holiday Boutique at 649 San Benito Street, The Veteran’s Memorial Building, on Saturday, November 30th from 10 a.m. – 8:30 p.m.
She will also be having her second book signing event at the Gilroy Barnes & Noble store on Saturday, December 7th, at 2 p.m.
Since the publication of The Message Maker, she still continues to receive poems. At both of these events, she will be giving away copies of her most recent entitled The Cart. This is the longest poem she has ever received … a poetic story in booklet form … also written within minutes. Quantities will be limited, so if you would like to have one, please plan to come early.
