SUBMITTED NEWS RELEASE
Waking Up at Rembrandt’s author campaigns to encourage people to read by sponsoring month-long book giveaway event
Local author, Thomas Lloyd Qualls, is declaring November “Wake Up and Read – Read and Wake Up” month and will be giving away one copy of his novel, Waking Up at Rembrandt’s, every day during the entire month (with the exception of Thanksgiving Day) in a campaign to get people to get excited about reading again.
The campaign includes participation by local stores Sundance Books, Zephyr Books, Dharma Books, The Melting Pot, Grassroots Books, The Hub Coffee Co., and The Nevada Store. The first person to visit the stores above on their designated “giveaway day” and mention the Wake Up and Read campaign will receive a free copy of Qualls’ novel, Waking Up at Rembrandt’s. A list of participating stores and their respective “giveaway days” can be found on Waking Up at Rembrandt’s Facebook page, at www.writingandbeing.com or by calling Kaity Ocean at 775.787-9257.
Having just been voted Best Novelist in Northern Nevada for the second year in a row in the Reno News & Review, Qualls wanted to find a way to thank the community for its support and to get people just as excited about reading as he is about writing. “Reading is like yoga for the brain,” said Qualls. “When the pace of life is so fast our reading is limited to 140 characters at a time, it is more important than ever to give yourself time to read a book.”
According to Jerold Jenkins (www.JenkinsGroupInc.com), after graduation, one third of high school graduates never read another book for the rest of their lives, 42 percent of college graduates never read a book after college, 70 percent of U.S. adults have not been in a bookstore in the last five years, and 57 percent of new books purchased are not read to completion. “These statistics on reading – or the lack thereof – are stunning to me,” said Qualls. “We need to get people excited about reading again. Or maybe they just need permission to sit still for that long. So, I’m giving away a permission slip a day. Tell everyone I said it was okay.”
For more information about “Wake Up and Read – Read and Wake Up,” please contact Kaity Ocean at [email protected] or 775.787.9257, visit Waking Up at Rembrandt’s on Facebook or at www.writingandbeing.com.
ABOUT AUTHOR THOMAS LLOYD QUALLS
Thomas Lloyd Qualls lives in the high desert region of Northern Nevada, near the foothills of Lake Tahoe. Waking Up at Rembrandt’s, for which Qualls earned the Reno News & Review’s designation as Best Novelist in the Best of Northern Nevada two years in a row, is his debut novel. Qualls is currently at work on his second novel, while also managing a solo law practice. He is an avid world traveler and strives to live each day based on his motto that it isn’t enough to find your voice, you must actually listen to it. To learn more about Qualls and to read samples of his work, visit www.writingandbeing.com.
ABOUT WAKING UP AT REMBRANDT’S
Waking Up at Rembrandt’s, takes readers on a multi-dimensional journey where adversity leads to awakening and the spirit and senses become one. In this refreshing debut, told entirely in second-person present-tense, poetry climbs into bed with prose, sensuality seduces spirituality, and the written word finds its lyrical groove.
Maggie, a world-weary lawyer, Dillon, an over-educated slacker, and Phillip, a writer who can’t find his voice, have each fallen into an apathetic slumber. Within the walls of cafe rembrandt, where whipping fresh cream is an act of poetry and pouring a drink is an act of faith, they find sanctuary. We experience their stories through the voice of Jillian, who is part bartender, part spiritual guru. As she lures them each into consciousness, the reader is also awakened.
Few first-time novelists take the risks Qualls has with voice, tense, and the blending of genres, especially as a male author speaking through a female narrator. Qualls’ fearless, clever and skillful approach keeps the reader turning pages, making this literary debut stand even taller in crowd.
